Consistency is Confidence

Hi Everyone,

I'm checking in and saying hello :)

2014 was not the start I wanted to the year, but every athlete goes through ups and downs, it's part of the process. I broke my elbow at the end of August in Europe while riding in the Slovakian mountains. My wheel got caught while I was crossing train tracks. I landed on my elbow and fractured my radial head of my radial bone. Initially it was misdiagnosed and I trained on my broken elbow for 6 weeks and proceeded to race on it. Not a good idea at all, I delayed the healing process of a relatively simple healing fracture. So for the months of November, December, January and early into February, I was not allowed to swim or bike as it put excessive pressure on my elbow. Although it was a very frustrating period time in my life, my coach Craig Taylor help me put things into perspective and focus on some positive outputs of this healing process. We worked together on building a running base and focused on lots of technical work with my healthy arm in the water.

In January our Squad headed to Clermont, FL for a swim focused swim camp! HAH! Which I couldn't fully participate in because I was swimming with one arm. I kicked a heck of lot in the water at this camp. Kick set upon kick set. My legs definitely got a good thrashing. None the less, the camp was a really good bonding time with my team mates and coach. Exposure to some sun helped after the crazy cold weather we had in Canada.

Finally in February the Doctor gave me the thumbs up to ease back into full training. I still remember my first week in the water and how weird it felt to swim and how SLOW I was. Honestly, I didn't even care... I was happy to be healthy and training fully again. With one week of swimming under my belt I competed in an indoor triathlon in Hamilton hosted by C3 triathlon club. It was good to get back into the competitive spirit and I ended up coming 3rd overall. 

Running at the indoor tri

After, our squad headed to Augora Hills (near Malibu), California for a bike focused camp over reading week. During these 12 days I rode some of the most challenging climbs of my life and I had my team mates helping me push me up these climbs. It was at this camp where I started to find my groove and get back into a consistent training regime. All that technical work in the winter was starting pay off.

Climbing the absolute longest climb of doom....Deer Creek Rd! 

Upon return from California, I had a great training block leading into two 5k road races. I may have gone into the races a bit cooked and over trained. I was far from my goal times at these races but I wasn't too worried as I had put in some of the best training sessions of my life. I also started to appreciate the process that goes into training. Focusing on even splitting and technically sound training sessions rather than fast times.

Soon enough, I was heading to Barbados after the completion of my exams (One more semester to go before I graduate from Uni wohooo!) for the first race of my season. It was a small continental cup and a great race to dust off my cob webs. The race was solid for me, but, not what my training was indicative of. I think I went into the race a bit too hungry and I wanted to race so badly that I tightened up. Lesson of the race...relax and have fun! I came a respectable 4th. 

My awesome room mates in Barbados, shout out to Alexander Hinton who won the race!

After the race it was back to Guelph and straight into one of the biggest and most consistent training blocks of my life. I was swimming technically sound. My wattage on the bike was getting stronger and my running was coming along nicely. I was feeling consistent and happy. These great training blocks were fueling my confidence. After finishing off this wicked training block our squad headed to Dallas, TX to compete at the Pan American Championships. 

The lead bike pack in Dallas

This race showed glimpses of what I am capable of. It was the first time I was in control of my whole race. I had a simple plan and I executed it from start to finish. I was proud of myself. I ended up accomplishing my goal of a top 10 with a 9th place finish. I still have a lot of work ahead of me but it was a step in the right direction. 

Many thanks to my sponsors CEP Canada, Altra, Nineteen, and HoneyMaxx

Now I have short turnover to rest and get prepared for Huatulco, MX for my seasonal World Cup debut. 

Happy days!

Dominika