In 2007 I raced my first Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I nearly missed the podium with a 4th place finish. It was tough to go home from the Games empty handed after coming so close, but overall I was happy with the result.

Fast forward to yesterday. Four years later and another 4th place finish. However, this time around it was a different story. I came to these Games with the expectation of winning. In my mind, nothing else mattered. Winning a medal would have been nice but with an Olympic country spot up for grabs, Gold was all that counted here. So, I’m finding it hard to be happy with this result.

I felt like my preparation for this race went very well so it’s frustrating not being able to deliver on the day. The running form I’ve had the last couple of weeks was nowhere to be seen on Sunday. It felt as though I was stuck in 4th gear the whole way and wasn’t able to go any quicker. Certainly not how you want to feel on race day.

Although it would have been nice to finish off the season with a win, overall I’m very happy with my year. I’ve made steep progressions since my surgery only eleven months ago and this result leaves me with lots of motivation heading into the winter months of training. 2012 is going to be a big year and I’m more excited than ever for what lies ahead.