Lucky #13

The image I had of La Seu d’Urgell was the most spectacular course that I could ever imagine with perfect white water and cafes and markets everywhere. My coach Mike and team mate Jessica would always go off in rants how amazing Seu was. This was the world cup I was looking forward to the most. 

The weather was a dramatic difference from Augsburg where it was 30 degrees each day with sun and minimal rain.  I had a very good race, but had a loop at gate 4 and too many touches where I placed lucky #13. Without my touches I would have made it to the final. I see myself as a confident and strong paddler, but touches are killing my racing. Although I did not have a clean run I executed the moves very well and I am content with my result.

 SO I have decided to make each touch have a consequence. Each time I touch a gate I add 25 cents to the jar and each time I miss a gate I have to add $5. Once I have had 10 sessions without touching or a clean race then I can take the money from the jar and reward myself. I believe that being more conscious of where I am touching in my training and racing will eventually make it a habit of be very careful and being clean.

I was able to connect with an old teammate and good friend while she was abroad on her journeys.

Also my mom and dad were in Seu to watch my racing and provide me with some additional support.

It was a little difficult to transition into the Spanish culture as to accommodate for the hot weather the Spanish wake up early while its cold and then everything closes down at around 1:00pm so that everyone can have a siesta. Then at around 8:00pm everything opens back up as the temperature cools down. This meant that dinner wasn't eaten until about 8:00pm. Luckily we were staying in an apartment where we had a kitchen and were able to cook our meals on our own time.

I am happy with my result and I am gradually getting better. I just need to clean up my touches and truly be confident in myself.

Well That's Racing

Mistakes are a way that each person learns and grows. Racing is such a difficult thing as it takes experience and time to understand your specific racing style and apply it over and over again.

It has been challenging to learn where to pace myself while being on the road. Competing on the World Cup circuit is complicated as you are only in each location for about a week with only 4-5 sessions on the white water before you race. Then you pick up and leave again. It is a draining process.

I found myself very tired for my race in Augsburg, Germany. The weather also didn't help… as it rained all week with very cold temperatures. I had two major mistakes in each of my qualification runs. The 1^st run I caught an edge close to the bottom of the course and flipped over. Once I had rolled back up it was too late and I had blown past gate 17. I was upset and frustrated after my first run, as I knew I could perform better. I was exited and anxious for my second run where I reviewed in the video tent and repeated visualizations of a perfect execution of the course in my head. I felt prepared and ready to race. I powered out of the start gate and was determined to throw down, but I missed the line through the first hole and missed the 2^nd gate and the line was so off I also blew past the 3^rd gate as well.

That's racing, sometimes you have good races and sometimes you have bad ones. That is what I love about it, but that is also what makes it so difficult as each athlete is striving for consistency. The mistakes I made in Augsburg were tough, nonetheless it has given me even more motivation to do well in La Seu d’Urgell and Liptovský Mikuláš.