A fantastic physio
I have had a real mixed bag season, its hard to sugarcoat the second half of the season. It started off with a bang, Auckland 4th, Yokahama 9th, Kitzbuhel 11th. Post this, I started to run into a few problems, I had 3 bike crashes this season, which to be honest is very out of sorts for me, and was more a case of bad luck, two of the three were on wet slippery very dodgy corners and the third was in a race on a gravelly corner. I stayed as positive as I could and tried not to let them get to me, but in hindsight they affected me more than I realised. I seemed to be constantly chasing my tail and playing catch up for the rest of the season.
Racing against the worlds best, if you race operating at 75% then you are going to get found out. As a result, Stockholm and London WCS were both races where my run was just not up to scratch and my body did not want to race. It’s a very odd feeling having girls run past you and not being able to do anything about it. It’s a clear sign to me that something is not right, I love to race and to watch a race go past me.
I also had a niggly heel issue, which flared up post bike crashes as I started compensating and favouring one side. We had a fantastic physio, James Vickers, working with us, who identified my lack of calf strength was causing my heel to be sore. This is the first time in my whole athletic career that this has been picked up which in one sense very frustrating but on the flip side is exciting as it shows that if I get this sorted then I can train more consistently.
I ended the year ranked 15th in the world, not bad, but also not at the level I am happy with. It has definitely re-ignited my fire to come back next year to redeem myself and produce performances I know I am capable of.
Thank you to all the ongoing support from all my sponsors, I couldn’t do this sport without you.
My next event on the calendar is the Auckland half marathon on November 3rd. As an ambassador for NZ Breast Cancer Foundation I am trying to raise the awareness of Breast Cancer in NZ. I would love it if you could help in any way by visiting my fundraising page: