Blog
End of season: All change!
2nd Dec 2015
After 18 months living the dream as a full-time athlete, its back to the real world at least for the time being!
It's been a while since my last blog, I've enjoyed a month off racing and training, but been busier than ever, adjusting back to working in a full-time office job!
People often ask me - how do you make a living as a professional athlete? As this list of triathlon's top earners shows, most of us can't (and no, I'm not on it ;))! http://trstriathlon.com/pro-triathlon-money-list/ Only 40 triathletes *in the world* are earning middle class wages or higher and these are mainly household names, Olympians and Ironman Champions, which I am not! Of course it's possible to earn or save much more from sponsorship deals, but it's not a career anyone chooses for the money alone.
I was never under the illusion that I would make money from professional racing; if I could win enough on average to pay for race trips I would consider this a success. And that's pretty much how 2015 turned out - some races I won nothing but had flights or accommodation to pay for. Others like Xterra Spain I was able to do on a minimal budget of £200 but won my biggest pay cheque of £650. At the end of the day this is never going to pay the mortgage, especially when some races never pay out at all or are very slow... I am still owed around $2,400 from this season! It's difficult when you are relying on winnings to pay for the next flight or bike component. I also didn't realise until I won a few prizes, that you actually lose about 25% of the advertised amount in taxes and foreign currency transfer fees before it even reaches your bank account! So basically, you cannot rely on race winnings at all when budgeting. Luckily I was able to pick up some freelance web development work last year, but none of this offers peace of mind like a regular job!
So with my current account decidedly heading towards the red, I needed to look for a proper job again. I was very fortunate that I applied to my old company, Abritas, and was offered my old job back! Although the hours are full time, I am able to work 4 days a week and have one day off to get some decent training volume in. It's far more challenging juggling work, training and home commitments, but there are plus points too. Besides more financial security, it is great having colleagues again, and it has forced me to be more disciplined and get back into a good routine, instead of procrastinating all morning before heading out on the bike!
The other big change this winter has been moving to a new coach - Mark Pearce at Intelligent Triathlon Training. A long overdue decision (thanks Sue for the recommendation!) but that is the benefit of hindsight. I have just got back from a mini training camp in Loughborough, which was a great opportunity to look at swim, bike and run in person. I was happy (maybe a little surprised?) to learn my skills on the MTB were 'better than expected'! But needless to say we have also come away with loads of ideas how to improve in all disciplines.
Not everything has changed though, and I am pleased to keep developing the relationships that I have built with sponsors over the last few years.
Firstly I am honoured to be stepping up as an Ambassador for the Drummond Clinic in Maidenhead. Alex has been looking after me for the past couple of seasons - I wish I had met him sooner! But ever since 2014 he has been looking to improve my biomechanics, prevent injuries before they occur, and get those extra few % out of performance. As an Ambassador, the level of support I receive from the clinic is invaluable, and I can highly recommend their physio services whatever level of athlete you are. I am always referring friends and family there!
I am also delighted to continue riding for Mountain Trax who are currently building me some shiny new carbon MTB wheels :-D
Zone3 are also supporting me for the 5th year with wetsuits, tri-suits and all sorts of triathlon accessories I am very much looking forward to their new casual range, as I literally live in joggers and hoodies when I'm not at work!
Finally, I'm really happy to renew my elite athlete membership with David Lloyd in Reading - this has been so beneficial, not only having free access to gym and pool, but all those sauna sessions over the summer trying to prepare for hot races!
Unfortunately some things have had to give, and it is with sadness that I will not be continuing with Aloha Racing Team in 2016. I have had some awesome adventures with an amazing bunch of girls, and made some friends for life. So, many thanks to Renata for inviting me to Aloha in the first place, and I wish the team every success in 2016 - see you at the races!
Other than that, I'm getting into my new training program as normal! I have thrown in a few local races, although (slightly reluctantly!) I agreed with coach Mark that racing most weekends over the winter is too much!
Therefore I have limited myself to one Gorrick XC so far - unfortunately my gear shifter snapped in the warmup lap, meaning I had to do the entire race riding singlespeed! I was kind of happy I managed to stay within 2 minutes of the winner over the 4-lap race, but also kind of frustrated as I've never won a Gorrick before, this showed me I was in the shape to finally do it!
I also raced the fun and friendly Sika duathlon last weekend - run by TriPurbeck. Here I fared rather better, and achieved one of my long-time ambitions of finishing on a mens' podium! OK so technically I did not get awarded the 2nd place mens' prize, but I was very happy to finish 2nd overall in the race. I'd better upgrade my new ambition to win a local race outright?!
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