Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Interbike 2009

I head off to Interbike on Wednesday for a few days in Vegas. I will be hanging around at the Garmin booth a bit and will be signing autographs for 3T at their booth on Thursday afternoon (5-6pm). If you are going to be there... please drop in and say hello!!

So, I'm not sure exactly what I have signed myself up for....

Bid Here

The reasoning behind it....

First, despite being ranked in the top 50 in the world and finishing 2nd at the National Championships and Pan American Championships in 2009, I am still struggling to make enough money to live. It's really hard to sit and watch pro football and baseball players and know that what I do is no easier or different than what they do, we are both world class athletes, but I don't have a multi-million dollar contract to fall back on, especially in time of injury.

Second, by auctioning off the dinner, I'm hopefully giving a fan or follower of the sport a chance to get to spend some quality time with me that they otherwise would probably not get the opportunity to have. I'm always really appreciative of all of the people who follow my career and support triathlon, so to be honest, I am excited to get a chance to sit down and chat with them. I guess I'm hoping it can be a "win-win" for everyone.

Sometimes you have to think outside of the box a bit and try something different. It'll be great if it works out, and if not, it'll be something hilarious I can look back on. I guess it just shows how committed I am to making the Olympic team. Being able to continue to train and race full time so I can do the best job possible in the lead up to qualification for London 2012 means everything to me, so if I have to keep cooking up creative ways to help get me there, then I will. I don't want to look back in 3 years and wonder if things could have been different.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to breast cancer, a cause that I keep very close to my heart.

10 comments:

cerebellum said...

Too bad it's in Vegas. You would have done it while you were in Switzerland this summer, I would have signed up. Have fun though !

Brett said...

If at any time you're in Georgia, I'd love to pick your brain and hopefully learn more about Triathlon, training and time management.

Adam Rakunas said...

Jenna, I think auctioning this dinner is a great start. There should be more community-supported athletics, and God knows there's still plenty of money floating around among all the amateur triathletes in the world.

Have you heard about KickStarter? It's an outfit that allows people to get funding for creative projects, and I think you're the kind of person they're looking for. Check them out:

http://www.kickstarter.com/

Anonymous said...

I guess someone accused you to sell yourself.

I don't think you are doing that but, as I've been living on this planet for a few more years than you, I know one should not get annoyed from such things accusations. In other words, if there is anyone telling you are selling yourself, remember this world is full of jealous people :)

Triathlete Food said...

Just wanted to let you know we gave your auction and the article about it a shout-out on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TriathleteFood. Keep up the good work!

krisko1973 said...

I think this is a great idea! I hope it brings to light the struggles "world class" athlets face everyday. Pro football and baseball players complain about multi million dollar paychecks everyday. Thank you for giving a voice to this problem. GOOD LUCK

Laura said...

How fun! Good luck with raising money and with your work to get to London.

I agree - how frustrating to see the lame-o pros in football, baseball, and basketball complain and basically get treated like gods who can do no wrong, when Olympic caliber athletes in other sports are struggling so much. Hang in there Jenna!

Cusetri said...

keep chasin'!!!!

Anonymous said...

You write about sacrifice and how hard it is financially. Best of luck to you and you work hard. That said, it is your passion and your choice.
I have a very hard and stressful job as an RN but I made a choice for this as a career for good and bad. I struggle with this choice at times.
I'm not criticizing but at times it seems like you want sympathy (or at least acknowledgement?) that you are somehow sacrificing to do triathlon? I don't see it this way becaue you could go out and get a job and maybe not struggle financially. But you want to reach your goal of the Olympics. Only you will reap the benefits of this. Good luck in your endeavor.

Dee

sebastien Locteau said...

Don't let yourself down. Most of athletes / coaches who knows the sports do understand.

You know who you are, don't let people Break you, same than the tri make your self unbreakable :-)