70.3 Race #8 will be Worlds.

My goal has been to qualify for 70.3 Ironman World Championships since I found out they would be held in Australia for 2016. My goal fell short for 2016, but because of all of the hard work I had put in trying to qualify during that season...

Panama 70.3, February- 6th place (AG)

Syracuse 70.3, June- 11th place (AG)

Steelhead 70.3, August- 6th place (AG)

...I placed 37th in the World and 11th in the US for 70.3 Age Group Rankings.

At Steelhead I was hoping to earn a world spot for 2017 because I thought it would be cool to come back from pregnancy with my 8th 70.3 race being worlds. I knew I wouldn't be super competitive, but 8 is my number, so I thought it would be fitting. I once again fell short and felt like everything I had done was for nothing in a way. I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the "Gold Status" I had earned and I knew I wouldn't be able to race and qualify for 70.3 Worlds so quickly after baby (there wouldn't have been enough time to recover and prepare to place so high). I was most upset that my last year as a 25-29 age grouper would be kind of a waste too. The next age group, 30-34, is very competitive and intimidates me a little. I will have to work a lot harder to continue placing where I want.

Monday, February 20, I received an email that I did not open until Wednesday, February 22. It read "You're Invited to the 2017 70.3 World Championship". I was in shock and confusion. There was an article that came out in June of 2016 (click here) that explained they had added 200 slots for top ranking females in 2016 for this year's event. Women For Tri are advocating for more women to participate in the sport. This year Worlds will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The women's race will be held Saturday, September 9 and the men's race will be Sunday, September 10. Separating the genders on different days could also be helpful in adding more qualifiers.

Normally in order to qualify, you have to race a 70.3 and earn 1st or 2nd in your age group (depending on how many slots are available for your age group at each individual race). If 1st or 2nd place have already earned their spot, or chose not to go to Worlds, then the spot gets rolled down to the next place female (and so on and so forth).

So within this email it told me that due to my high rankings, I earned one of the 200 spots and I had until the 24th to register for the race. If I did not register for the race, they would roll my spot down to the next placing athlete.

Of course I want to one day win my age group and truly earn my spot to worlds, but I was so excited to think it is actually happening. Everything I had done was not for nothing. I will be able to end my 25-29 age group with a bang (even if I place so horribly because I won't realistically be in tip top shape), I will be able to use my all world athlete status in some way (although, I'm sure 99% of those athletes are also all world athletes), and I have something to keep me driven.

So I had to make a choice. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity, or pass it up because I won't be able to race as competitively as I would like. I emailed Matt first and then my coach. They both were thrilled for me and would support me either way. My coach and I decided that I could be ready for the September 9th date after having a baby about 4 months prior, but my goals had to be realistic. First, I am going up against other highly elite athletes to begin with. When I have raced Olympic Nationals, I have been in the top half, but not even in the top quarter of my age group. I will not be in race ready shape to PR by any means, but I should be able to perform and make it through the race. My purpose for this race is to enjoy the experience of this elite event and learn from it. My goal is to finish a proud new mother and realize that just because I have added this new aspect to my life, I am still me.

So... I DID IT! I am registered for 70.3 Worlds in Tennessee on September 9th. As I was registering I had mixed emotions of excitement and satisfaction along with fear, doubt, and nerves. This is not going to be easy at all. I am going to be sleep deprived, my body won't feel right for who knows how long, and I am going to be learning how to adapt to this new lifestyle with a new person who will completely depend on me.

These next months of my life are going to be one crazy ride. But as Peter Pan says in Hook, "To live... to live would be an awfully big adventure".