You blink... You miss it!

The biggest thing that I've learnt this year, I think, is to not rush. Take it all in. Appreciate everything and make the most of what you have. Don't take things for granted. And when you have it, keep a tight hold of it. Just remember how good it feels to have something you've so long waited for. To remember all the things that made you happy this year. To know that this year, you did everything you possibly could to make yourself and the people around you happy. No regrets, just happiness.

This by far, has been the best year of my life.

I've had such a whirlwind of events this year, from the not so simple transitions in a triathlon, to the transition from youth to junior elite racing, then the transition from high school to college. Everything changes all the time and it's hard to keep up with change. whether it's sport, or every day to day activities. But it's never been bad. This year, all the changes I've faced have definitely been for the better. I can certainly say I've changed. I've grown so much as an athlete, a friend and most of all, I've changed how I see the outer world.
Life is so special. The friendships built will last a life time and the memories made are so precious. The memories piece together and form a sort of chain of everything to happen in your life. It's amazing.

I've recently just returned from Spain with the England Talent squad which is one of the highlights of my year. It made me realise that I have a chance to make a living out of something that I love so much. And it made me realise that out of the 30 youth and junior triathletes on the talent squad, that I am seen as one of the best. That is something I can't really explain. It's so strange. Me. How could a normal Deane, Bolton girl be seen as one of the best athletes in the UK? I'm so lucky, yet there hasn't been a time where I can say it was easy! Everything worth wanting is never easy. That is why I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has given me such great support this year which has made it that little bit easier:
My parents, coaches. Friends and team mates who have the encouragement and determination to live your dreams with you. To the Northwest academy, to whom I wouldn't be where I am now. To Kevin Davies and the KiDsofBolton scheme, it's so great to have someone who wants to help young athletes achieve their dreams. To the support going into 2014 off Blueseventy; I look forward to a very successful year! And finally, to my coach Mike Myers - he brought me into the life of triathlon and has watched my progression. It's great that this is just the beginning of something so exciting.

It's all about the journey and I'm loving every minute of it. I'm upset that this year is almost at it's end, but it's all the more exciting to be entering such a different territory. I don't know what is going to happen, but I know it will be exciting. I think the key is to see the glass as half full. No matter what, everything has positives and to take that into next year I know that I cannot fail. Whether it's a race, or a school test, if you've tried your absolute best, what more can be done?

I have to admit, cycling the hills of Spain on my birthday was pretty spectacular. The views were great and I had such a good laugh. I wasn't really laughing when we were caught up after hours and were made to sea swim at 6:30 am! I did laugh, though, when Penelope (Anthony's bike) slowly began to die on him to the point the gears refused to work. Poor Anthony. The little competitive edges in training which make the session all the more enjoyable. The extra push to heaven (the boat roundabout) to know that you've completed yet another hard session to be rewarded with either Milka Oreo, chicken or pasta. The humorous stories that the boys decided to share which was the icing on the cake to a great week.
Just a few names, but thanks to Sian, Meg, Liz, Sophie, Jordan, Kieran, Macca, Jimmy and the rest of the people from the camp who made it so fun and enjoyable. The fact after half an hour of hard swimming only 20 metres separated Jimmy, Luke, Sian and I! Rematch?!

I wish everybody such an amazing Christmas and a great start to their New Year.
Only you can decide what happens next year! Make the right decisions and appreciate everything you're given! My 2013 blog's are so quickly over. But don't worry, there will most definitely be countless stories on the way!

Leah x

The beautiful beach!

Getting ready for the descending session 

Spain <3 

Meg and Olivia - love this! 

probably one of the funnier pictures

Northern like! 

After the open water session :) 

with the camp girlies! 

After the T30!

at the top of the climb on my birthday with Sian!

Brownlee Tri

My coach - Mike Myers, who is also the head coach at Tri Team Wigan asked me earlier in the year to compete in the Brownlee Triathlon which was, as it says in the title... Run by the Brownlee Brothers! I couldn't turn it down and I was competing in the relay team race with Oliver, Josh and Sophie.
As I turned up there was already people out on the course - which was part of the road you had to drive down to the actual car park! Cars coming down the other way and swarms of cyclists out on the road you could definitely say was hectic! At least I was up and close with some of the competitiors! The venue itself was absolutely stunning. The weather definitely didn't do the place justice!
I got my race pack and as I was walking up to transition (which by the way, was up a HUGE hill... For those who have done Blenheim triathlon - this one is definitely worse!) I was swiftly over taken by the Brothers themselves... Ali and Jonny! I hope I didn't look like I was struggling too much getting up there! Racked my bike and everything was sorted, then it was just to watch the Brothers battle it out in their own race... kind of!

Alistair had a few niggles from the worlds so as a result he recruited his very own twitter team to face Jonny! For that race, it was safe to say that it was all a bit of fun for the twitter boys! Jonny stormed into the lead after his first swim stroke and didn't ease off until the very end, he won quite convincingly! It was great to finally see the boys racing it out rather than on the TV screen!!
Moving on to my race. The way the relays worked was everyone went at the same time. Only your top 3 athletes counted and the overall result of the relay went off everyones accumilated times. Out of the swim I was 4th! The top three all being boys! (Just 20 seconds slower than Jonny may I add) and then the hill came. What a killer! It didnt stop there though. The bike course was quite hilly too... I can see where Ali and Jonny get their bike strengths from! Onto the run I felt great! A safe transition and shooting back down the hellish hill for 2.5km. The run was pretty flat up to 1km then it was a good km of undulations which made me feel like I wasn't getting far! Never-the-less I kept pushing, running through the stunning abbey and into the finish was such a great experience!
I ended up finishing first overall for the women, and as a result, I was awarded with Jonny Brownlee's Trisuit from Yokohama AND my very own CBoardman SLR 9.8 Elite Frame!!!! ahh!!!
Let's just say I was not expecting any of that! The brothers awarded me with my prizes which made it 100x better!

With the Brownlee Bro's and my amazing prizes!!

Overall I think my team finished a cracking 3rd! Also, my North West team mate, Sarah Hodgson, finished 2nd overall and was awarded with a HUUB wetsuit!!
Such AMAZING prizes that were won this weekend! It was also great to see everyone enjoying the triathlon and for most it was their first! (of many I hope!) Everything was great, especially the volunteers who were absolutely fab and very encouraging out on the course!

Also thank you to all the support I've been given lately, I appreciate it all!!

The best bit of the day by far was when Alistair said to me "It's only Jonny's Trisuit." ONLY?! haha!

More to come soon.

Leah x

Season enders, what next?

Not posted about my recent events due to being busy... and just down right tired!!

So, on the 30th August I travelled down with the North West IRC team to Eton Dorney which was the ETU European Junior Cup (also three places up for grabs for the World Junior Championships.)
I was so looking forward to this event. I felt that all my training and racing throughout the season was going so well - I could feel a good season ender!
However that feeling must have been indegestion or something, because this weekend turned out to be one of the worst for preparation and everything that goes along with pre-race checks.
I turned up to the venue and with my bike being underneath a massive coach I decided to put it in my bike box to prevent any damage to my bike. This didn't help. A wire on my bike had been completely pulled out meaning that my bottom gears on my bike weren't working - these were the gears I were moreely to use in the race too. However with the cleverness of Alex Wardle (one of the T3 parents) fixing the issue that was enough worries for me until the next day.

HOWEVER

Having gone down with the IRC team (on my own by the way) my race briefing was an hour after theirs which would have caused a bit of frustration, by having to wait for me. But wait no futher - the Hodgsons were here to save the day! Sarah Hodgson - my Northwest Academy team mate and awesome cake maker was also in my race, meaning she was to be in my race briefing. We were all in the same hotel so it would have made sense that the Hodgsons gave me a lift back to the hotel. Sorted.

Not.

Turned up to the hotel to find it wasn't my hotel and that my bag with all of my belongings (and race kit) and my bike were an hour round trip away from where I was. I sat down to eat with the Hodgson's and all I could think about was how to get from where I was to my actual hotel! Again, Hodgson's to the rescue!! They completely took me in and took full care of me - how sweet of them!! I had a phone call to say that my coach, Mike was passing through and would drop my bag off on the way. So, staying over night with the Hodgson's and my bag was being retrieved. Surely nothing else was to go wrong?
But it did.
A very brief phone call to say "Your bag is missing. I will find it." Didn't exactly put me in the calmest of moods. So, sat in the reception lounge patiently waiting for a flicker of a head light from the car park in hope of it being my coach and him saying "here is your bag" felt like a life time (even though it was a good hour). It eventually was found and returned and I could then say that I didnt have to worry about anything else and to get on with my 'pre race prep.'

Morning came and I did everything I usually do - breakfast and lunch things sorted for the day. My race bag was sorted and I got to the venue more relieved to say the least. Transition done and warm up done the only thing now was to race. It was an optional wetsuit swim, so I put mine on to gain as much as an advantage as I could from being in a rubber suit. The hooter went at I set off like a mad woman, to then settle down and to take a ride on someones feet up to T1. I went into T1 8th and came out 6th which was quite good of me. The bike was ridiculous. It was the speed of a snail until you got to the spectators and then it suddenly turned into what would be a sprint finish. This went on for 4 laps of 5.3km. Into T2 I was last and I was last out of T2 from out group of 20. I felt really good in my running and after 100m I had caught two and settled into a really relaxing pace. Until I got to the first turn point. My knee suddenly burst into awful pain and then I knew that with the chasing pace, I couldn't stick with it. I managed to finish 25th overall and 7th brit. No worlds for me but congratulations to all the other girls, especially to the four girls picked for the World Juniors!

My season hasn't ended on a high, but I cant complain at all with my season. If you had told me I would have represented Great Britain twice in the space of 3 months this time last year, I would have simply laughed. I think it's just shown me to never ever underestimate you or your ability to really go and achieve what you want. Put in the hard work and it will pay off. This has been my best season yet and I know that I still have so, so much more potential!! Having dropped my swim sessions this season to improve my bike and run (my swim is my strongest discipline)... It gives me a LOT of confidence going into next season.


But now... Winter training is upon us!

Tiszaujvaros ETU Junior European Cup

So, new blog near the end of the season? Why not.

Not going to lie when I say this, Hungary is definitely one of the hottest places I've been to! Especially for training/racing!
A big team of athletes were invited to train from the 5th-12th August and finish the week off with a race - heats on the 10th and the finals on the 11th and I was one of the lucky athletes to be chosen to go for the week!

The training was easy and hard but basically specific to the race at the weekend and based on what we would need to be doing in the race at the weekend i.e. what pace to run off the bike in the heat and being the first one to the buoy in the swim. The rides we went on were good for socialising... and maybe to get a good tan!



Megan McDonald and myself at the after party!

The race for the Girls were two heats and 14 would qualify from each heat to the final with the next 2 fastest. There were more boys racing so there were 4 heats and only 7 from qualified, again, along with the next two fastest. The race was split randomly, then from that it was seeded into performances. In my heat, I had Georgia Taylor-Brown from Great Britain, who is 2x European Junior champion and 2012 Junior world duathlon champion. Along with Jas Hedgeland from Australia who was 2013 Youth Olympic Champion. It was a strong heat so I knew it was going to be fast.
Out in the swim Sian Rainsley (my team mate) and I lead the first lap, then Georgia and a few australians took the lead into T1. On the bike was Sian, a Hungarian, an Italian and I as a group of three which was Georgia, Jas an another Australian pushed out a quick pace on the bike. We worked well, although the chasing pack which was the rest of the field was closing down quick. They caught with 200m to go into T2 and Sian said it right:

"We're going to have to run for our lives!"
A bit too much of a Hunger Games moment, but never-the-less it got me running fast and I finished in a comfotable 12th place into the final. Sian was 8th and Georgia won the heat. In the second heat, Sophie Coldwell finished in a comfortable 5th place and Megan McDonald was 8th, meaning that all the GB girls made a place in the finals... woo!

I went into the finals with a clear mind - As going into the finals with sorting out positions and times I was ranked 25th, so lets just say I wasn't expecting a podium finish. I was relaxed before the race and I knew this was going to be an even faster race than the day before. In the swim I was out 5th, 4 of the top 5 being Brits! Sophie, Sian, an Australian, Georgia then Me!
On the bike I struggled as I was tired in my legs, so everytime the pace was pushed I was gritting my teeth to hang on! 5 laps on the bike feeling the pain went surprisingly quick! Off the bike I stayed relaxed on the run and going onto the last lap my legs started to get going and I was flying all the way into a sprint finish. Georgia won and Sophie came second (two Brits on the podium!) Sian finished an incredible 8th and I was 12th! Meg also did great and finished 18th.

The after party was a great way to end the week after the hard training and racing, especially pushing through the heat! It was such a great experience and I can't wait to hopefully do it again!

Next stop - Eton Dorney in the Junior European Cup and Worlds qualifier!