Making the transition from competing at local events to racing the best juniors in the country can be overwhelming.  Sometimes the best way to overcome the fear of trying something new is to hear firsthand from someone who has gone before you.  In my last blog, I invited three juniors who competed at the first-ever ITU Team World Championships to share their experiences.  This week, a few more guest bloggers share their experiences from the USAT Strawberry Fields Junior Elite Cup, which took place on July 19^th in Oxnard, California.  All are members of the Z3 High Performance Team based in Iowa. Enjoy!

From Tanelle Berard (Clive, Iowa; 4^th Junior Elite Female)

Before the race started, I warmed up with the team - Z3 - and was ready to race. Everyone around me seemed ready as well. I knew I could do this.  At 11:45 a.m., the horn went off. The water was chilly, but bearable.  Unfortunately, my great run to the water didn't help because a wave filled my goggles up with water.  I got up, fixed my goggles, and didn't let that affect the rest of my race.  I had to stay positive for the rest of the swim.

Unlike Iowa's lakes, the ocean was very difficult to swim in.  It wore me out more than I have ever been in the swim before.  Swallowing a little salt water didn't help, either, but I once again kept a positive mind and kept going.

I ran up the beach at the back of the first pack (not my best) but I knew I could stay with them on the bike, so I was okay. After transition, it took about twenty seconds to catch the pack.  I hung on for a while then took a few pulls.  On the fourth lap, I decided I had more energy, so I broke away and came to transition right before the first pack.

The run was the hardest part for me mentally.  Right off the bike I got a cramp in my side and had to back off a bit for the first half mile.  I got passed by four girls. Fortunately, the cramp went away and I could go at a little better pace.  I ran hard to close the gap and caught one of the girls.  It was a great day for racing and gaining the experience of a draft-legal race.

From Jenny Brown (Waukee, Iowa; 7^th Youth Elite Female)

I had a great experience at the Strawberry Fields Triathlon.  It was the first elite triathlon I have ever done out of state.  The environment in California, the ocean, palm trees and all the people made it a really fun place to race!  When we were swimming I was so afraid a shark or a big fish was going to come up and eat me, I really think that made me go faster!

I learned so many things during the triathlon.  One of them being ocean water swimming!  It's so different riding the waves.  Another, drafting.  I haven't actually drafted in a race before so doing it in this race made it so different then being in non draft legal races.  You're going twice as fast but working only half as hard.

When I was first on the team I didn't really know everyone very well and wasn't so comfortable when I was at practice.  But as the season progressed I got to know and befriended everyone on the team.  After the race in California my teammates and I just started talking to people that we had never met from all over the nation and soon we were already friends, because in triathlons you can just talk to anyone about you're race and they will know what you're talking about!

From Spencer Clark (Clive, Iowa; 9^th Youth Elite Male)

After competing in a few local super sprint kids' triathlons, I was selected to try out for the Z3 High Performance Team. Jenny, Craig, and Chris have been very helpful in getting me ready to compete in larger, more competitive races. Strawberry Fields was my first draft-legal race and they prepared me well for it.

Being a competitive swimmer and swimming at Zones, I was more comfortable being around the bigger teams at Strawberry Fields.  However, I didn't know the extent of the competition that I would face.  Now that I have met a few of the other triathletes, I look forward to hanging out with them and competing against them in the future. Meeting new friends and competing against them in triathlons makes all the hard work and training practices worth the effort.  

One of the biggest challenges I've encountered in triathlons verses competitive swimming is that each triathlon is vastly different compared to swimming in a pool. I can't control the weather, the lake or ocean conditions, or the bike and run courses; yet every swimming pool is pretty much the same.