So, don't keep us in the dark, what's her ST handle???

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Yes! Huge fan!

True story: Erika was the catalyst that turned my running hobby into a triathlon lifestyle.

I’m always thrilled to see a Montanan do well on the world stage.

Some big shoes to live up to coming out of the University of Montana club program. But it wouldn’t surprise me if her career accolades in the tri world eventually surpass Ben Hoffman and Linsey Corbin

---

Matt

She has been writing some articles the past months, here is her latest on a training bloc:

https://www.slowtwitch.com/...aining_Log_8316.html

Thanks Monty!!!

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Erika has a monthly column that goes up. Usually I try to get them up closer to when submission but there are times where they make more sense closer to something (like in this case, where we could tie it to the actual race in Yokohama).

Occasionally I have a decent idea. This is one of those times, I think.

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I'll have to start checking the front page more often. :)

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Or open the newsletter I code for your enjoyment each week. :P

Erika's rad. I'm super stoked to have her on board and fingers crossed we can keep her around for a while in the build towards 2024.

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I do open it most of the time but somehow I have missed the articles on this aspiring pro's training.

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Well, let's fix that. Here's all of her articles to date.

https://www.slowtwitch.com/..._ITU_Squad_8189.html
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...hlon_Rules_8217.html
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...es_of_2021_8257.html
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...gal_Riding_8285.html
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...aining_Log_8316.html

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Great, thanks!!! I'll read those later tonight but right now gotta mow the grass, then do my own workouts. :)

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Here's my handle! First time ever replying to a ST thread :)

thank you all for the support!

Erika - I feel honored that you replied to me in your first post. It is very cool that you are racing the ITU circuit, where swimming really counts in the race. Being a swimmer by background, I love that!!! :)

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I had missed a few of these articles, so thanks for posting. I really enjoyed them, especially the recent one describing a week of training. Thanks to this thread I now follow her on Strava, but a report like this that describes multiple workouts and offers extra description is really interesting.

Next stop Leeds, 4th installment of WTCS, on June 11 and 12.

That was the goal of these -- give a different look at pro life, and create some new Erika fans.

Legitimately she is also the writer I have the least amount of editing I have to do for. Win for everyone!

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

FYI

the taxonomy as I understand it

World Triathlon Championship Series crowns the draft legal world champ. KB and Duffy won last year. Previous winners include usual suspects Mola, Gomez, Luis for the men. Likewise Qwen, GTB and Zaferes for the women.

World Cups are second tier events.

Great to see you're still growing as a triathlete! I participated in a few races in the past where you also raced (The grizzly triathlon in Missoula, and the Bobcat in Bozeman). Quite a few years back, but already impressive at the time!

Welcome! Maybe Ryan and Dan can get you to do an ask me anything after your next killer race.

Loved your last article about a week of training.

The names changed and got confusing with the switch from ITU to World Tri, but I believe the current hierarchy is as follows:

World Triathlon Championship Final (formerly Grand Final)/ World Triathlon Sprint & Mixed Tri Relay Champs (new as a separate event)
World Triathlon Championship Series (the overall world champ is crowned by series scoring, but with extra points on offer at the championship finals)
World Triathlon Cups
World Triathlon Continental Championships
World Triathlon Continental Cups
Regional Development events

You need to earn points at the lower events to get starts at the higher events, and need points from WTCS/WC/Conti Champs for the olympic qualification. So this time of the Olympic cycle, with qualification about to start for Paris, many are trying to rise through the pathway to make sure they earn points in the 1st of two qualifying windows (several countries, Australia and US/UK men, I'm looking at you, will be acutely aware of this, with the fate of the last extra berth largely being decided because of points being left on the table in window 1, and not being able to overcome points from other countries across the two combined). It's important to note that individuals don't earn olympic berths, countries do based on individual and MTR rankings. Individuals simply need to be ranked within a certain range (if memory serves it was top 180 in the olympic ranking for Tokyo) to be eligible for selection, each country lays out their basis of selection for assigning their quota spots (ranking, qualification events, MTR potential, discretion, etc.).

I know that Erika was having quite the bike difficulties at the end of last year, but still was managing to pull off results to bolster her rankings, so hopefully with that behind her she can further muddy the waters on the US Olympic selections giving USAT yet another legitimate threat... Two years out from any Olympics is always an exciting time on the World Tri circuit, to see the up & comers start to seriously disrupt the previous hierarchy and start to shape the landscape for the following couple of years of racing...

Very cool to have done a thesis on triathlete’s ability to follow race plans, Erika - way to follow your passion with your studies! Have you taken that work further? If you were part of your study today, as a now more experienced athlete, how would you fit your study’s outcomes?

Ditto, thanks for posting them all in the one place. Had read the first one but somehow missed the others. And thanks Erica for the insights into your World Triathlon life and training.

On the start list for WTCS Leeds today Saturday June 11.

Sprint distance.

Start time 1545 British something zone.

If you live in Duluth MN that means 0945.

Video available at TriathlonLIVE.tv

I can't tell you how to get that coverage because I have a pixie who figures it out for me.

Bib number 5. Because she is the 5th best triathlete in the world.

Men streaming now

Race hasn't started yet, they are tinkering with equipment in the transition area

Women next

Apparently I cannot convert from British somewhere time to local time

My best estimate now would be 1245 CST start for EA fans

The people in this thread are more on point regarding the race overall than me.


I will update with EA results later this afternoon.


Or someone else can do it.

I’m psyched to learn about Erika! She’s from Helena and UM. Of course she’s a good writer! That’s where they come from. And a fantastic athlete! I’m so glad she’s contributing to ST.

Update with results, please. My pixies are still sleeping— the bums!

Latest front page article: https://www.slowtwitch.com/..._Swim_Tips_8361.html

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I don't understand. The front page is just the list of the 5 sub forums. Am I missing something?

Yes.

Hint: the front page doesn't have "forum" for a subdomain.

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Thank you for the link! The chaos of the swim! Those freaky moments are some of my favorite memories now as I look back at racing. Black eyes, getting tumbled by waves, becoming massively disoriented! I don’t race anymore and it’s kind of easy to forget the churning turmoil of the swim. Wow!

Did Erika crash at the last race? The article on the ST front page has a typo/ error and is missing a name from the sentence that indicates a crash. I see she was DNF so I assume it was her.

“Unfortunately tried to ride through a puncture on the bell lap, but veered into the curb and crashed.”

Her strava post says something like

“Running off flat tires woes in the forest, at least not too sore to jog”

Yesterday, she placed 14th in the Hamburg WTCS event. She was 50 seconds back from Duffy.

I haven't watched the race. All my info is from the World Triathlon site.

EA swam 9:51 which appears reasonable; a lot of athletes in a tight window from 9:40 to 10:10 or so. EA was 10 seconds back from Duffy and Spivey.

EA posted the same bike time as everyone else; the entire top 25 went 31:30 or so. Maybe the field coalesced into a single large pack?

EA ran her 5k in 17:12. Which is awesome but not awesome enough to make a dent in the field. Duffy ran 16:17

She is ranked 16th in the WTCS as of today.

She raced really well, making it into the lead pack on the bike when FD was stretching the field to create a gap (or just because FD likes to ride fast, I'm not sure that she needs a reason to push the pace)
The bike effort may have cost EA on the run (technical course so a lot of accelerating) but it looked like a good step forward in her racing.

Thanks, I think you are right.

In the opening miles of the bike, EA had to match the dig by FD to bring the front pack of 15 together. (She and I have a good friend in common and we talk. I have avoided communicating directly with her to respect her head-space. Maybe I should get over that.)

I have no doubt this affected her run. Per Strava, EA went over 400 watts multiple times in the opening miles; even over 500 watts. A necessary expenditure early in the race to make the decisive split and ensure top 15 placing. I suspect FD was trying to wound Beth Potter?

EA got the Strava QOM for the loop on the 2nd to last lap. Hmm, I wonder what was happening then?

I still haven't managed to watch the race but maybe that can happen in another life.

Strava has her in Girona now.

Next event is Pontevedra, an Olympic distance event on July 24.

new article on front page

she discusses "the move" at Hamburg, training in Girona, illness and recovery, upcoming Karlovy Vary

did Karlovy last month

finished 18th

moved up 2 spots to 41st overall in world ranking

and now 16th in WTC series, 4th in US

currently also 4th US in Olympic qualification ranking

She is back. Please see the front page.

Final paragraph is important. Wellness is the foundation of fitness.


Recent WTCS and World Cup results include

9/11/22: Karlovy Vary, 18th

10/8/22: Cagliari, 20th

11/6/22: Bermuda, 14th


Current rankings

World rank 35th

WTCS 22nd

Olympic rank 38th


WTCS final championship is Friday Nov 25 in Abu Dhabi

She is on the start list


Go Erika!