Well, I came 11th in the Open men's category (which is to say last) and 26th over all (out of about 40). In these technical downwind conditions that was about what I expected. I was never going to storm the upper ranks of the Open men, particularly not in these winds, but as the result was in line with expectations I am certainly not disappointed in them.
I am currently feeling a little bit flat, but I think that is just a bit of the post race blues. While my race was completely within expectations, the WA team had a storming day out, with 8 of the 12 competitors ending up with podium places. The WA team is great, with wonderful camaraderie, so you don't want to be a sore loser, but when you are one of the few to be missing out on the podium party (even if it that was your expectation), it is hard to not suffer a little bit of FOMO. I know I will get over that though and I have no doubt that my long term memory of this event will be a positive one.
The reason I think I will remember this race as a positive experience is that my goal going in was to have fun and to have the best race I could have, and I can say I solidly ticked that box. In fact, I can probably say that I paddled some of the best I have ever paddled in those conditions, which is a success in itself. From my heart rate data I know I couldn't have paddled much harder, and looking back on the day I don't think there is much I would have done differently. I paced the race well and all the hard training meant I didn't really fade and was able to have a strong second half in which I made up a lot of ground, so pretty happy with that. Technically I think I paddled well for me, and whilst there is always room for improvement in that space, I think realistically for my current experience level and ability, yesterday was pretty good. I had second guesses about my course, but even that didn't make a huge difference I think.
In fact if you had told me a year ago that I would have paddled that course and been within 5 or 6 minutes of the rest of the paddlers in the Western Australian team after 17km then I would have been completely stoked. While I came last in the Open Men, I was in the ball park of the majority of the field (6th through to 26th finished within a 10 minute window) so I was in the right territory. That in itself is pretty encouraging. If the race had been in flatter water I am confident that I would have done a bit better, but for the day we got, I am really happy with where I ended up.
I am realistic about my current ability and experience and compared to most people in the team I am pretty new to this caper. Even just in the four days we have been here I have felt like I have further improved. A year ago I would have really, really struggled on yesterday's course, so to be able to finish it comfortably and to be the same time zone as everyone else. I will take that as a success. In fact, yesterday makes me pretty keen for next year and to see what another 12 months of progress gets me. Next year I will be in the over 40s which is an smaller, older (and slightly easier) category and I will have had another 12 months of solid training and experience behind me. I am fairly excited to see what happens then.
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