Every athlete accepts that you will have some bad races. Unfortunately, these bad races occasionally occur when you least want them to. This weekend in Des Moines, I experienced one of those races and, needless to say, having a bad race at Olympic Trials is not good timing. As I saw my chance to make the Olympic Team slipping away from me within the first mile of the run, my race mentally ended at that point. What I didn't realize until after the race, however, is that I gave away my position as alternate in addition, a position that should have easily been mine. I can't exactly explain what happened, even though I've replayed the race a thousand times in my head. I started the race with confidence, swam well and was in control on the bike. Within a few minutes of the run, however, something happened mentally and I fought my impulse to quit every step for the remainder of the race. Although I finished in 9th, a very respectable placing at a World Cup, I raced so far below my potential that I can't help but be devastated by the result.
Luckily for me, my family and friends help me keep the race in perspective (thanks to all for your pre-race wishes of luck and post-race buoying!). After all, my goal last year was to make the Olympic Trials and I vastly exceeded my expectations by even being a contender for a position. As I look forward to 2012, I have to remind myself of how far I have come and be excited by the improvements that I have yet to make. While I may not have been ready for Beijing, the lessons that I've learned through the 2008 Trials process will certainly pay off in the long-term.
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Sarah - Even though your race didn't turn out as you had hoped last Sunday, it was an awesome experience to be able to watch you and the other US atheletes compete in our small city. The area really needed something exciting and fun to focus on after the events of the last few weeks, so thank you for being a part of that. And also thank you for your toughness and sticking out the race. It was tough to watch you struggle on the run, knowing what the race meant to you, but motivating at the same time to watch you gut it out and finish with all you had left.
Good luck in your training and future races. I have no doubt you will be a top contender for the next Olympic games.
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