Since switching coaches to work with Ian O’Brien and relocating to Boulder, CO, the new training group and Boulder environment has been fantastic! Switching coaches and training styles can sometimes be difficult, however, the transition for me has been fairly smooth. I have really enjoyed the new style of training and feel that I respond quite well to it.
Despite training very well, racing has been less than ideal, but has come with immense learnings. A few earlier races followed a similar story of racing aggressively during the swim and bike portions and struggling with what was later determined as breathing issues due to diaphragm spasms. These races unfortunately fell apart on paper, but I was frequently in the hunt for podium finishes which gave me a good amount of confidence in the training I was doing, focusing then on solving this breathing issue through some different trials in training!
A big trip planned through Europe and Asia, including some of my first World Cup experiences, was going to be the last big push for the end of the year! Unfortunately, very early on in the trip I came down with an illness which I struggled to recover from. While the finishes on paper were disastrous, I still found a great exposure to a higher level of racing, which I believe will elevate my own training and racing style. This was also my first trip traveling outside of North and South America which presented a whole new slew of travel challenges (amongst those including drastic time changes and finding adequate food sources). While the race results didn’t do my world ranking any favors, I still believe that the exposure to these races is something I can use to make sure to better prepare physically for the race as well as the travel and logistics (something which my own lacking knowledge probably lead to my illness). The year has been tough in the results department but I have seen glimpses of where I know that I can compete and am very confident in my path to get there along with my coaches and teammates.
Thanks so much for your continued support,
Griff Morgan