Statistically Speaking

Good Evening all you people who have lives and do interesting things beyond working out,

I thought that today I would tackle the ever-present question of "do you stand a chance?" And basically, I don't really know yet. Most pentathletes begin as strong runners and swimmers, of which, I am neither. A concern of my coaches and some of the officials in the pentathlon world is they think that I may be too old to "pick up" 4 other sports, especially seeing as 2 of them require superior conditioning and muscle development typically achieved over a period of time.

But there are plenty of things working in my favor. For one, I've proven that I am a capable rider, meaning there is one sport that I don't have to learn from scratch. Also, in the short time that I've been fencing, I've held my own and demonstrated my ability to learn quickly and perform. As of right now, swimming is my biggest obstacle, but even in that, I've progressed quicker than expected. Fortunately, I have a good build for swimming (and fencing for that matter) and I should eventually be able to swim reasonably well. With running, only time will tell. I'm not as slender as the typical cross country runner, but with the new format and shorter distances, I might be able to use my build for short-distance power versus long-distance endurance.

In general, I've tried to keep a very positive and willing attitude and make sure that, if nothing else, my coaches see me as a willing and hard worker. In order to qualify for residence at the Olympic Training Center, I have to swim 200m in 2:30 and run a 3K in under 12 minutes. Once I can meet those times, I must then be re-tested every 6 months where I have to show improvement and maintain the potential to represent the U.S. in the Olympics.

I have a long road ahead of me, but so far, I'm staying optimistic and I feel confident that I can achieve my goals. After all, I would be the one person just crazy enough that the "rules of convention" don't apply to me... We will see!

Ciao,

Current 200m swim time: 3:00

Current mile run time: 6:50

Current aches and pains: Left ankle

Drama, Pentathlon Style

Hello Everyone!

I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the cooler weather. Over the past few days, I have both experienced drama and learned of its ever-present nature in the pentathlon world. I am not involved in any of it, so feel free to laugh at the humor and folly of it all.

My dramatic experiences always seem to revolve around airplanes. I don't know, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my "airline pilot's daughter" status means that I am considered less important to the company than the random dog in the crate. Point being, I am only allowed to fly the friendly skies when there are available seats - and sometimes even when there are available seats I don't get to fly. It's very complicated. Someone once explained it to me and said that the stars have to line up, everyone on the airplane has to have complementary "auras," and unless there is a miss-connect, I'm not getting on the plane.

I've spent the past few weeks traveling and have come to despise the Denver Airport. Before you assume I am flippantly making that statement, you should know that I have come to know the Denver airport on a personal level. I know the name of several of the desk agents, I know John, who works at the customer service desk, I know the floors (cause I've slept on them) and I know the entire B terminal. The Denver Airport is crowded and the flights are always overbooked. The trick, usually, is simply to fly ANYWHERE, and then once you get out of the crowds, find another flight to get to your destination. In Denver, getting out isn't likely - no matter where you're trying to go. Oh what I'd give to have a real ticket, with a guaranteed seat, in my hands!

Now let's get to the real drama. The National Governing Body - USA Pentathlon has had a rough past. For several years there simply wasn't a governing body, athletes were left to fend for themselves, and the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) did not take the sport seriously. A committee and governing body has been formed, but in general, it is ineffective, unorganized, and poorly managed. No one gets along and it seems that everyone is tangled up in a power struggle. With such a small, unknown sport, one would think it would be extra important to be organized and focusing on the recruitment of athletes and sponsors - not USA Pentathlon!

The goal of USA Pentathlon is simply to medal in the Olympics - something that hasn't been done since the 60s. Instead to focusing on base-level concepts like youth programs, recruitment, and media attention, all of which would ultimately lead to producing more and better athletes, and a stronger base for the sport in general. Instead, USA Pentathlon chooses only to focus on the four athletes on the U.S. team and disregard all other programs. Anyone who promotes change within the organization is ostracized and the organization has little respect amongst its Olympic peers.

So basically, there's lots of little cat-fights and skirmishes popping up all over Colorado Springs, and I have the advantage of witnessing everything "go down" without actually getting my hands dirty. So if you're thinking about getting into administrative work, steer clear of USA Pentathlon.

Current Swim Time: 3:00

Current Run Time: 7:00

Current Aches and Pains: left ankle

"Caitlin's First Pentathlon: A Blow by Blow Recap"

Hi!

I am now writing you as an experienced pentathlete!  I have officially completed my first competition and after only a week of actual training, I am proud to say that I was not last place, in fact, I was far better than last place!  This is how the day progressed:

First, we met the bus at 6:30 (a.m., for those who were wondering,) and then we all rode over to the Palm Springs Sports Complex.  The swim was first.  The pool in Palm Springs is outdoors and while the weather may get pretty hot here in the day, at 6:30, it was still quite cold.  We are allowed a 20 minute warm-up and I was in the first heat, so I manned up and jumped in.  Typically, swimmers are grouped in heats according to their best competition time.  The slowest swimmers go first.  Since I didn't have a prior competition time, (plus I'm ridiculously slow anyway) I was in the first heat.  Unfortunately, there was some confusion with the heats and I was placed with very, very good swimmers.  I'm not sure if my time would have been that much faster, but the fact that the only people I was swimming with were much faster, and I couldn't race them, (let alone keep up with them) was pretty mentally defeating.  I ended up swimming slower than I normally do and with this level of competition, my times really hurt my standings.  

After a dreadful swim, we moved next door to a rec center where the fencing strips were set up (I was actually the one who set them up, just fyi...)  I was determined to boost my standings and get a solid fencing score.  In pentathlon fencing, competitions work in a "round-robin" sort of fashion.  Everyone gets to fence everyone else.  Each bout is only 1 minute long and whoever scores the first touch wins.  A percentage win of 40 or greater is considered to be pretty strong.  I started off winning my first two touches, but then went through a losing streak of about six bouts.  I had to toughen up and not let it get to my head, or the rest of the day would be miserable.  I found a change of luck and started consistently scoring.  I ended up almost breaking even (10 victories, 11 defeats.)  This gave me a huge boost in the points standings.  Just for laughs, I'll have you know that I scored on two former Olympians...

After fencing, we loaded up into the bus and headed out to the farm where the run/shoot and ride would take place.  It was hot and sunny and having no prior running experience, I was pretty worried about how I would perform.  The run/shoot is set up by having a shooting range with a 1K running course passing through it.  since there were more competitors than targets, they split the running into two heats.  I was in the first heat.  We each were given a specific start time based on our standings up to that point.  I was pretty low at that point, so I started towards the back.  Once my handicap time expired, I made my way to the shooting range.  I've only really practiced shooting three or four times before the competition, so I really didn't know what to expect.  I shot quite dreadfully, actually, and since I could not knock down the five targets, I had to wait until the shooting time of 70 seconds expired and I could go run.  

The running course was sandy and deep, so running in it was actually quite a challenge.  After each 1K loop, we'd stop and shoot again.  Actually, it would be more accurate to say, THEY would stop and shoot, I would merely TRY to shoot.  We ran a 3K total and had three separate shooting sessions.  Even though I didn't shoot well and wasted a lot of time at the range, I still managed to clock a decent time.  

Since not everyone was riding, I was seeded last out of the riders which means I had to ride first.  Riding involves a stadium jumper course and instead of riding one's own horse, each contestant participates in a draw.  I drew "Princess" whom was an absolute angel for me.  We jumped clear and met the exact optimum time of 72 seconds on course.  I finished first in the ride (!!!) and my perfect score bumped me up to sixth place out of all USA and 15th overall.  In all, I was not last place and actually beat a few people in the process!  My future as a pentathlete is looking good!

"Let's Throw Her in the Water and See if She Can Swim"

Hi from a sunny Palm Springs!

I'm writing from my hotel room in Palm Springs, CA - the site of the 2009 NORCECA Championships and Youth, Jr. and Sr. National Championships in modern pentathlon.  Now, before you raise your hand to ask any questions, let me cover the basics.  Yes, technically I have only been "doing" this whole pentathlon thing for a week, but my coaches feel that the best way for me to learn how things work is to throw me into the deep end and I'll either learn to swim...or drown.  (well, I think they'd throw out a rope before I sink too deep)

Point being, I'm at these championships purely to learn and experience things, not to actually try and be competitive.  Learning how pentathletes prepare for competition and how such events are organized and run has been very eye-opening.  First, there are no breaks in training.  On the flight from Denver to Palm Springs, my homework was to read the rule book.  Upon arriving at the hotel, (literally that very moment) I was told to go run.  Whenever my coaches, Elaine or Januzs, say "go run" it means "don't come back for an hour and no jogging allowed."  I took the opportunity to get oriented and check out the sites.  Palm Springs is hot and running at 2:00 pm was more of a challenge than I expected.

I met up with my coaches afterward and we went over some more rules.  Come evening, some other athletes were fencing in the... HOTEL LOBBY.  So I did the completely natural thing and suited up and fenced.  People were walking around looking at us funny, but the open spaces actually made for quite a nice fencing location.

Tomorrow I'll sit through some referee training to help familiarize myself with the rules.  Then its back to running, swimming, fencing, and shooting.  There's no rest for the weary in pentathlon!  My competition is officially on Saturday - I'll be sure to give you a play-by-play when the dust settles...

Good night!

Current 200m swim time: 3:07

Current mile run time: 7:00

Current aches and pains: feet