October 2005 Newsletter |
A Satisfying Rookie Professional Season |
| My rookie pro season concluded with my goal race – World Championships in Gamagori, Japan on September 10th. What a race! What a season! Now I’m back in Blacksburg, VA, recovered from jet lag and caught up on missed schoolwork. I have had some time to think about my season, assess what I learned, which goals I achieved, and what I want to accomplish in training this winter to get ready for 2006. I definitely achieved my biggest goal of the season (qualifying for Worlds) and I came a lot further than I thought I would. Way back in May, who would have guessed I would be racing a World Cup in Hungary? I definitely learned a great deal at each race but I have a lot of room for improvement. So after taking a month or so off from training, I am really ready to get it rolling again. I will be starting to swim with the Southwest Aquatic Team in Blacksburg, which should be really good for my swimming. I will bike with the cycling team at Virginia Tech and run with the Virginia Tech Triathlon Team. Should be a productive winter. I have definitely come very far since last spring when I was first contacted by Zane Castro to get on Team Aegis. Racing with the girls on Team Aegis and working with my new coach, Charlie Foltz, all summer really helped me come so far. |
ITU Under-23 World Championships |
| Sept 10, 2005 Gamagori, Japan |
| My race at the World Championships in Gamagori, Japan on September 10 went, like my entire season, surprisingly well. The swim was 2 laps, in a motorboat stadium, with lots of oil in the water. It was perfect for spectators though, since the competitors rode and ran through the stadium each lap. I had a less-than-my-best swim, missing the main pack by 20 seconds, and wasn’t able to catch them on the bike. I waited for the group behind me to catch me and I rode with those other 10 or so girls for a few laps. Then on lap 3 or 4 (of 7 laps) a Swedish girl broke from the pack and a few of us went with her, forming a smaller group of 5 but not working together any better. I played it smart, trying to stay in front for the sketchy turns. I saw that Jasmine (another USA girl) had crashed on the 2nd to last lap and I knew I had to run fast so we could have a good team placing. It was really hot out though and the first lap of the run I was struggling but was able to pick girls off every lap, moving into 17th place for the last of the 4 laps. I got into 16th early on, but I had trouble catching the Japanese girl ahead of me – she was getting lots of motivation from the crowd and she had a really good kick once we entered the stadium for the last 200 meters. I was a little disappointed (not unusual – I’m very critical!) that I didn’t get top 15, but I was still totally proud that I raced so well in the humid conditions. I had an excellent time in Japan - I got to hang out with some top American triathletes, which was really fun. It was a really great experience traveling halfway across the world for such a prestigious race. I’ve never been to an Asian country and it was definitely neat to see a different culture. You can watch coverage of the race on ITU’s website on their TriCast. They have a photo gallery posted as well. |
.:Results :. .:Full Race Report :. .:Personal Photos of the trip:. |
Collegiate Racing Reminds Me of WHY I Do This! |
| September 24, 2005 ~ Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia |
Even though my season officially ended on September 11, I couldn’t skip our collegiate regionals race at the Outback Big Lick Triathlon at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. My parents and grandparents came for their third year in a row and so I raced just to have a good time and set a good example for VT Triathlon. It was fun to help out the new triathletes on our collegiate team – it was a first race for a bunch of them! As for my race, I took the swim out hard like I’m used to racing, staying close with the girl leading the swim. It was fun to see a lot of the guys on my team as we caught up to their wave. I had a quick transition and passed the girl in the transition area. I led for the whole bike ride, smiling and waving at the crowd, volunteers, and cameras… it was fun! I came off the bike about 2 minutes ahead of the girl in 2nd, whom I know has a very strong run and she could definitely make up 2 minutes or more. So I ran looking strong, smiling for pictures, highfiving my teammates and having a good time. I knew that even though I was having a good race despite not training for two weeks, that I would probably begin to feel it on the run. Sure enough, around mile 4, I was really ready to be done, and the Navy girl, Justine, passed me. So on the way into the finish, there were tons of Virginia Tech fans so it was pretty fun to get them all riled up. I ended up 2nd in collegiate and overall in the race, and actually set personal records on that course in each split and for the entire race. It was fun to get to see my teammates finish as well. It was especially fun to hang out with my parents and grandparents as well as some friends of mine from other colleges. A good way to tie off the season. |
.:Results :. .:Full Race Report :. .: Photos from VT Triathlon :. .:Personal Photos:. |
| The Post-College “Real World” Looms Ahead |
Realization that I will be finishing my journey along the typical academic path and stepping out into what they call the “real world” is finally beginning to hit me. Decisions I thought I had made for good three years ago when I came to Virginia Tech as an Animal and Poultry Science major have been reassessed several times and still haven’t been made for good yet. I know for sure that I am going to pursue a successful triathlon career with goals of the Olympic Games, but very few pro triathletes can actually call triathlon their career. I am still in the process of planning my supplemental job – either trying to use my Nutrition degree or use my additional aspiration to teach or coach kids. Many options are out there for me, but I will need to make some solid plans soon. For now, I will try to savor the last few months of being a college student! Actively Searching for Sponsors for 2006 As we are in the midst of the fall season, sponsorship applications are being sent out, potential sponsors are being contacted, and contracts are being written. I hope to secure a few individual monetary sponsors for next season to support my financial burden – especially when I will be finishing college and entering the real world. Training costs (swim team fees, coaching fees, equipment costs), traveling costs, and general living costs add up enormously for a triathlete. Additionally, 2006 is an especially important season since we begin accumulating points to climb the rankings to make it to the Olympic Trials in 2008. A race to get as many points as possible means traveling often to races around the world – which can be very expensive. So my request to you all is to keep and eye and an ear out for businesses, companies and individuals who would like to take advantage of an excellent opportunity to creatively market their business. Racing with Team Aegis next year will mean tons of media coverage – on the news, OLN, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. Additionally, individual sponsors will earn a place on my race uniform – a great spot to be, as I will be racing all over the U.S. and the world. Not only that, but I will add a logo and website link on my website. Lastly, depending on the company, there are many other marketing opportunities as well. |
Watauga Lake Triathlon – A First Time for Everything |
| October 1, 2005 ~ Boone, North Carolina |
After many of the Virginia Tech triathletes had their trial run at Outback the week before, they wanted to apply what they learned in a second race. Twelve of us drove down to Boone, NC for the first annual Watauga Lake Sprint Triathlon. I went along to be the coach/team “mom” and I had a great time. We got up early, I made everyone oatmeal, and at the race I helped everyone get ready to go – pumping up tires, lending uniforms, giving pep-talks, spraying on Pam, zipping up wetsuits and putting on sunscreen. We had great weather and it was fun to just watch a race. Everyone left with prizes in hand and stomachs full of authentic Southern pork BBQ and homemade rum cake. It was a successful day! Thank You All for a Great Season I owe all my supporters a great thank you! I certainly would not have come so far without the various kinds of help and support you all give me. From kind words of encouragement in an email to providing me with financial help or training tools, you all have contributed to my successful season. I want to thank my parents and grandparents especially, for coming to watch my race at Outback a few weeks ago. It’s great to have supporters at my events. I’d also like to thank the new members of the Virginia Tech Triathlon Club for overcoming their anxieties and giving triathlon a shot – and doing very well at the past couple races we’ve had. They sure make me proud! |
