On June 13, we had our 3rd and final Olympic Trials Race in Bellingham, Washington (results). Not only was I excited to take part in another Olympic Trials Race, but I was really looking forward to going back to Bellingham and racing on the same course where I lost my shoe a year ago. I had thoroughly enjoyed the challenging course even with the shoe mishap, and I was pleased that I was going to have another chance to race on it.

I knew before the race started that there were really only two girls left in the running for the 3rd and final Olympic Team spot. The 3rd spot was being picked differently than the first two. In both Hawaii and Madeira, the 1st US finisher across the line earned a spot on the team going to Athens. In Bellingham, however, points from all 3 of the races as well as an individual's world ranking was being used to determine the Olympic spot. Based on this criteria, the race was really just between Laura Reback and Susan Williams. I was not upset by the fact that I no longer had a chance to make the team. While I would have loved to have qualified for the Olympics, my goal when I started this whole process was just to qualify for the Olympic Trials. I not only accomplished that goal, but I surpassed that goal by having a great race in Hawaii and also qualifying for the World Team. Overall, I was already extremely pleased with how my Olympic Trials experience had turned out.

Despite the fact that I knew I could no longer make the team, I really wanted to have a great race in Bellingham. Unfortunately, however, I got sick right after the World Championships in Madeira and while I was healthy by the time Bellingham came around, I never felt the same in training after being sick. To be honest, I was feeling pretty bad all over leading into the race. My legs were not injured, but they were extremely achy and tired. My entire body was totally fatigued. I tried to take an extra long taper to give myself a chance to recover in time for the race, but I just never got it together. Due to the fact that I was feeling so bad, I had a difficult time staying positive. I worked really hard to stay upbeat. I reminded myself of previous race experiences where I felt bad going into the race and then ended up having a good one. I knew that it was still possible to pull out a great race and I was hoping that would be the case.

It was not to be, however! I just felt awful as I competed in the race. The weird thing was that I actually felt great at the beginning of each leg of the race. I had a great swim start only to start feeling more tired than usual after the first loop of the two loop swim course. Then on the bike, I once again felt great only to struggle on the hill by the fourth and fifth loops. Struggling on the hill, was particularly strange for me as climbing is typically one of my strengths. I actually rode well on the downhills in this race which was a positive because it showed that my work on descending after the Portugal race was paying off a little. By the time I got to the run, I was not in position to have a good finish, but I still started out strong in hopes that I could catch one or two of my competitors. Clearly my body just did not have it as I just became completely drained at about 5k and did not make up any positions. Luckily, I did not lose any places either and I ended up 7th American and 9th overall.

While I certainly had higher expectations than being 7th American and 9th overall, after putting it all in perspective, I was not all that disappointed. My entire Olympic journey was just such a great experience. When I started my comeback after my injury in 2002, I had set the goal of making the Olympic Trials. However, I really did not even know if it was possible. I had some ups and downs, but the end result truly came out better than I had expected. My journey also really helped me see the importance of trying to focus on the process more than the end result. However, I will be the first to say that forgetting about the end result is not always easy to do and I really had to struggle with it throughout my season. In the end, though, I feel that it was completely worth it!