Wattie Ink. isn’t just another kickass Amateur
Age Group team and apparel company: we
were originally founded as “a sports marketing agency representing some of the world’s best
triathletes.” Take a look at the pro field of any race and you’re bound to see
a few ‘W’s among the contenders. Wattie Ink. pros Heather Jackson, Rachel
McBride, and Chris Bagg are recognizable figures, but there was a fourth Wattie
in the pro field at Oceanside 70.3: Katy Cargiulo, a new member on the team,
made her professional debut that day. We caught up with her and asked her to
reflect on her day.
Katy! Tell us about your first race as a pro!
Wow! Well I have to say in all of my years competing in sports it was one of the most exhilarating and intimidating races I have ever competed in. I was extremely nervous especially about the swim going into it, because I knew it would be a slightly different strategy as it sets up the whole race. If you get popped on the swim there is no catching up. These women are phenomenal at all three disciplines they have no weakness so I wanted to be certain that I had some feet off the bat, which I did! I came out of the water with about a pack of six ladies and that put me in a calm mood for the rest of the race. Some of the ladies slipped away through transition which left me alone for basically the whole bike, I knew this would be the case and had prepared for that so it wasn't a big surprise or discouraging, I just went with it. However, my bike that day was not what I'd hoped, I had a hard time getting dialed and settling into a groove until about mile 25 or so. When I came of the bike I was in 25th but still having fun with the whole experience. I felt good and was happy just to be competing in my first pro race. Honestly, I am a "so you're saying there's a chance” kind of athlete, so I just headed out and was going to try my best to pass some girls on the run. I passed two and ended up in 23rd for the day. Believe it or not I was happy because I focused on the small goals I had set for myself, knowing I was getting my feet wet and figuring things out. It was my first time doing Oceanside 70.3 and it was such a cool and beautiful venue.
Oceanside is a notoriously competitive field. How did you choose it as your first, as opposed to, say, cutting your teeth at an alternative event or in a smaller field?
Right? Talk about a gangster line up! I knew that, of course going into it, but my coach Aaron Jordin (Braveheart Coaching SLC), and I talked about it at the beginning of the season and decided because it is an early season race and it is fairly close to where I live that I would do it. We decided to not really taper me and rather train me through using it as an event to get my feet wet, learn the ropes and push myself. I actually ended up dealing with some off-season injury that carried over from last season so it was just the test I needed to see where my body was at. As far as just throwing myself to the wolves, I think at some point I would have ended up at some race where the competition is huge anyway. I believe if you are not ready to compete against any and every pro out there then you might as well pack it up. I am glad I made that decision because it gave me confidence and more knowledge of how to race. I have never been scared to jump right in when it comes to this sport. My first triathlon ever was the Boise Half Ironman in 2011 and I didn't even own or know how to ride a bike when I signed up. I learned how three months before the race.
And next is St. George, the Ironman 70.3 North American Pro Championship.
Yes! Of course being the Pro Championship It might actually be even more of a Gangster Party! I just had to do this race because I have done it twice before as an amateur, it is practically in my backyard and it's my favorite Half Ironman course; so beautiful!
You must have developed some fearlessness in sport somewhere along the way --maybe the influence of your dad's career in coaching football? What's your background?
I have been told I'm tough, especially mentally, which in turn makes you physically tough, and I have always been that way. As a kid my dad’s advice when it came to sports was, “be humble and do everything your coach says.” So as I was involved in every sport I could my hands on, I fell in love with swimming when I was about seven and started competing at the age of eight. I was the girl who never skipped a lap, never talked back to coach and loved being exhausted after a workout. I wasn't really good at anything but sports and so that is where I gained confidence and learned many life lessons. I am still that little girl and attack workouts the same way I did when I was seven. However this doesn't mean I am not fearful of certain things especially when it comes to cycling. I am just not afraid to get my butt kicked!
What are your strengths and weaknesses as a triathlete? Have you reassessed your skills now that you're a professional?
If we are talking which of the three disciplines is my strength, I would say the run. It is my favorite of the three and is what I feel most natural doing even though I spent a majority of my life swimming. As I mentioned above, I'm not afraid to get my butt kicked or lay it all out there. I like the challenge of coming from behind. I am also not afraid to work on my weaknesses, which leads me to my main weakness: the bike. When I started this sport, I literally could not even make a turn on my bike or grab water. It took many humbling rides and uncomfortable situations to get to where I am now and it is still a work in progress. I wouldn't say I have reassessed my skills now that I'm a professional. I still have the same things to work as I did when I was an amateur. However recently I would say that the details become very important as a pro. There are always things to work on. That will never change.
I think a lot of people are curious about the decision making process to take one's Elite license. Can you tell us about what factors you weighed (or didn't), any advice you sought out, etc.?
I know some people may be a bit skeptical about the decision to go pro because, they think why go from being on the podium to being bottom of the barrel. But the way I see it is if every athlete had that thought then the pro field wouldn't exist. Although there are some pros that come in and dominate off the bat, there are plenty that did not place top five right off the bat. They had to work their way up. I want to work my way up, just like I did as an amateur. I wasn't placing top as an amateur at my first races. If I have the opportunity to race against the best then I want to take it while I have the chance. You only have a certain window where it's physically possible.
Wow! Well I have to say in all of my years competing in sports it was one of the most exhilarating and intimidating races I have ever competed in. I was extremely nervous especially about the swim going into it, because I knew it would be a slightly different strategy as it sets up the whole race. If you get popped on the swim there is no catching up. These women are phenomenal at all three disciplines they have no weakness so I wanted to be certain that I had some feet off the bat, which I did! I came out of the water with about a pack of six ladies and that put me in a calm mood for the rest of the race. Some of the ladies slipped away through transition which left me alone for basically the whole bike, I knew this would be the case and had prepared for that so it wasn't a big surprise or discouraging, I just went with it. However, my bike that day was not what I'd hoped, I had a hard time getting dialed and settling into a groove until about mile 25 or so. When I came of the bike I was in 25th but still having fun with the whole experience. I felt good and was happy just to be competing in my first pro race. Honestly, I am a "so you're saying there's a chance” kind of athlete, so I just headed out and was going to try my best to pass some girls on the run. I passed two and ended up in 23rd for the day. Believe it or not I was happy because I focused on the small goals I had set for myself, knowing I was getting my feet wet and figuring things out. It was my first time doing Oceanside 70.3 and it was such a cool and beautiful venue.
Oceanside is a notoriously competitive field. How did you choose it as your first, as opposed to, say, cutting your teeth at an alternative event or in a smaller field?
Right? Talk about a gangster line up! I knew that, of course going into it, but my coach Aaron Jordin (Braveheart Coaching SLC), and I talked about it at the beginning of the season and decided because it is an early season race and it is fairly close to where I live that I would do it. We decided to not really taper me and rather train me through using it as an event to get my feet wet, learn the ropes and push myself. I actually ended up dealing with some off-season injury that carried over from last season so it was just the test I needed to see where my body was at. As far as just throwing myself to the wolves, I think at some point I would have ended up at some race where the competition is huge anyway. I believe if you are not ready to compete against any and every pro out there then you might as well pack it up. I am glad I made that decision because it gave me confidence and more knowledge of how to race. I have never been scared to jump right in when it comes to this sport. My first triathlon ever was the Boise Half Ironman in 2011 and I didn't even own or know how to ride a bike when I signed up. I learned how three months before the race.
And next is St. George, the Ironman 70.3 North American Pro Championship.
Yes! Of course being the Pro Championship It might actually be even more of a Gangster Party! I just had to do this race because I have done it twice before as an amateur, it is practically in my backyard and it's my favorite Half Ironman course; so beautiful!
You must have developed some fearlessness in sport somewhere along the way --maybe the influence of your dad's career in coaching football? What's your background?
I have been told I'm tough, especially mentally, which in turn makes you physically tough, and I have always been that way. As a kid my dad’s advice when it came to sports was, “be humble and do everything your coach says.” So as I was involved in every sport I could my hands on, I fell in love with swimming when I was about seven and started competing at the age of eight. I was the girl who never skipped a lap, never talked back to coach and loved being exhausted after a workout. I wasn't really good at anything but sports and so that is where I gained confidence and learned many life lessons. I am still that little girl and attack workouts the same way I did when I was seven. However this doesn't mean I am not fearful of certain things especially when it comes to cycling. I am just not afraid to get my butt kicked!
What are your strengths and weaknesses as a triathlete? Have you reassessed your skills now that you're a professional?
If we are talking which of the three disciplines is my strength, I would say the run. It is my favorite of the three and is what I feel most natural doing even though I spent a majority of my life swimming. As I mentioned above, I'm not afraid to get my butt kicked or lay it all out there. I like the challenge of coming from behind. I am also not afraid to work on my weaknesses, which leads me to my main weakness: the bike. When I started this sport, I literally could not even make a turn on my bike or grab water. It took many humbling rides and uncomfortable situations to get to where I am now and it is still a work in progress. I wouldn't say I have reassessed my skills now that I'm a professional. I still have the same things to work as I did when I was an amateur. However recently I would say that the details become very important as a pro. There are always things to work on. That will never change.
I think a lot of people are curious about the decision making process to take one's Elite license. Can you tell us about what factors you weighed (or didn't), any advice you sought out, etc.?
I know some people may be a bit skeptical about the decision to go pro because, they think why go from being on the podium to being bottom of the barrel. But the way I see it is if every athlete had that thought then the pro field wouldn't exist. Although there are some pros that come in and dominate off the bat, there are plenty that did not place top five right off the bat. They had to work their way up. I want to work my way up, just like I did as an amateur. I wasn't placing top as an amateur at my first races. If I have the opportunity to race against the best then I want to take it while I have the chance. You only have a certain window where it's physically possible.
I want to say that in no way would I be in this position if it were not for my boyfriend Jake. He is the first sponsor I ever had. We both work at a restaurant, which made it tough to keep funding this dream of mine. I love to race and I love to train, but I could not continue doing it if I did not make it more worth our while which is a main reason I obtained my elite license. Being a pro makes it more economical for us.
I sought advice from my boyfriend Jake, coach AJ, and other people in the business. But I had my eye on going pro after the first race I participated in. It was a huge goal I set for myself from day one. It has always been the goal. I did get the advice that I should make sure I have a bunch of top amateur finishes before I made the leap so last season that is what coach AJ and I focused on. I placed top two overall amateur female in every race I did last season, 1st overall female amateur at Timberman 70.3 with the exception of Kona. There I placed 6th in my age.
How about the cultural difference between the age group race and the professional race?
Whether it's age group or professional I think I just enjoy big around triathletes in general. I loved racing against the amateur ladies, mostly because they are such great athletes who have a lot on their plate and pushed me to be the best triathlete I could be. As far as the pro field goes, of course it is intimidating because if you are serious at all about the sport, then you follow the sport, which means you follow the pros, so it can be intimidating to be in the company of girls you know are very experienced. I have only done one race as a professional but I found that those I encountered were super cool and super chill. There are also quite a few who are new to being a pro too and I found them to be really outgoing. It's awesome to have someone in the same boat. Bottom line I have a lot of respect for the ladies I raced and will be racing against.
What lies ahead this season? Next season? Beyond?
I plan to keep on getting the feet wet at a few more 70.3's and then Chattanooga Ironman in September. I will continue to work my butt off and improve, which will help me to move up in the ranks a bit. Next season and beyond? Well I would be lying if I didn't say my goal was to make the podium. I love racing and I love training. I want to keep this going as long as I can!
Name a few things you can't live without in training or racing:
The support of Wattie Ink. Team and our sponsors has been awesome. Our kits are badass! Right now I'm really into the chocolate caffeinated gels from PowerBar and Herbalife 24 products for recovery. This is my first season using Reynolds Wheels and I am obsessed! I could also not live without the support of my coach AJ and the team at Braveheart Coaching SLC, plus my masseuse Kara at The Healing Willow. And of course my friends and family!
Thanks, Katy! Good
luck at Ironman St. George.
