Clearwater race day!
Wow, that was an epic race. What a way to end the season with my second, 2nd place at a World Championship in a month.

To be honest, coming into the race I was not even sure if I could complete the run. I have been dealing with some injuries and recovery issues ever since Kona so until about 3 days ago I was debating even starting in Clearwater. But in the last couple of days I was feeling really relaxed and figured I would just give it a go and be happy with whatever I could do on the day.

My swim was definitely lacking and I didn't have great legs on the bike. I rode hard but still came into T2 very far back from the early leader Julie Dibens (man that girl can ride!).

I headed out for the run thinking maybe I could run myself into a top 5 - that would have been a great result. I started a little slow and worked into the run and just got stronger as the day went on. I was running on fumes by the second lap, but I was catching girls the whole way so that fueled me on. If there is one thing that comes from doing Kona 4 weeks ago is that it makes you freakin' tough. I dug in for the last lap and ran myself up to 2nd in the last couple of miles. I still can't quite believe that I did it. Mirinda Carfrae was awesome today - she would have been tough to beat even with fresh legs. She is a very deserving World Champion.

So that's it - end of the season. Kona was the big race of the year and this was pure icing on the cake. I am thrilled with the result and am looking forward to enjoying some time off now.
 

Sam