At 6:45 AM on Sunday, 4 of the members of Tri Ojai and I were at the poolside area of the Ojai Valley School getting ready for a practice triathlon. It was very cold outside; everyone was wearing warm jackets and pants. I couldn’t believe that I had to swim in the outside pool… The athletic director was laughing at me shivering with cold and being afraid of swimming in the pool. MEANIE.

Brief course description: 500 yard swim (outdoor OVS pool), 11 mile bike (into the town of Ojai and back up to campus), and 3 mile run (on Pi, which is our home cross country course, BACKWARDS).

The practice race started at 7 AM. I jumped into the pool. My body was freezing and when I started swimming I couldn’t breathe and was just desperately trying to get some air. But after I swam 50 yards, my body got used to the temperature of the water, and I felt warm again.

I got out of the pool and rushed to the transition area to start biking. My body was shivering and wobbling. I got on the bike and it was all down hill for the first 3 or 4 miles. It was a bumpy road; my hands were hurting the whole time, because I had to squeeze the break in order not to crash. The hill on the way back up was a killer, but I liked it anyways. My 11-mile bike ride was quite a journey, but I had a lot of fun.

I set my bike on the rack and started to run. I couldn’t feel my feet at all, my legs felt all weird. I ran down the hill and the worst part started when I hit the bear gate. I ran uphill for 2 miles until I hit the boy’s dorm. But it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected and I liked the feeling of running down hill afterward.

I completed triathlon in 1 hour 19 minutes and 50 seconds. I loved it so much. I think I will get myself into triathlon! I asked my dad if I could get a road bike for Christmas! I would love to bike all winter just to take a break from running and not to burn myself out.

Anyways, I had fun and it was the best way to start my Sunday!

I would like to thank my triathlon coach for letting me have this opportunity.