Haleiwa Tri

Race season is upon us! And new season means new kit!  I am excited to represent Team WYN this year.  The kit arrived a couple of weeks before and I couldn't wait till it was time to race! I was SOOOOOOO excited about doing a triathlon-so excited.  It felt like it had been so long since the last time I swam, biked, and ran all in the same hour!  Technically in Hawaii we can race all year round-but it does get 'cold' here (race day morning it was 57 degrees!)

The first race in Oahu is the Haleiwa Triathlon! I did this race last year, and last year, one of my good friends went down on the bike when a car tried to go through the cones and into Haleiwa town.  Although I was so excited about racing a triathlon, I was a little nervous going into the race-but spoiler alert- all turned out well!

The gun went off and my goggles were still in my hands, 'Well I better put these on,' I thought to my self!  Quickly I put them on my face and dove into the water.  This swim is always really short.  It's advertised as 400m, but it's always a little shorter.  Triathlon swims in Hawaii are often short.  I don't really know why.  We have a lot of water and places to swim.  Anyways, I finally had my goggles on and I when I was rounding the last buoy the sun was shining which made the final buoy hard to see.  So, I had to take my goggles off so I could see where I was going-perhaps next time I should skip the whole goggle part 😂.  But once I got out of the water, I ran into transition and onto my bike :)

It was a good day to ride a bike.  The course was 3 laps around town.  With each lap, the road got more crowded, so it was my goal to get off the bike as quick as I could.  A couple of guys passed me on the bike and I wish the competitive edge in me would kick in and I would want to go with them-but it doesn't.  I need to get that back.  In college I ran the 1500 and the 800 and I can remember when someone made a move, I went with them. However, now in the longer races, when someone makes a move I don't have the desire to go with them.  This is something that I'm working on and something that I want to change.  However, I was happy to see that my laps were faster than last year (thanks Strava!).

Once I safely got off the bike, I was ready and off running.  Last year, I had plantar fasciitis, so my running pretty much consisted of short, easy runs.  This year, it has felt really good to be able actually run!  The Haleiwa run course has a lot of sand, so it's hard to get in a good rhythm but the part that wasn't on sand felt great!  It felt good to find a pace that was challenging but not easy.  During the first part of the run a couple of athletes passed me.  Again, this is where I want to have that drive to keep them in sight and not let them whoosh right by me.  I need to make this a goal!




I ended the race 9th OA and first female, which is a great way to start the season.  I work hard during the week, so it is nice to see the hard work pay off during the races.  I'm an athlete who really enjoys the process-the training, more than the races.  Although I have improved a lot I still need to work on my drive and not let my fellow athletes pass me.

Up next is Lavaman on the Big Island this weekend and then after that Hapalua Half Marathon, where I was asked to be part of The Chase on Team Hawaii.  These are some of my bigger races of the year and I'm excited for them!!!