Austrian World Cup - Sam
24 July 2008
I had an easy week due to the Austria World Cup which I competed in today. When I say easy I obviously mean physically, mentally it has been a very stressful Week. On Wednesday we were still waiting for Stephens’s passport to arrive…and we flew out from France to Austria the next morning. It arrived at 4pm Wednesday and we flew to Austria at 9.00am Thursday!
I’m now sitting in the bar at our hotel in Austria on Sunday evening; we’re in front of the log fire with a hot chocolate with mixed feelings about the race today. The Austria World Cup takes place in Kitzbuhel; it’s a beautiful village 800m high in the mountains. We are staying in a really nice hotel which I imagine would be even more beautiful in the winter with the snow. The buildings and churches are old and just how you imagine Austria to be.
I was using the Austria World Cup to role play my mental preparations for the Olympics which worked well as I started the race relaxed and positive. I had a great swim start leading for the first 300m but unfortunately took a beating around the buoy and lost a few places but by the end of the first lap of the bike I was safely in the lead group.
The weather here today was wet and cold and I really struggled on the bike with the temperature. My teeth were chattering and I was so cold that I got cramp. I was worried whether I would be able to run. I went into transition quite slowly compared to how I normally like to race and lost time as my bike fell over and I had to re rack it which cost me quite a few seconds. I then ran out strongly but today was one of those days where I was just not firing. I caught up to the leaders but did not have any extra speed to dominate, so I had to keep running on empty. I’m not sure if it was because I was so cold, whether I got my nutrition wrong or just because I’ve come off another big block of training but today the Nicola Sprig and Carole Peon ran faster than me. I think probably in hindsight it was a combination of all three of the above. When I crossed the line and stopped my calf went into a spasm and I could not walk on it. I was very concerned at first but after getting a masseur to work on it, he reassured me it was just cramp and just needed massages and stretching and I can say very gladly that I feel a lot better already. The pain has gone in my leg and I even managed a jog at 5pm to just flush the system out.
As I sit here writing this I have mixed emotions, a Bronze Medal at a World Cup is amazing coming off a great block of training, the cards just didn’t fall my way. But then another part of me thinks back to last year when a bad race meant finishing outside the top ten. How far I’ve come to say that 3rd is an off day, but every race I turn upto now I’m confident I can win. Sometimes I’m just never satisfied!!!!
The result also lifted me back to third in the World Rankings so that gave me something to smile about as I have only done 4 counting races this year to get to third in the world, compared to the other girls who are mostly upto 7 races now. I was also the first Kiwi home in the girl’s race, and the podium finish made it the 12th podium of my career so really I should be pleased.
So my time in Europe has come to an end for now and it has been great fun. We have had a great time in Austria, although it’s only been a few days Stephen and I made sure we had fun and kept relaxed, but when we were training or getting ready for the race we were focused. Tomorrow we fly to Korea to start my final preparations for the Olympics. I’m excited as we fly through Heathrow and I’m meeting my mum, sister, nephew and nieces for four hours so that will be nice as I’ve not seen them for a year. But my main focus for now is making sure I get rid of the after effects of the cramp in my calf so that I am ready to start training on Thursday in Cheju. I hope the weather is warmer, which it should be as Beijing was 35 degrees this weekend and 60% humidity!
Anyway, happy training and keep injury free so you can get those long km’s in that will set you up for a good summer series of racing. Remember the details, stretching, hydration when you’re training and recovering, and most importantly…keep it fun!
Regards,
Sam.
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