One year ago exactly at the Dallas Pan Am Cup, I earned my spot in USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program. This year I raced in the professional field. My life has transformed drastically in the last 365 days, and though I would have never imagined that I would become a professional athlete, I am proud of what I have accomplished, and excited to build a career in this sport.
I reached out to Barb Lindquist only a week before the 2012 Dallas Pan Am Cup. She urged me to try and make it out to Texas for the Elite Development Race. I never heard of a draft-legal triathlon. I raced my first non-drafting triathlon only two months earlier. I laugh at myself when I look back at that weekend and understand just how much I have developed in this sport since.
I showed up to the pre-race clinic with a road bike and a borrowed aero helmet. In the end I had to borrow a road bike helmet from a very kind coach. This was also my first race with proper clip in cycling shoes, so I needed extra help with setting up at the transition practices. Up until this race, I thought racing with running shoes and toe clips was a serious advantage. Despite a shaky first open water swim, and pretty much missing the point of drafting on the bike leg, I still finished top 20. Aside from all my rookie mistakes that weekend, I remember having a blast. I even met my soon-to-be coach Trista Francis and many of the athletes that I train with now.
The rest of 2012 was filled with a lot racing and a whole new world of training. I placed well at the Hy-Vee Champs and USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals, but didn’t quite grasp an elite qualification at these top-notch amateur events. 2013 was already looking bright for me, but then on December 10 Barb informed me that I was one of six Collegiate Recruits selected to spend most of 2013 at the Olympic Training Center. After my first few months in Colorado Springs, I really started thinking of my time here as career development. I am learning all the skills of swim/bike/run, I am building my fitness and strength, and I have added so much more to my artillery with knowledge with topics like nutrition. Plus, I did nab that elusive pro card in April. Some days I still wake up and can’t believe I earned my way into the OTC.
After all the athletes were staged, the horn went off and we all dove into what would become a washing machine-like swim. I ended up pinched out the back of the swimmer/biker heavy pack and was even last at one point. I fought my way up to second from last before getting out of the water. The swim wasn’t necessarily bad for me as an effort; it was just really poor tactically. I worked as best I could with a small bike pack on the windy eight-lap course. But unfortunately, we were all lapped out by the leaders finishing their first loop of the run. Nothing sucks more than when an official pull you out of a race with their hand gesturing across their throats. Had the run course been the normal four laps instead of the modified five, I would have made it to the run and perhaps ran my way through most of the field. I think this was my first DNF ever, as I look back at it.
After reflecting, I understand that the result of my first professional race doesn’t represent my true abilities as a triathlete. I am still new to the sport, and there are details I am still mastering. Dallas was not a disappointment to me; it was more of a benchmark. I am concentrating on the process of becoming a balanced triathlete this year, and hanging on to bad results will distract from my progress. I know there is a great triathlete in me somewhere, waiting to emerge.
As special thanks to Angie Kandalft with Chasing 3 Race Productions, Trista Francis, Pedal Power, Melanzana, and of course USA Triathlon for believing in me and helping me to believe in myself.