I arrived in Auckland on Wednesday
afternoon, feeling fit and ready to race fast. I had had a great prep and was
feeling fully prepared. Our first stop was the Age Group dinner, where we
enjoyed dinner with the age groupers and had the chance to wish them luck ahead
of their races.
Thursday was a full day of training for me,
having my first opportunity to swim the race swim course and get a feel for the
chilly Auckland water. I have to say, for the first 100m of the swim I lost
feeling in my face, hands and feet. It was definitely a feeling that I wasn’t
used to coming from the warm Queensland weather. We finished off the day with a
AUS team dinner on the wharf and an early night.
Friday was much the same as Thursday,
except I had the chance to ride over the bike course. It was a very technical,
hilly course through the Auckland CBD. I was really looking forward to racing
on it, as I knew I was fully prepared and had done the work necessary to race
fast.
Saturday was all about last minute
preparations for Sunday’s race and resting up as much as I could. Most
importantly, I mentally prepared myself for what I needed to do in the race.
Unfortunately, Saturday night I came down with a bout of gastro and was quite
ill most of the night. I felt much better on Sunday morning when I woke up, but
after breakfast I took another turn for the worst. Mentally, I tried to stay as
positive as possible and knew I was going to have to get through it and race
regardless. There was no way I was going to let it get the best of me after all
the work I had put in to Auckland.
Standing on the pontoon, I just wanted to
give everything I had and have no regrets after the race. I had a fairly
average swim, coming out just off the back of the front pack. It was made worse
by slipping on the blue carpet as I turned a corner, being stepped on by a
number of athletes. I jumped on the bike, knowing that I had a lot of work to
do to get back onto the front group.
To be honest, I struggled immensely on the
bike, throwing up numerous times from the illness. My head was definitely in
the fight, but unfortunately my body couldn’t execute. I rode solo for a lot of
the bike, trying as hard as I could to get to the lead group but it wasn’t
happening for me.
I ran as hard as
I could and gave everything. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t my day. I finished
in 19th position but was happy considering how unwell I was. I could
not have given any more of myself so I cannot be disappointed. This race has
only made me hungrier to be in the U23 team next year.
Thanks to my
sponsors – Chris from Bicycle Riders Morningside for new wheels and bike
servicing that handled the wet conditions in Auckland excellently, Vorgee for
my swimming gear and Adidas Eyewear for their sunglasses that kept my eyes safe
in the rain.
And a huge thank you to my coach, Warwick Dalziel, and my family
and friends for their support this season.
