**My blog page is now being re-directed to my new website. You'll be re-directed in a few seconds**: Cozumel 70.3

I usually write my race reports the day or two following the race, but this one is about a week overdue. I was down in Cozumel Mexico racing the 70.3 (on October 2), and I'm just feeling now about ready to write a bit on it. Racing at the half iron distance is quite tiring, and add on hot racing conditions and multiple flights, and it leaves you pretty fatigued! The race report starts in the next paragraph...pictures are at the end (for those of you who like to skip the writing stuff).

I headed into Cozumel looking for a strong race in the 70.3 distance. My year has been filled with difficult 70.3 performances, and I have yet to have a smooth, solid race. Unfortunately, this race also went a bit sideways on the run. I was reduced to walking through nearly all the aid stations and slow jogging in between them. I'm figuring it had something to do with the extreme heat on the run, which was apparently over 40C.

I did have solid swim and bike performances. I made a lot of adjustments and changes heading into this race to avoid problems I had earlier in the year (such as issues with flats or back pain on the bike). I raced somewhat conservatively through the first two disciplines and thought I had left enough in the tank to have a solid run. That turned out not to be the case, as I felt pretty much flat the entire run. I did manage to make it to the finish though!

It leaves me in a bit of a frustrating situation. Three 70.3 races this year, and not one of them was really any good. As an athlete, you do all of your training to perform well in target races. Repeated poor performances definitely leave you questioning the effort you have put in and wondering why or if you should keep going at it. These are definitely legitimate questions to ask, but I don't find myself being particularly negative in my thought process...more practical I suppose.

I guess what I'm waiting for (or what any athlete is really waiting for) is one solid race in the 70.3 distance...one race where I race to my potential and hit a time I know I can. A breakthrough race if you will.

Chop wood carry water seems to be the tagline for this. What do you do pre-breakthrough race: chop wood carry water (aka: do work). What do you do post-breakthrough race: chop wood carry water. Regardless of the outcome of the race, the process remains the same. Commit to the process, and the results will come...it just didn't turn out to be this year.

I wouldn't have been able to race in Mexico without the help of so many people who contributed to my fundraising effort. All in all, I was able to raise enough to cover pretty much all of my expenses. This took a lot of pressure/stress off of me going down to this race, and I really would not have made it there without everyones help! Thank you all! I raced my absolute best to the end...it just didn't end up being that fast :P

I was contemplating heading down to Los Cabos Mexico for another 70.3 race, but after Cozumel, I've decided to finish my season. A big thank you to everyone who supported me though the year! This includes my sponsors (Mettle Multisport, Skechers Performance, Multisport Canada, eLoad Nutrition, and Fitt First) and my family and many friends (whose support was invaluable).

I'll likely keep the rest of this month relatively unstructured before regrouping and coming up with a plan for 2017. Thank you all for following along, and we'll wait and see what next year holds!