WHAT A WEEK!

Last Friday I had my last EVER Schools Districts - which was very emotional - along with the rest of my team that I have competed with for the last 5 years.  I wasn't expecting anything to come out of the Districts competition, especially as in 2 days  I would be competing in the British Triathlon Champs.    But I got 2 PBs!  One of them was the shot putt, with a throw of 9.30m. And then the 1500m, I managed to run sub 5 minutes!  (I've been trying to get below 5 for a long time now, and finally got it!)


Then just 2 days later I headed to St Neots in Cambridgeshire to attempt to qualify for the World Triathlon Championships and the European Triathlon Championships. 
Mum & I picked up Seb from the train station on the Saturday after booking into the hotel and headed to the site so we could register and get a look at the course early.   
It was a huge site, very professionally marked out and the transition area had room for more bikes than any transition I had ever seen before - over 900 competitors!.   I was now really nervous.

After a lovely nights sleep we headed out early to get there in good time. We met Perry and my Dad there, before warming up and getting in the water. I thought it was going to be freezing but it was surprisingly nice. 

The start was more like a boxing match rather than a swim! I was hit in the head, scratched on the face, dunked and pulled back, all within the space of 2 minutes! After that, it was an easy 750m swim -NOT!!! 
The beginning was down stream, so that wasn't too bad, but then the home straight was against the current, which made it much harder.  
The bike course I was familiar with having ridden it a few weeks before. It was split into thirds: the first third was the windy part; the second-third was the hilly part; and the last third was the downhill part. I don't usually like downhill, but on this one occasion I really enjoyed it because it gave me the chance to recover from the hard part of the bike course!
After that, it was the run. At first, my legs were like jelly and I found it hard to move anywhere! Eventually, I got into a rhythm and started to run faster and faster. I didn't know where I was in the rankings, but to be honest, I was enjoying it too much to care! 
After I crossed the line, we worked out that I had just qualified for the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS!!   Although my swim time was at least a minute & half slower than it should have been due to the 'boxing match start'  I couldn't believe it!   Most of the girls in my age group are at least 3 years older than me (U20s)  so my coach and my parents were absolutely amazed!   

Three days later... Mum came running as I was screaming in the living room. I showed her the computer screen that read "QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS"!!!!!! That's when mum joined in with the screaming! 




I would like to say thank you to my coach, Perry Agass, for seeing potential in me when maybe I didn't. And also a huge thank you to my parents for spending their money and time ushering me everywhere and always being there. Thank you:) 




Due to the immense costs involved in competing for Great Britain, and the fact that it is self-funded, I have set up a Just Giving page to try and raise some money to get me to Chicago.  It would be a shame if I cannot go now I have worked so hard to get to represent Great Britain.  Please can you like and share my blog and Just Giving page.  Or if you know anyone who would like to sponsor me - I have space on my GB suit to advertise your business.  
http://www.gofundme.com/un3pyg