If you're worried you don't have the legs, go before the pop!

What a strange week!
So this time last week I was feeling a touch frustrated...July finals were on Hafeet which is a course I like and have previously performed well on. However I had zero legs. Maybe to be expected after MWC and then going to Germany for a gravel stage race but I was extremely disappointed with my performance in the race and I definitely felt like I let the team down.
I took a rest day on Monday and then had a TT session on Tuesday but my legs still felt flat. Then Wednesday...well... Honestly I didn't even want to look at the bike. I was meant to have intervals and I went out but ended up doing 1 hour at probably the lowest wattage I've ridden in a long time. And I was GRUMPY. I came home, sat in a cold bath for 30 minutes, did a foam roller session and had a good meal, determined to try again on Thursday and actually by the following morning I was able to complete my 30/30s.
Friday was long endurance and Saturday activations; both felt fine but not spectacular.
Sunday morning - the alarm went off at 6.15am so I could eat at 6.30am but I was tired. I didn't sleep that well but hoped coffee would solve my problems! A bowl of coco pops and 2 coffees later I was still pretty tired so I decided to close my eyes on the sofa and luckily set an alarm because I fell back into a deep sleep and only woke up again at 7.50am, 10 minutes before I was due to start warming up!
The warm up was not good. My legs were tired and I actually contemplated not starting; I even messaged the team to say I might pull out if I didn't start feeling better. The race started and there was a sprint after 3km. Britt Litton attacked and got a gap for the sprint, stringing everyone out behind. I tried to stay in the wheels and near the front, knowing there was a bit of a bump in the parcours soon after the sprint arch. I hit the bottom of the bump with momentum, accelerated, for some reason kept pushing a suddenly had a gap. I didn't think, just committed. 4km into a 44km race I found myself solo. Head down - no choice but to go.
I survived the first QOM solo, pulling on my first polkadot suit, before Mika Soderstrom bridged across and I eased back a little so I could have a partner to work with. Generally we worked well together but Mika has one heck of a good kick and she eventually left me on the final QOM with about 5km left of the race. By this point we'd built up a good gap together so I continued my TT to the line, ending up 22 seconds behind Mika, 2nd in Cat 2 and 5th overall in the women's race.
So I might have felt flat when I got up but I think I used my matches wisely, dictating the way I wanted to race and not letting the rest of the field force me to ride in a way I would have struggled with today. And I can take a confidence boost that my form is good going into a big month of competition.