WTC stands for World Triathlon Corporation.  WTC owns the Ironman trademark and Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  WTC is currently owned by an equity firm that is pumping money into the sport so that it can sell for 10-fold in the next 5-7 year.  NA Sport (North America Sports), formally the owners of  the ‘classic’ Ironman races in the US were forced out of the industry by WTC (WTC payed large sums of money for the races.)  Within the past 5 years, WTC has streamlined operations.  WTC, also, owns Ironman 70.3 series, 5150, Irongirls, Ironkids and Lava magazine.

I could brush off the changes within the industry UNTIL this season.

I’ve struggled as a professional triathlete – operating at an economic loss, my own self-doubt in my athletic ability – all the while seeing progression in my racing, training, and efforts.  There has been a natural progression as I’ve taken steps within the industry.  I glamorized the industry while I was on the outside looking in – I had no idea the sacrifices I’d have to make to get to THIS point – second tier professional triathlete.

Over the past three years, WTC has changed the professional rules each season.  This year was an extra special slap in the face.  WTC created a ranking system, which will qualify 40 males and 25 females to race Kona in 2011.  The ranking system is based on points accumulated throughout the season at 70.3 and 140.6 events.  Frequency is key in this system.  The more a professional athlete races odds are in their favor that they will be higher up in the ranking.  Think of this from WTC’s standpoint, pros races more frequently means a better “show” for television coverage which will lead to better sponsorship, commercial spots, race coverage, etc.

Now, let’s jump on the other side of the table, and think about it from the perspective of the professional athlete.  The prize purse has not increased – nor does it go deeper, there is no travel assistance, no home-stay opportunities provided by the race organization, etc.  I don’t have sponsors throwing money at my feet for travel expenses – hotel, plane tickets, rental cars – time away from home means time away from work.  Most pros do not have sponsors throwing money at their feet.  Even if I thought I could realistically raise the $30,000 – $40,000 in sponsorship funds in order to afford travel/loss of work/the WTC program fee of $750, I would have a hard time justifying all that expense until I was actually operating at a profit within the industry.  In the 2 years I’ve been a professional in the sport, I’ve had 5 x top 10 Ironman finishes – 3 of which were payday’s, 1 of which I actually went home with more money than the cost of travel to event – Rev3 140.6 in Sandusky, OH.

SO I am grateful to have options.  I am excited to race the Rev3 series, support some of the local race directors – ga multisports, tri-ptc, tri4gold.org, etc.  This year, I am opting to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

My call for action – support GA multi-sport vs 5150, choose Peachtree International vs Irongirls, etc.  WTC is the walmart of triathlon charging Neiman Marcus prices and it WILL only GET WORSE before it gets better.

I’ll end with an excerpt from the article linked above – racing Kona as a professional is my goal.  ”The Good Fight is the one we Fight because our heart asks it of us.”  Kona has been my single-minded focus since my fathers passing.  It’s kept me moving forward, alive, and healthy.  I am forever grateful for the opportunity to chase my dream and to those that have helped in this journey.

“We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body. Many times in our lives we see our dreams shattered and our desires frustrated, but we have to continue dreaming. If we don’t, our soul dies.”

I love, love, LOVE this photo!

my final race as a ‘Gellatly’ – so glad to have a photo with corn fields in the direct background.  In Bowling Green, OH (high school – BGHS – go bobcats!), the crops rotated were corn and soy beans.  we had corn in our back yards, literally.

excuses aside – I am happy with my race at rev3 – CP.  I loved the course, the mild temperatures (a welcomed break from our long summer!), and the amusement park (cedar point is americas roller coast.).

excuses front and center – I let my focus drift pre race and I didn’t listen to my coach.  I waffled back and forth about whether to do the race – up until the week of the race.  I went in WELL undertrained – which was all my own damn fault – and pulled off a respectable day (considering).

not many photos of race day because I drove up to Ohio alone – all 11 hours – the friday before the race.  good planning.

telling on myself a little here – but Saturday, the day before the race, I went into the park for an hour to ride as many coasters as I could fit in – only got 3 in, but they were quality.  I love america’s roller coast!!

during the race prep and build up, everything went pretty much according to plan.  there was a panera bread and a target – between the two all my needs our met.

skip to race day -

I had the swim of my life!  It was my first time racing in my quintana roo wetsuit – awesome!  awesome wetsuit + amazing dolphin diving skills = staying with a swimmer that is much more talented at the actual swim portion than you are.  I actually swam to the first swim buoy with Amy Marsh and Sam Warriner – you want proof?  I am pretty sure that Sam could have dropped Amy but hung around because she wanted someone to play with – I, however, could not hang.  As I got dropped, I hung with the next pair of feet that came a long – and the 4 x 200 meter dolphin dive sections were my time to shine!  all those years of jumping up and down off the bottom of the pool in warm down, FINALLY paying off.  see coach Gary, it pays to play

bike was going smooth – I was rolling in 4th – although I did not know I was in 4th.  until I got a stagger penalty and had to stand down for 4 minutes.  I stood calming about 1/2 the penalty – ate, drank.  until I got thinking about why I was standing down – the girl in front of me was ALMOST of sight.  I did not have the intent to draft, I had all but forgotten she was there – I received no benefit from the infraction I was standing down for SO for about 2 minute the official got to hear me rant on about intent and warning and how the term ‘ we will be reasonable’ was used in our meeting.  It’s been months now, I have a new last name, I’ll let it go.  It made no impact on my result, but my swim advantage which I so strategically plotted was gone.  I got passed by a couple girls while standing down, but for the sake of the race, I had to let it go.

i am so proud of this run – not because it was great – but because the run LITERALLY went to shit – about every 2 miles to be specific, but it was the first time in a race when it all unraveled, yet I ran it out.  I don’t know if I swallowed too much Lake Eerie or new sports drink but my stomach was NOT happy with the transition into the run.  At mile 14, I sat in the porta potty crying – talking myself into going back out again – double loop course – trying to figure out how the hell I was going to get through the other half of the course.  I started drinking coke and progressively mile by mile – it wasn’t so bad anymore.  I even passed someone on the run course.  running myself into 8th place!  I still don’t know my finish time, but I finished – and I finished strong!  despite my shitty prep and a shitty run.

huge thank yous to my homestay, Kathy (even though she didn’t let me have her daughter PINK bedroom  ), quintana roo – awesome swim and ride, all3sports, rev3 – great series, looking forward to racing more of them next season!, coach – matt russ, the husband, tom – the mechanic, tri-ptc, and splish.  without the support, this season would not have been possible.

finish up with some wedding photos that have been left out thus far -

the robot.

my precious darling flower girl LOVES to twirl!

not only was i busy with triathlon consults, i love helping new triathletes ease into the sport, but hosted a clinic, announced a race, hosted 2 open water swims.  I haven’t had a weekend or full day ‘off’ since mid-july!

in addition, I spent time moving into ken’s house.  it isn’t a home until the floors are clean and we have a couple pink rugs.

final task of the last couple weeks, welcoming my brother, his girlfriend, and his two daughters to georgia!  i am an aunt!

I love having the family together and being able to spend time with the girls.  madison will turn 3 in october and ellie, the baby, is 5 months old.

BUT the time is upon us, after 2 weeks of un-focused, training peaks free training, it is time to get back in the pool, on the bike, and running strong.  Rev3 cedar point is right around the corner.  I am excited to race at a place I have called home.  I graduated high school just 45 minutes south of Sandusky in Bowling Green, OH.  go bobcats!

(add 10 minutes to time – 10:28.50.  10:18 was AG clock.)

it was a great trip to placid this year and i am happy enough with my race… always want more, but i am still making forward progress and stuck true to pre-race plan.  biggest success of the weekend – ken and i have finally struck a balance in my triathlon race prep, his triathlon training, and travel.  we had a great trip and more than any ironman prior, we enjoyed really enjoyed ourselves.

not much to report of race week, i was a shut in.  quit answering my phone and emails a couple days out, and my most frequently trip was from the bed to the bathroom – very well hydrated!  i quit cheating on my diet race week and i have vowed to come home and continue that behavior.  i felt so much better eating right.

i knew swim would be 55 minutes to an hour.  no wetsuit this year so swim time was a little slower.  i did a great job hanging on to a group that was WAY too fast for me the first lap and came out of the water in 28 minutes on the first loop.  lost them on the second, but settled into my own rhythm, knowing i would be a couple minutes slower, 1:01.  didn’t win me the race, but came out in 5th.

my main focus on the bike was staying inside myself so that i wouldn’t give it all away on the run.  in the future, i think the bike will be one of my biggest areas of opportunity.  it was on odd flip to feel more confident in my run.  it was pearl’s first ironman (new CD 0.1 QR), felt super aero and the bike did her job!  maybe even a little too aero down some of the descents… huge thanks to quintana roo for such a fast ride.

first time racing with an aero helmet – finishing up the bike course

i ran a steady marathon.  until the last 10k, when the wheels started to come off a bit.  those hills eat my quads up!  3:40 is the fastest ironman marathon to date, and i anxiously anticipate my first sub-330 ironman marathon so that i can crush my stand alone marathon PR!

(home stretch – really thought i was smiling…)

great trip, great city, course PR, all good things.  Placid was my ’shot’ to qualify for Kona, and i missed it by much more than a mile…maybe more like 4 miles… i set a real ambitious goal, and i failed.  okay.  i will still keep plucking away @ my consistent bike power, my run speed, and eventually may even put some focus into my swimming.  i am so grateful to have this opportunity in my life to really chase these dreams.  huge thanks to ken, sponsors (TRI – PTC, ais computers, www.all3sports.com, QR, splish), athletes, friends, and family.

i picked up some new triathlon consulting work with CNN fit nation.  (http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/category/2010-fit-nation-challenge/)

everyone in the family is born in april (besides myself…ironic, eh?).  so we celebrated ange’s birthday the 15th (little sister turned 24.), momma’s 50th the 19th, and my little brothers birthday the 25th.  pat turned old this year  ;)

we flew my brother in from AZ to surprise my momma on her birthday.  i figured what better way to celebrate than to have the whole family together!

the video surprise was beautiful, but i am not sure i can upload video onto website yet…  (JOE?!?  w/  http://www.aissolutionsgroup.com/)  everyone @ the table was crying.  momma was shocked.  it took her 5 seconds to realize her son was standing in front of her.  beautiful.

i hired a triathlon coach, matt russ with the (http://www.thesportfactory.com/site/index.shtml) the sports factory.   so now i just listen to the boss and do as i am told.  the boss changed the race schedule slightly.  check it out under tab marked 2010.

all3sports.com has stepped up as a sponsor and i will be riding a NEW QR CD 0.1 for 2010.

save 15% @ www.all3sports.com.  use the discount code - aprilref.  in advance, appreciate your support and support of the sponsors that aid my efforts within the sport.

ken and i have yet to set a date for the wedding.  (i wish people would quit asking, but i guess that is the natural progression.)  we are enjoying the present, our time together, and trying to take steps to merge our lives together.  tough under the circumstances, my silly pursuit of a triathlon career, our current residence an 1.5 hour apparent WITHOUT traffic, NO MONEY, no family support on my end, not really ideal wedding planning conditions…

in conclusion, the end of april finds me busy, happy, working within an industry i enjoy and believe strongly in…  i feel like i have taken myself outside of the little box i kept myself trapped in for so long.  i am creating different kind of opportunities for myself, and i can reach my definition of success even without a ‘normal’ job.

i hereby announce my intentions to make it back to Kona as a professional triathlete, i do, declare!  (i also obsessively watch the office and as a Southern, it is my obligation to declare important topics so that i portray a southern image.)

the view from Lava Java

i’ve always said i wouldn’t go back to Kona as a pro until i was ready.  it is time…time to get ready.  i still have a 30 minute gap to fill in this year, but continued improvement, focus, proper diet…blah, blah, blah.

in related news, it is also time my buddy tri-glen gets to Kona!

www.oldschoolironman.com

oh, this will be an exciting year in Kona indeed!  Tri-glen and I go way back to (www.eperformance.us) triathlon training camp.

(oh, you didn’t know, it’s name dropping Tuesday.)

back on track, when i met tri-glen, he was still struggling to pave his way.  in those days, he’d ride a tri bike in ironmans (wearing soccer shorts).  ha.  i had hope that he’d conform and adapt some of the gear that aids us in an ironman.  As I had known, that only a few year ago, i struggled with the concepts of bike shorts, bike helmets, and most all the tri gear.  i felt it was all overrated and too high maintenance.  that year at triathlon camp (spring 2004 or 2005), we actually staged a triathlon intervention and created a 12 step program for Tri-glen to become a ‘real’ triathlete.  the final step was that he renounce his given name and forever be known as Tri-glen.  i never envisioned that he would create his own path…the road less traveled…on a bmx bike…for 112 miles.  i am proud of him.  he is a great person and has been a good friend over the years.  in a sport where people commonly take themselves WAY to seriously, Tri-glen stands for everything that is right in triathlon.

i hope to bring some of that into my 2010 season, although i’ll still ride a tri bike, and somedays i may have to take myself too seriously.  BUT this is fun, damn it!

kona or bust 2010.  (i do, declare)

the best is yet to come…

i shut down a couple weeks ago and haven’t been very active in my blogging.  it was all the same stuff, new day.  i didn’t feel like i was getting to train enough.  it all seemed like travel, vacation, travel, flu…blah, blah, blah.  my anxiety can be stifling SO best form of action seems to shut myself down.  so it’s been a few weeks.  missed ya’ll.  i missed myself to be real honest.

the past week was the worst of it.  i read the pro interviews on ironman.com and got myself all freaked at the talent i would be racing against.  my dog, bella, is actually named after bella bayliss, and it would be my first time racing her.  i tried to stay quiet, stay focused on the small tasks, and just fake it through the week.  i know i am as fit as i have ever been, but more importantly, i have gained experience this year.  i still have a long way to go, but i made steady progress, and i feel like i know myself and the steps i need to take towards continued improvement with a more realistic view.

Cozumel was a beautiful island.  the mexican culture is different than ours and in the tourist island of Cozumel, i understand they have to be more aggressive to make money.  however, i find the aggression off putting and i spent more time than i should have looking towards the comforts of home, starbucks, chicken, ron jons, the list continues…SO i am sure i missed many of the great aspects of the island, but it was just so exhausted walking by shops and being hustled in.  i had to be equally as pushy and borderline rude to get my point across, but when in mexico…

i wanted to go sub-10, but i counted on being about to bike somewhere around 5 hours – 5:15.  yeah this bike course wasn’t near as fast as i hoped.  the winds on the east side of the island were so strong.

the swim was fast…strong current or short.  relatively, not a great swim for me, i was a little too fast for the draft pack i ended up in.  i like to be the slowest in the pack and hanging on for dear life.  not the case…we broke down to a group of 3, and i was too strong to just sit on feet, the 50 minute swim time, however, awesome!  i don’t have a bike computer when the power meter comes off to race SO i have far less numbers than the typical triathlete would prefer, but it doesn’t bother me so much.  it was a lonely ride for me.  i passed one girl, got passed once, and got passed by handful of the age group men.  if the race turned into a draft feast, i missed it.  i did almost get hit by a bus though…towards the end of the first lap when the public transit systems hadn’t caught up with the correct traffic flow.  i had to serve into the oncoming traffic lane while the bus rode down past me…good times.  Ken got a new camera for the trip…and for our other future adventures.  he was VERY protective of his camera.  he was pissing me off worrying about whether the damn camera was in the safe or if the safe was working… one time we left the room, he actually took the camera bag with just one of the “lenses” in it and left the camera in the room unprotected.  i should have been tipped off at this point.  BUT he took great race photos…some of his work:

my bike in transition.  these have been voted the BEST PRO RACKS of my 2009 season.

t1.

steady on the bike…

running my solid 8:30s.

the face of relief.  2009 ENDS!

i put a lot into the bike, but you can always run, and really no 3rd option here.  i needed another result this year..for myself more than anything.  it felt shitty in the beginning…real shitty.  not running sounded so much better than finishing a marathon, but i ran steady on…8:00, snuck up into the 8:30s at some point, but held it steady there most of the run.  there were 2 tbb girls behind me and chasing hard, my spirits were low, but i just kept steady on it.  of the races, i have done this year, this was probably my favorite pro field.  the girls were nice and rooting for each other in a way that was healthy and positive, but didn’t take away from their day either.  major props to all the ladies.  it was a pleasure…even if it hurt pretty badly.  i have to give it to our hosts also.  they embraced ironman race day like nothing i have ever seen.  they were so excited about the race and they were cheering for everyone the whole time.  this is so commonly lacking at ironman…but the crowds were there, lining the streets the whole bike, all 3 loops of the run.  there were some draw backs to cozumel, but the race support and the fan fair was my favorite of the year.  props to Amy Kloner, our race announcer, she did a great job, and i felt commonly went ABOVE and beyond on behalf of the race organization.

the 2009 race is over!!  and as Ken eloquently on the empty beach, under the almost full moon, we’re starting a new chapter… so in the camera bag, that i ragged on him about all week was the ring that he was waiting for the right moment to give me, so that final night in Cozumel, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  i said yes…or well more shook my head a little bit speechless and my eyes got a little watery.  we are engaged!

bring on 2010 bitches…    (i’ll be a better blogger in 2010…follow along…i am sort of a big deal  )

the weight loss challenge is over.  i didn’t win, but i have held my weight at 145.

Ken finished his first ironman!  so proud of him!

we leave for Mexico in a week and a half.  very exciting.  life is good.  just living the dream…

the emotional journey of under performance appears to me to fall in line with similar stages of that found in dealing with grief:  denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally landing on acceptance.  i feel i have moved through the stages fairly swiftly.  i actually got through to acceptance during the 5 hours of the race…

at first, i think i was in denial that i was actually racing.  telling myself…’it’s okay if those girls ride away…it’s okay’  what the hell?!?  it is not okay.  where is your competitive fire woman?!?  if a professional females comes around you on the bike, you fall back 10 meters, BUT you do not just let her ride away!  

anger, i can be angry with my tires for not popping during the race  and allowing me a perfectly acceptable DNF.  i can be angry with all the other women in the pro field for riding so strong.  i can be angry with myself for signing up for the racing knowing i would need a mental break post double ironman.  regardless, i think i have stumbled onto something there, if i am to be angry with anyone, i may as well look in the mirror.  my under performance is not only a direct result of my lack of training, but also due to my attitude during the race.  my attitude wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but i was in cruise control with a high heart rate.  

bargaining, oh this one is easy, i was bargaining all week.  

‘it will be better to race than to sit on the couch,’  metaphorically not physically, it may have been a chair come race day, but point being, it was time for me to get back out there!

depressions, up next, which feels like a revolving door emotion more than any of the others.  it doesn’t take much to get me down.  it’s not that i am depressed with my race result.  it would have been unfair on my part to expect any better.  it’s more that i hate people looking at the performance and comparing my apples to their oranges, and them thinking they have the better fruit.  because, dude, whatever, it doesn’t matter, it won’t ever matter.  i really like my apples and that’s all that matters to me today.  so i picked an apple 9 weeks too early because i had to to be in the contest in augusta on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean that come Thanksgiving weekend, my apple pie won’t freaking ROCK!  (Ironman Cozumel is the weekend of Thanksgiving.)  

and finally acceptance, acceptance that i needed the last month to recoup, to re-gather, and to learn a slightly different way to move forward so that i can continue to grow as an athlete.  acceptance that a 5 hour 70.3 race is the best i had in me on Sunday.  acceptance that good things came from this race and this day, and knowing that i will move forward stronger having finished that run even if it was against my own will.

alright i came across this today, but with that…”the end” of this grief consueling session.

http://www.pbase.com/tombriggs/image/116733707

(i guess we’ll take this as a compliment, sort of…)

the organization of the race went much more smoothly than i expected.  they held a great event.  our tri club, ptc tri, did an AWESOME job of support!  they rock the corner of 10th, and took care of me as i came staggering up, bonking a little more with every step…  so highly recommended, augusta 70.3 2010!  but i, also, recommend training for the event

tri ptc corner in Augusta…those are my people cheering…

i won money at an ironman yesterday  not enough to support myself or cover the cost of the trip, but that’s not the point.  it makes me feel like this is legit, all the ironman racing.  i was 8th pro female, and i had an 18 minute PR.  we had great conditions though.  i had hoped for hotter, but i’ll take the PR on a mild day also.

so swimming, yeah, i didn’t think i did that well.  i came out of the water with fernanda keller and another guy and i just hung on to their feet for dear life.  i lost my swim cap along the way.  the stupid thing wouldn’t stay put on my head and in the end, it came right off and i swam in the last 400 yards without it.  swim was just under an hour…i have room for improvement, but we’ll take it.

tough bike and i spent my day controlling my effort.  i kept reminding myself of the lessons i learned in Placid and i’d repeat over and over in my head…ride smarter, not harder.  i was 5th and in lala land for the first half or so of the bike….just rolling along, mostly by myself.  i got more aggressive when i got caught and tried to hold the girls in sight for as long as i could, but by then we were mixed in with age group athletes.  crowded loop!  i know the age group athlete didn’t mean to block, but oh my!  i took to having to ask individuals to move over because yelling on ‘your left’ wasn’t working…especially with the males.  i about wrecked.  a guy cut left onto a dirt road for no real reason without looking over his shoulder.  i sat up, slammed the brakes to keep from side swiping him, and cussed.  i am still angry with him even having no idea who he was, but you look…on a very crowded bike course, you look before you cut left.  there had been a dozen pros or so ahead of me that would have passed him already.  i saw my whole triathlon season flash before my eyes.  most of the bike course, i felt good, strong, in control.

i knew coming off the bike, i had set myself up well, and that i should PR so with that, i took off running.  loving the flat course vs the hills of placid that killed my already tired legs specifically quads.  no real stand out pace, but god i was consistent.  mostly all 8:30 plus or minus a bit in the beginning and in the end.  my over developed quads held on a little longer and i made it to mile 20 before i was in any real pain.  steady was the name of the day.  i saw the clock as i finished and tired to sprint in to be 10:19.50-something, but just missed it and finished in 10:20.00.  it was an 18 minute PR.

i am happy.  it shows improvement.  i have a long way to come yet, but i am moving forward.  major props to ken, who has been the ideal supportive boyfriend throughout this whole thing.  it has been exhausting for both of us (not just this trip, but all of it).  i am glad he is here with me.  to my buddy tom, who spent probably the same 10 hours getting the bike ready to go, and made the trip up here…he and ken were on the run course yelling for me the whole time.  good times