IF Sponsored Athlete, Natasha Wodak, will be competing at the Rio Olympic Games which begin August 6th.
Today I became an Olympian. It still doesn’t feel real! I was officially selected to represent Canada at this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil in the 10,000m as a part of Team Canada. I have known for awhile now that I was likely to be selected, but oh boy does it ever feel good for it to be OFFICIAL! I’m really going to the freakin’ Olympics!
14 months ago on May 3rd, 2015 I ran under the Olympic standard (31:15) in the 10,000m with a Canadian record of 31:41. I surprised myself and everyone else too! This ranked me 1st in Canada.
Only 3 athletes per country are allowed in each event at the Olympics. The window for getting Olympic standard had just opened so there was still plenty of time for other ladies to run faster than me, and plenty of time for me to get injured. The hardest part of this sport is staying healthy. So I continued to train hard throughout the rest of the year, with the goal of the Olympic Games this summer firmly in place.
By the end of the season last year, still no ladies had run faster than me, or even run under the Olympic standard (except Lanni Marchant who ran Olympic standard, 31:46 the same night as me–ranking her 2nd). But there was still another full outdoor track season – lots of time for girls to run fast. And all the athletes that ran Olympic standard in 2015 had to show “competitive readiness” in the spring of 2016 by running a specific time in their event. This was decided by the head coach of team Canada. I was fortunate to have the choice of running either a 5,000m or a 10,000m to prove my fitness. I had to run under 15:40 in the 5000m by July 11, 2016. If I did not do this I would not be selected to the Olympic team even if I was still ranked 1st in Canada. The pressure was on!
During the fall and winter I was able to get in some solid training. But things in life otherwise were not going so well. I was struggling emotionally and it was taking a toll on my running. I was pushing too hard for that time of the year and eventually I got injured. On January 29th I was diagnosed with a stress reaction in my foot. Four weeks of no running. I was devastated, and questioned whether or not I would be able to run my competitive readiness by July 11. I cross-trained my butt off and by mid-March I started getting back into running. It was a slow process getting fit again – very frustrating and difficult. But I kept focused on my goal, and stayed strong one day at a time. It wasn’t until the beginning of May that I was able to start doing hard workouts again. It took a few sessions, but eventually I started to feel like my old, fit self. I was ready to race again.
I went to LA to race a 5000m against an elite group of ladies, mostly from the USA and Canada. I knew that the pace would be set to run under 15:25. I was not ready to run this fast, but decided to stick with the lead group of ladies for as long as I could and then hopefully hang on to finish under 15:40. I wanted to get my “competitive readiness” out of the way. I had a great race and pushed myself to my limits–my last lap I knew I would be very close to getting under 15:40 but I had to pick it up and finish hard. It hurt! But I did it and ran 15:37. I was over the moon happy. This meant that as long as 3 girls didn’t run faster than my 31:41 10,000m from last year, I would most likely be selected to go to the Olympics.
So for the last 2 months I have been racing and training and getting ready for the Olympics, even though I wasn’t officially on the team yet. Would 3 other ladies run faster than me? I keep positive and stayed focused. It was challenging as I struggled with sickness through training, which is always difficult, but I knew how close I was to making it to the Games. I needed to be prepared and ready for Rio.
Finally the Canadian Olympic trials happened. By this time no other ladies had run under the Olympic standard in the 10,000m, and there were no more opportunities.
The 10,000m does not have Olympic trials even though all other track and field events do. If you are ranked top 2 in Canada and have Olympic standard, you will most likely be selected for the event. So I went to the meet and raced a 5000m just for fun which was… really fun.
I spent the rest of the weekend watching Canada’s best compete for a spot on the Olympic team. It was amazing seeing many of my friends and teammates realize their Olympic dream by placing top 2 in their events. After the meet was over the Athletics Canada committee got together to decide on the official team. Many athletes that were ranked 3rd were unsure if they would be selected because only the top 2 were guaranteed. It was an anxious night awaiting the announcement, but the emails finally went out at 1:30am.
PING goes my phone… an email from Athletics Canada: “Congratulations, you have been selected for Team Canada in the 10000m.” FINALLY! It was official and it was really happening! I made the Olympic team!! I immediately texted my mom and coach to let them know, and they were very excited. They were already confident that I would be selected so it was more of a relief than anything.
That morning we gathered at City Hall in Edmonton for the official Team Canada Announcement Ceremony. We got our Olympic Canada gear too which was very cool and pretty darn surreal! I can’t believe I’m actually going to the Olympics! This is something every athlete dreams of. At the age of 34, after many, many years of blood sweat and tears I have achieved my dream. It’s an amazing feeling and I can’t wait to get to RIO and run the race of my life for my country!
Natasha Wodak
IF Sponsored Athlete
Innovative Fitness Kitsilano
www.InnovativeFitness.com
