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Over 100 athletes racing, four semifinal heats, 3 swim laps in a tiny pond, $60,000 on the line. |
It doesn't get any more intense than this.
I placed 18th in my semifinal heat, which is quite disappointing to say the least. Only the top 7 in each heat advanced to finals, where the money and ITU points were awarded. My start number was 16, so I performed close to my where my ITU ranking said I should, but I know that there is more there and with a couple of adjustments and better breaks during the race, I had it in me to make the finals.
I barely missed the lead bike pack in my heat, after a very fast swim, which would have put me off the front of any other heat, but luck of the draw put me in with the "super swimmer" heat. I rode with 2 other athletes for the whole 20k, swapping incredibly hard pulls as we tried to catch the lead group. In the end it wasn't enough, and we got off the bike over a minute down and completely destroyed from the effort. With a 5 second faster swim, I would have been comfortably in the lead group with much fresher legs and would have been in contention for the finals. My experience at the first turn buoy in the swim was just like the above picture, and that was where I lost the precious time I needed.
Races like this leave a mark. I want to do better, need to do better. It is encouraging to know that I only need to be 6 seconds better to completely change how my race reports read. I am fired up to cover that gap and keep improving this season and beyond.
Next race: Super Sprint Grand Prix Las Vegas
