Ok, so here it goes …
Last weekend was the much anticipated Elite National Championships in Kelowna. It is a great, well organized race that I have enjoyed
racing very much! It’s now been 4 years in a row. The first time being my
very first elite race ever! Yup, that’s a little hard to admit because …
Four years later I end up with a slower time and a lower finish overall, doh! I know every race is not the same and races don’t really compare, but sometimes it’s hard not to. Do I think that I am fitter, stronger, smarter, more prepared and tougher than I was four years ago? Yes, Yes, Yes and definitely Yes! without any hesitation. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life right now. So, what happened?
As this is part of the journey I will not pretend to say that I was not disappointed, discouraged, shocked, upset, sad, etc the list goes on (my dwelling time) because I was. Actually right after the race I didn’t even know what to say or how to react ….
How do I put in words that I have swam with some of Canada’s best swimmers at UBC, worked my butt off to swim my fastest 1500m this year and made big improvements this summer in the open water … to only swim slower than I did last year and miss the lead packs and came out 20th?
What do I think when I made up ground on the bike and took a risk by breaking away from the pack with no fluids as I dropped my water bottle early on to exit T2 alone in 10th.
My hands and hip started cramping up pretty bad by the end … but is that just an
excuse for what happened next?
I work hard in training so on race day if I have my best or worst day I know I have trained enough to believe that I can still have a great race. However, the run was well below that and it hurt a lot. My whole body wanted to cramp/seize up … or did I just ‘choke’ in this race?
Tough questions to answer, but this is the type of racing I signed up for. There are no rooms for mistakes, bad days or whatever and to be honest I wouldn’t have it otherwise. As tough as it was and it might not have looked like it, I still enjoyed it! I remember telling myself to smile on the run a few times because as much as it hurt and I wasn’t happy with the performance I wanted to soak it in because I knew that I was not going to let that happen again and I won’t! It’s tough, but I love this sport and the pursuit of excellence …
As I go through this journey and learn more about the sport and myself I am truly starting to understand the meaning of ‘believe in yourself’ because there are many ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ and all kinds of challenges physically and mentlly, but that is part of the journey and I have to remember that this is what I signed up for: Nobody said it was going to be easy : )
So, believe in yourself and enjoy the journey whatever it may be! …. I know that when my swim decides to show up in the open water it will be there to stay, my bike will be my rock and my run will let me play! : )
Thank you to my coaches, family, friends, team mates, mom! and sponsors for all the support and help along the way!! A big thank you to Rob for the awesome photos as well!
The journey continues …
