Mooloolaba World Cup




The base miles have been done and the race season is underway again. From my last blog post of the year in 2016, I quoted this " It's not about perfect. It's about effort. And when you bring that effort everyday, that's when transformation happens. That's how change happens ". I have taken this as a motto for this year and in the past few months I have had some good consistency in my training. Being at home and a change of scenery in Canberra last month were both great opportunities to cement consistent work.

 

Coming into Mooloolaba World Cup, I knew what the course and the conditions were like from previous years. The days before the race, the waves were bigger and dumpier and I came out with half of the beach in my costumes. We had been practicing a lot in Wollongong with ins and outs in the surf and I knew I just had to do the same thing on race day to execute this well. I had to be bold, not afraid.

 


The swim was really comfortable. I have been swimming some of my best times consistently and every week I have been seeing small improves even under fatigue. I settled into 2nd place and I was sitting here for most of the swim. After the last buoy, I knew it was important to get up on the hip or draw even so that I didn't miss the opportunity to be on the same wave as the other girls. I actually got a fairly decent wave and ran hard up the sand to transition. My key was to be desperate out of transition and work hard so I could put myself in the race from the start.

 
During the ride most of the girls in our group pulled their weight and rolled through well to keep gaining more time on the next group.  The ride is always tough in Mooloolaba with the constant up and down over the hill 8 times mixed with the heat and wind.

 

 I got off my bike and I didn't feel very flash at all. The hot water and then the heat on the bike had really knocked me around. If you have ever experienced it and I remember the same thing in Cozumel World Championships, your body goes into this survival mode. You have no change of pace or any feeling really. You just put all your focus on getting to the finish line. I started getting goosebumps which I know is not a good sign. It's a bit disappointing not being able to put a good back end to the race +but I am already excited to stand on the start line again. The work and the processes are there and I know I have 3 more weeks of work before WTS Gold Coast which is the first step in automatic selection for Commonwealth Games in 2018.

 

 

 

 Thanks for photos Delly Carr and Witsup!

 
 

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