Focused/driven Heeling Tips?

Hi! My lab and I are gearing up for a couple shows where we’ll be competing in Novice rally for the first time. She heels beautifully when she’s focused and all of her finishes are great- I’m really proud of her (and myself! This is my first attempt at dog sports and my first time training a dog anything beyond “the basics” or simple tricks.) The issue I’m running into is keeping her energized and on task.

She is very food driven, and not toy driven at all. She’s a very calm and sensitive dog who doesn’t get overexcited about much. I trained heel using a food lure that I held in my left hand, and it’s fading that lure that’s become the issue. Her focus duration varies a lot when I’m not holding a treat, and she lags behind me or gets distracted easily.

I’m currently using the excitement of feeding time as motivation- I’ll prepare her bowl of kibble, bring it outside with us, and set it on the table while we do 1-3 minutes of heel work. This has good results! She’s still not quite as focused and crisp as when she can smell a treat in my hand but it’s much closer, especially now that she is used to the routine. I also sprinkle in periodic treats at random intervals, so hopefully she can start to work for an expected reward without it needing to be in my hand.

What tips do you guys have for keeping focus/energy as you fade a lure? Do I just need to keep being persistent? TIA!