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Taylor Corelli is just days away from international competition and the feelings are mixed, like they would be for any athlete ahead of a big event or game.
Corelli is set to depart Sault Ste. Marie on Tuesday ahead of the World Ironman Championships in St. George, Utah later this week.
With the event so close, Corelli said she’s had various feelings leading up it.
“It’s a mix of excitement and being overwhelmed,” Corelli said as the event gets closer.
“I’m feeling pretty good with where I’m at in training,” Corelli added.
While there’s always a feeling of wishing she could have done more training-wise, Corelli said some recent success at a half marathon was a confidence boost.
“I’m feeling way more confident going into it now,” Corelli said. “I’m trying to just stay excited and not get too anxious. The general feeling is just excitement.”
As far as preparation goes, she’s about as ready as she can be.
“I’m at the point now where, as my coaches would say, the hay is in the barn,” Corelli said of her training with the event on the horizon.
“It’s really just finessing the small things,” Corelli said of the final preparations leading up to race day. “Working on my transitions, making sure I’m getting enough sleep, eating right, and the biggest thing is getting into the mental state of convincing myself that I deserve to be here and I’m here because I am a threat to some people. I can do well.”
Corelli added that intense training is complete with the event being so close.
“It’s just maintaining or polishing what I’ve already achieved,” Corelli said.
Speaking on the mental side of preparing for the race, Corelli said that having already qualified for the 2023 race is a plus.
“The more I do well with placing and compare myself to where other people are at, the more I start to believe it,” Corelli said. “It’s always going to be a shock, and I’m ok with that because I don’t want to ever get to a point where I feel entitled to be there.”
As she departs Sault Ste. Marie ahead of race day, Corelli said the time in Utah will be partly spent learning the course in addition to mandatory race events in the days leading up to it.
“It’s going to be pretty crazy once I get there,” Corelli said. “There’s organized stuff every day like mandatory race briefings, getting your equipment in place. Maybe I’ll drive the course or run part of it, try to get on my bike there and try to get into the water and get comfortable with where I’m going to be.”
Corelli added that she also plans to “soak it all in.”
“I’m going to Spain next year, but you never really know how many opportunities you’re going to have,” Corelli added. “I just want to soak it in and really appreciate the opportunity.”
Asked about the support she’s received from the community as she prepares for the event, which has included a GoFundMe, Corelli said it’s been overwhelming just how supportive people have been.
“I’ve always felt very supported and then in the last year, having those people continue to show up for me and support me with encouraging words, validates that I should be there, and they thought I would always get there,” Corelli said. “Also, being gracious enough to donate their money has been very overwhelming, but also very motivating for me. Now, I’m going to race for myself, but in the moments where it gets tough, I can think about all those people who believe in me.”
With the event just days away, Corelli called getting the chance to represent Canada on the world stage “pretty unbelievable.”
“I’ve put in years of training for this, and I really never expected this to happen,” Corelli said. “That it’s happening is really validating. The years of swimming, the years of running, the amount of sacrifices I’ve made is kind of all coming together to one thing. It’s such an honour, but at the same time, it’s really validating all the work I put in and all the work my coaches have put in. It’s really a community effort.”