After racing the ETU Cup inHolten, I had more than a month of training to prepare for the 2nd half of the season. The training camp in Germany was good fun and went really well (see previous blogpost). We put in some good miles and quality work. Besides not having run for a few weeks, I felt strong and I know I can rely on a decent run, even without much training. I felt ready to race again.
The race itself started well. During the swim, I settled in the chasing pack behind some very fast swimmers. A good swim for me. On the bike it was a different story. We, the chase pack, caught up with the leaders quite soon. This marked the beginning of a very fast and nervous bike leg. From the very beginning I was really struggling. I don't know why but I had a really bad day on the bike. Since it was an olympic distance race, I was going to have a hard time! I did manage but after the 40k I was completely wrecked and started cramping up. Coming into transition, the cramps slowed me down and I couldn't start running at my normal pace. The run consequently was about 2-3 minutes slower than normal.
Very unfortunate to have an offday like that on an important race, but that's racing! You cannot be at your A game all of the time. Sadly I saw my chances on a podium finish running off, quite literally. Dissapointed, I crossed the finish line in 8th postion. Not happy with this result but not all races can go well. I know I'm in good shape and I'm already looking forward to next race!
