Miami!!!!

January is a very important part of my training each year. I peak every year for the last week of January, for the World Cup Miami. The World Cup Miami is used by the US Sailing Federation as the qualification for many things. This year it was not only the way to qualify for the national teams, but also for the Pan American Games.

The weekend before is generally a MLK weekend regatta that serves as a warm up event for the World Cup event. This year I really showed how much I have improved in the past 5 months. I was able to post some great scores, including a 3rd! I really felt like I was racing at my full capabilities the first 2 days. The final day I had some problems, but it is clear what I have to work on now. I finished 4th and was ahead of some talented sailors that I have previously struggled to be ahead of.

At the World Cup Miami I also raced well. We had 5 days of racing with a day of very strong winds and days with moderate wind and a day of almost no wind. I was able to be rounding the top mark in the top ten often. In the gusty conditions it was very difficult to maintain that position and I would lose, but I know what I have to work on and I am learning a new mindset to have when going down wind when the wind is so shifty and gusty. Unfortunately I was mentally exhausted the final day and dropped in the rankings. I tried to come back in those races and pumped the entire race without rest, but sometimes that is not enough.

I was not able to place as well as I had hoped amongst the Americans, but I have shown how much I have improved. This was not the true goal. The true goal is to qualify for the 2016 Olympics and that is where I must focus. I have made huge improvements in the past 5 months and have 12 more months to improve. I sailed very well and have recommitted myself to training full time for one more year; to qualify myself to represent the US as the sole female windsurfer at the 2016 Olympic games. The next 12 months will be focused on fighting my way up the ranks to the top. I am very excited! I came out of this regatta disappointed in my results, but energized by the major improvements I have made!