Article I wrote for 3/GO magazine.
Going Pro
What
prompts amateur triathletes to transition to the professional ranks?
How does this change their approach to training and racing? Jordan
Blanco caught up with a handful of women that have taken the leap and
applied for a “USAT professional license” for the 2012 season. She also
caught up with two relatively new pros, Meredith Kessler and Caroline
Gregory, to hear their advice for new professionals.
In
the 2011 season, Sarah Piampiano, Kim Schwabenbauer, Beth Shutt,
Jessica Smith and Beth Walsh not only dominated the W30-34 category in
Ironman and 70.3 racing, taking age-group wins whenever they toed the
line, but they also dominated the overall amateur races. They collected 5
Ironman and 8 Ironman 70.3 amateur titles in total. The season
culminated with Jessica Smith winning the overall amateur women’s title
at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas and Sarah Piampiano
scoring a 4th place in W30-34 and finishing as the top American amateur
female at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
There
were probably a few North American age-groupers in the W30-34 category
that breathed a sigh of relief when after the Ironman World
Championships race in Hawaii these top female competitors announced via
Twitter and posted on their blogs that in 2012 they would be “Going
Pro”.
When asked why they had made the decision to
relinquish their amateur status, it is clear that all five athletes are
excited by the new risks and challenges that professional racing
presents. As Schwabenbauer, explains: “After winning two amateur titles
at the Ironman distance, I had a feeling with some more training I may
be able to improve my times, and although it might be a tough process to
get on the pro podium, I’m willing to put in the time and take the
risk.” Smith also saw “going pro” as the next step in a series of
challenges she had set for herself: “I’m always setting new goals and
looking for a new challenge. When I started in triathlon my goal was to
finish an Ironman. Then it was to qualify for Kona. After that I
realized maybe I could race as a pro. Now I want to win as a pro.”
Among
our group of new pros, Piampiano is perhaps taking the greatest risk,
leaving an investment banking job in New York to relocate to Santa
Monica, California, to train and race full-time. “Such a small
percentage of people in the world are afforded the opportunity and have
the ability to be a professional athlete. It is a real honor and
privilege. The chance to chase a childhood dream has been put in front
of me, and for me to walk away from that I feel would be a mistake.”
The
path to becoming a professional triathlete varies greatly among the
group. Shutt found solace in swimming and biking while nursing running
injuries before finally stringing the three sports together in a
triathlon. Coincidentally, Schwabenbauer also came to triathlon from
running, at the suggestion of fellow new pro, Shutt. Schwabenbauer
recounts: “Beth Shutt, a good friend and fellow Penn State Cross-Country
teammate, had shared with me that she had begun doing triathlons the
previous year and really enjoyed the three sport disciplines vs. just
being a runner. On a work trip to the Big Island, I saw the sign for the
Ironman World Championship starting line and I said to my husband, “I’m
going to do that race one day!””
At the other end of
the spectrum, both Walsh and Piampiano had a bumpier ride to their
current professional athlete status. While Walsh may have been athletic
in high school, as she puts it: “College was a different story. I was on
a strict training regimen of beer, Wendy’s, and half a pack of
cigarettes a day. I used to heckle the girls in my dorm for working out
and didn’t comprehend why anyone would do that. I slept past noon at
least 3 days per week. I may or may not have gained the “Freshman 15”. I
never in a million years imagined I would become a pro triathlete at
age 31.” Things have clearly changed since her college days as Walsh ran
the fastest female amateur marathon of 3 hours and 10 minutes at the
Ironman World Championships in 2010.
Piampiano was a
two-sport athlete in college, skiing Division 1 and ranking nationally
as a cross-country runner. However, as she graduated and transitioned to
the working world, her participation in sport fell by the wayside,
succumbing to the long hours, unhealthy lifestyle and pressure of her
Wall Street career: “My start to triathlon was a bit of a fluke, to say
the least. In late 2009 my friend and I bet whether I could beat him in
an Olympic distance race. He had been training for months and at the
time I was smoking a pack+ of cigarettes a day and drinking like a fish.
On race day I showed up on a bike my brother had bought in France 20
years ago for $200 and raced my heart out. I beat my friend, but more
importantly I loved every second of the experience. I quit smoking on
the spot and the rest is history!”
Racing as a
professional affords these new pros much greater flexibility in planning
their racing seasons, no longer having to sign up a year in advance and
saving money on Ironman and 70.3 race entries since The World Triathlon
Corporation (organizing body for M-dot branded Ironman and Ironman 70.3
races) charges a flat rate of $750 to each professional triathlete,
regardless the number of races entered. These athletes are also happy
that they will no longer be contending with the mass swim start of the
amateur race. As Walsh colorfully puts it: “I won’t miss the trepidation
that comes before an Ironman mass swim start where you know you are
about to get clocked by 2000 of your closest friends.” Even the
strongest swimmer of the group, Smith, is happy to no longer battle with
thousands of others in the swim: “Goodbye 2,000 people kicking and
hitting each other while desperately searching for clear water. Swimming
might be one of my strengths, but it is still my least favorite part of
the race.”
The new pros have been doing their homework
to understand the different racing dynamics they’ll face this coming
season. Shutt notes: “I talked with a few current pros to ask what they
thought were the main differences of competing as a pro and most all
said that the racing is tougher in the sense that you spend much more
time on your own. I think it will also be a challenge to learn how to
really push yourself even if you aren’t winning or competing for a Kona
slot.” Walsh admits to a little fear: “I’m scared of swimming and biking
alone in no man’s land for an entire Ironman. I tend to fall into a
daze on the bike if I’m not around others who are pushing and motivating
me. I may be doing lots of talking to myself and finding that “inner”
strength.”
Their concern is not misplaced. Caroline
Gregory just completed her first season as a pro triathlete and agreed
with this view: “The pro race is so different from the age group race.
As a pro you are often completely alone out on the race course. You have
to believe in your training, and find the motivation from within.”
November’s
Ironman Arizona was Smith’s pro debut. The day before the race, she
caught up with Meredith Kessler, a triathlete entering her 3rd season in
the professional field. Kessler shared some specific swim tips and
friendly strategies: “The first 500 yards will be really fast. I’ll look
to get in a pack with Leanda [Cave] and we’ll swim 5-7mins really hard
to separate ourselves before dialing it back. Get on our feet at the
start.” Smith acknowledges the change in pace and rhythm that the pro
race implies: “I think racing as a pro will be challenging because the
race will always begin when the gun goes off. At any point I will have
to be ready to swim, ride, or run outside of my comfort zone to stay in
[the race]... there is a lot more strategy involved at this level and I
still have a lot to learn!”
Will our new pros miss
anything about amateur racing over professional racing? We asked our
pros for their thoughts. Kessler confessed that she missed some of the
simplicity of racing as an amateur, but neither she nor Gregory
hesitates to state that they love racing as professionals. In fact, they
both acknowledge that it has helped to lift their game.
Kessler:
“The bar is being raised in the sport on both the professional and
amateur levels. Breaking 10 hours in the amateur ranks… is becoming the
norm for many, which is just incredible! Especially, because amateurs
typically do triathlon as a hobby on top of their already busy
lifestyles. On the professional level, breaking 9 hours is now the new
“black!” The sport of triathlon is making huge waves. Chrissie
Wellington, among others, has raised the level of women's triathlon. The
rest of us are working hard to be able to compete truthfully with
athletes of her caliber.”
Gregory: “[Racing as a
professional] is the opportunity to race amongst the best athletes in
our sport, the opportunity to represent sponsors and brands to the rest
of the endurance sport community, the opportunity to reach within and
see what you’re really made of, and the opportunity to be a positive
role model.”
Want to hear more about these women as
they train and race in 2012? Check out their websites and follow them on
twitter… and most of all, look out for them at the races! Website Twitter handle
Caroline Gregory www.carolinegregory.blogspot.com @ckgregory
Meredith Kessler www.meredithkessler.com @mbkessler
Sarah Piampiano www.sarahpiampiano.com @SarahPiampiano
Kim Schwabenbauer www.fuelyourpassiononline.blogspot.com @fuelyourpassion
Beth Shutt www.thetrialofmilesmilesoftrials.blogspot.com @bethshutt
Jessica Smith www.jesssmithtriathlete.blogspot.com @ jesssmithtri
Beth Walsh www.bethwalshracing.com @IMBethWalsh
Meredith Kessler’s five words of wisdom to keep our new pros centered as they challenge themselves in 2012:
BELIEVE… that you have what it takes to compete with the very best.
LIMITLESS… answers are limitless, find the answers you need in order to prevail.
GUMPTION… you might fall but it’s how you get up that counts and that takes gumption.
SIMPLICITY… keep it simple while figuring out what works best for you.
RESILIENCE… the body is resilient so your head needs to be too!
