Training, Sponsors and Going Pro!

In the last few months I have been hard at work getting a good base and preparing for two spring races (Ironman 70.3 New Orleans in April and Ironman Texas in May).  Balancing a career as a veterinary ophthalmologist and an athlete is always a challenge and my time away from my real job (a vet) is mostly spent training.  I feel so lucky that this training time is also my social outlet, I have such awesome training partners and friends making the hard days so much less of a chore!

I have a great group of people who are into doing long rides (such a pleasure to have people who want to do this and not look at me like I have rabies when I say I want to do 100 miles twice a week!!).  My very good friend Stephanie Essman did an epic ride with me out to Glasgow from Columbia recently (110 miles with 5x30min intervals at 70.3 pace).  The pie in Glasgow at the Bakery made it all worth it!!  I am so sad that Stephanie is moving to San Diego this week, I will miss her as a riding partner very much but look forward to visiting her and getting a cycling tour of San Diego when I go out to lecture at the American Veterinary Medical Association Conference in August!!

Kate Chettle, my superstar running training partner has also had some great success racing this spring.  I am so lucky to have her to run with and push me in workouts and keep me honest with a really solid interval set every week on the track or trail!  She is a true talent and I am really excited to see her success so early in the season, she recently ran 17:37 on the track beating a whole load of college girls!!

Sponsors!!

I am so, so lucky that several companies believe in my goals and are willing to help me this year, for a first-year pro sponsorship opportunities are truly a gift and I am so grateful for the ones who have trusted me with their brands in 2012!! Endurance Company coaching provides me with superb guidance in my training and provides me with realistic plans that coincide with the time I can realistically commit to training since I do have a full-time job!  Valdora cycles has helped me obtain best tri-bikes (yes I own two, and they are awesome!!) on the market!!  I have ridden other top-level brands and my Valdora PHX2 is by far the stiffest, best climbing, super primo amazing bike I have ever been on!  The guys at Tryathletics are simply awesome and constantly help me make good decisions on gear, keep my bikes in order mechanically and drink lots of beer with my husband Steve!  I hate to think how fast Steve woud be without all that beer, I would never keep up.  I am excited to have some super top-notch carbon hydration bling from XLab USA, a company that sponsors some goddess-level triathletes who are the leaders of our sport!  My cat Gidget is shown below, clearly as excited as I was about the new XLab pressies!  I will be racing in TYR Freak of Nature wetsuit this year and using TYR gear for my swimming.  People, this wetsuit is AMAZING!!!  No more sore shoulders when you swim long distances.  The best was when I was out swimming at a local lake and upon exiting the water over heard a kid asking his mum if I was a superhero, due to the graphics on the suit which are quite superhero-esque, it made my day!!  I'm fueled by Electodelytes (these are the equivalent of turkish delight with electolytes in them), so yummy and delicious, even when I don't feel like eating during a race I want to eat them!  I am using Gu energy gel for training and racing (they are now the official gel of Ironman events).  I am glad to have continuity with products I successfully train with being available in races I am doing.  For those who know me well, I do have a fashion diva streak in me, my new race kit from ABPro Sports is simply awesome!!  The fabrics are technically elite and the completely custom graphics and design satisfy the diva in me too!

Making the decision to go pro in 2012 was a difficult one, I will trade success as an elite amateur for hardship as a pro in terms of placings at races.  I know with my primary career as a veterinarian, I will never be able to give the time it will take to be an elite professional in the sport of triathlon but I do think it will be an incredible experience to race as a professional and see what I am capable of with truly tough competition.  It has already increased my motivation to train at a higher level and I look forward to some really cool travel opportunities and adventures it will also open up in the next year.  As a mere mortal in a field of immortals at races it is daunting but what a great experience it will be to race alongside world champions and heroes of triathlon right?!