"I feel good, I feel great"- Magog Continental Cup

Last week the RTC-Guelph squad and a few guests road tripped it Magog, QC for the Continental Cup which doubled as U23 Nationals. It was a quite a long drive of 8+ hours but team mate Joanna Brown and I found many ways to amuse ourselves, most of which had our coach Craig Taylor shaking his head laughing. Thanks to Jo were fortunate enough to rent a condo very close to race site and although it was tight at times with a small kitchen and one bathroom between 6 people, we managed to make it work. Cooking communal dinners was a highlight everyday. The relaxed atmosphere in the house put everyone at ease before their race and a joke or two here had everyone in high spirits.

My preparation a few days of the race was not most ideal and I didn't feel like my normal self. Everything felt like grindy. I didn't worry too much and just kept telling myself I would feel better on race day and if not I would just push through it.

Practicing beach starts

Thank goodness when race day rolled around I was my chippery self. I felt confident and ready to rock and roll. Number 4 was my starting number and this was the highest ranking I have had in a race. It was nice to have an early pick on the beach starting line. I knew I was going to have a great start because of the beach and shallow waters. For some reason I seem to be pretty decent at dolphin diving. I think its because of all that time I played on the beach when I was a child pretending to be a mermaid. I had a great start and latched onto the tail end of lead pack. I managed to hold on for roughly 900m and then I lost contact. I swam with a few other girls into the exit and ran like a mad man to T1. Lets just say I was on fire. Blasted in and out of T1 and I think I had the fasted split.

Start of the race

When I got onto my bike I could see the lead pack forming 200m ahead. I got into my aerobars and hammered with Alex Coates. We were on a mission to get that lead pack and managed to catch them 4km into the ride. Once I was in the pack I settled in and took my fair share of pulls. Our pack worked well together. At times it was a bit of an accordion type pack but that's because the course was hilly and rolling.

After a great ride I got onto the run and tried to immediately get a high turnover. I tried to go with the three lead girls and figured I would hold on on for as long as I could. I held on for about 1km before I was dropped into 4th place. From there I felt each lap getting worse. I kept telling my self my mantra "I feel good, I feel great" and that helped me get into a rhythm. The crowds of people cheering for me also helped me get through that run.  I was running in 4th place, I really wanted to stay there and I did!

I was really happy with my performance and finished the same place as my ranking. I hit my goal of running under 40minutes on the run and I had a solid race from start to finish. The more I race these Olympic distance races the more experience I gain and the more I learn. I was happy to have a strong race from start to finish. I had fun! I smiled! and I was happy to be where I was. I need to channel the same energy for the next race. "I feel good, I feel great"!

Next up is Ontario provincials in Ottawa.