Salinas World Cup Race Recap

I will begin with sharing how excited I am to have experienced my debut world cup with my coach, Ken Axford, giving me guidance. It is amazing to think how far we have come together; I still remember being an average age group 19 year-old when I first approached Ken. The rest is history...

We were planning to wait until next season to race my first world cup, but Salinas ended up working out, given it is a sprint distance event, and Ken was able to travel to the event. I don't have a fancy recap, but all I can say is I gave it my everything, and given that I was unfortunately still battling a virus and 70% healthwise, I am pleased to come away with a top 20.


The swim:

• Had an average swim start. Looking back I wish I had reacted better and gotten a step ahead
• Got boxed in and was stuck in the mix for majority of the swim. As Ken tells me, chaos is good. If you are in the chaos that means you are in the race.
• Swam with main chase until the last buoy where I unfortunately fell off pace
• exited the water 15 seconds down from the first chase with second chase pack

The bike:

• had a solid pack including Neres, Yelistratova, and Hauser. I truly believed we could bridge up, but for whatever reason the pack could not get organized
• a little sketchy with a few crashes, so did my best to stay safe
• 15 seconds grew to over a minute deficit unfortunately

The run:

• Everyone seemed to go out sprinting, but I followed my typical race plan and went out controlled
• slowly picked off girls throughout the last lap of the run
• body hit the wall with 400m left
• ran my way up to 19th and was passed in finishing shoot to finish 20th

Final Review:

I had wished that I had swam slightly stronger, but also given it was an accurate course, a 10:15 swim ( including beach exit) is a PR for me, so I will gladly celebrate that. Each and every race is a learning experience and another growth opportunity. My body is a little tired from illness and travel, so the focus for the next week is to remain active but recovery is priority. I am motivated to take the lessons I have learned into my next and final race of the season, Santo Domingo on November 12th! I'm ready to fight like a dog and to give it my everything.

entering T2

onto the run