by Bella Ives
Day One – Aquathon – Yacht Club – Taupo
I felt so nervous. It was my first time swimming in open water. Lots of kids were from places with surf lifesaving clubs so they would have had lots of experience. Dad said just give it your best.
We were called to the edge of the lake then allowed to swim out to the start line. It was hard even just swimming out there with so many girls crowed around me. I was getting kicked and punched!
We had to tread water for what felt like ages before the start gun went off.
The water felt verrry cold. The official temperature was announced as 18.3 degrees. Lucky for me this meant that wetsuits were optional. If under 18 degrees they would have been compulsory and I have never worn one before.
I came out of the swim numb and a bit dizzy. I fumbled putting my shoes on a bit but at last it was out for the run. There was a quick scramble up a steep hill then onto the main lakefront road and back down to the finish shute. I felt strong and managed to pass quite a few on the run.
The run was the best part. I really enjoyed it. I finsished 10th out of 20 competitors.
Day Two – Triathlon – Wharewaka Point – Taupo
The day began so foggy that the organisers were going to make it a duathlon because you could not even see the buoys for the swim. After a while the fog wore off to a stunning day and the triathlon was on!
We had another deep water start today but this time there was more room between the start buoys so we could spread out heaps more. The lake drops off to deep very quckly there was even a diver underneath us to make sure all of the swimmers were safe.
The bike and we did two 4km laps of the bike section adding up to a total of 8km. There were lots of small hills to go up and down so that made it really tricky because you have to change the gears a lot to make sure that the bike is moving forward and that you aren't pushing it too hard in a high gear because you will end up getting really tired but mose of that comes down to fitness and experience. I had one wobbly moment when I touched my brakes before coming down a sharp turn and my back wheel slipped from side to side on a bit of loose gravel.
The run was fast and short - one lap of 1.5km I did really well in this it is my favourite/strongest leg of the triathlon.
I can't wait for next year, it might be in the South Island!
Day One – Aquathon – Yacht Club – Taupo
I felt so nervous. It was my first time swimming in open water. Lots of kids were from places with surf lifesaving clubs so they would have had lots of experience. Dad said just give it your best.
We were called to the edge of the lake then allowed to swim out to the start line. It was hard even just swimming out there with so many girls crowed around me. I was getting kicked and punched!
We had to tread water for what felt like ages before the start gun went off.
The water felt verrry cold. The official temperature was announced as 18.3 degrees. Lucky for me this meant that wetsuits were optional. If under 18 degrees they would have been compulsory and I have never worn one before.
I came out of the swim numb and a bit dizzy. I fumbled putting my shoes on a bit but at last it was out for the run. There was a quick scramble up a steep hill then onto the main lakefront road and back down to the finish shute. I felt strong and managed to pass quite a few on the run.
The run was the best part. I really enjoyed it. I finsished 10th out of 20 competitors.
Day Two – Triathlon – Wharewaka Point – Taupo
The day began so foggy that the organisers were going to make it a duathlon because you could not even see the buoys for the swim. After a while the fog wore off to a stunning day and the triathlon was on!
We had another deep water start today but this time there was more room between the start buoys so we could spread out heaps more. The lake drops off to deep very quckly there was even a diver underneath us to make sure all of the swimmers were safe.
The bike and we did two 4km laps of the bike section adding up to a total of 8km. There were lots of small hills to go up and down so that made it really tricky because you have to change the gears a lot to make sure that the bike is moving forward and that you aren't pushing it too hard in a high gear because you will end up getting really tired but mose of that comes down to fitness and experience. I had one wobbly moment when I touched my brakes before coming down a sharp turn and my back wheel slipped from side to side on a bit of loose gravel.
The run was fast and short - one lap of 1.5km I did really well in this it is my favourite/strongest leg of the triathlon.
I can't wait for next year, it might be in the South Island!
You should be very proud of your achievement. You gave lots of details in your writing
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