Time to fill in the last few weeks (briefly)

1. Attempt 2 at olympic distance triathlon: Dallas, Texas Continental Cup, extremely hot and surprisingly humid. The race didn't quite turn out as I had hoped. I had a good swim, made the lead pack on the bike, the second pack caught us and the pace picked up. The heat started to get to me on the bike, and I dropped off the pack in the last 2 laps of the bike. I struggled into transition, jogged the first lap of the run, was really overheating and called it a day. Kind of a disappointment. Attempt 2 = fail.
2. Attempt 3: Victoria Triathlon at Elk Lake on June 17. I was excited to do this race, but not nervous as there was no pressure and I was going into it tired, just looking to complete the race and put in a strong effort. The race went surprisingly well. I had a very relaxed and controlled swim, got into a good rythm and pace on the 45 km non drafting bike, and stayed smooth and relaxed on the run. I finished the race with a huge smile on my face and massive blisters on my feet! Attempt 3 = success!
3. 11th FISU University World Championships in Taipei, extremely hot + humid. Redemption for Dallas, this time I was going to beat the heat. Training up to the race I did not feel very good, but on Friday things started to come around, and by race day I was feeling ready to go. My focus was going to be to stay conservative, keep my core temperature down, and finish the race. No one stayed cool for very long as we started the race swimming in 30 degree water. I had a solid swim and came out in the second pack of girls with three girls about 20 seconds in front of us. We came together in a pack of about 10 at the end of the first lap. I stayed with the pack for the whole bike this time despite the pace being a bit faster than I wanted considering the heat. On the first lap of the run I went out at a conservative pace, but then really started the feel the heat on lap 2. Had thoughts of not finishing, but our coach Alan Carlsson and my team mates kept me pushing through. Lap 3 was painfully slow, had to walk at the water stations in order to hydrate. Lap 4, came back a bit, was relieved when I crossed the finish line. I didn't find out that I had placed 24th until the next day... at that point I didn't really care, I was just happy it was over and I had made it through.

So that's about all. Next up, U23 National Championships in Magog, Quebec on July 21. Stay tuned.