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Naeth back on track |
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Written by Ted Clarke, Citizen staff
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Thursday, 22 October 2009 |
Triathlon coach Angela Naeth, centre, discusses lap times and heart rates with Carolyn Bax, left, and Janice Karpes during a workout session at Masich Place Stadium. After injuries cut short the 2009 season, Naeth is back in Prince George gearing up for her second year as a professional triathlete on the WTC 70.3 circuit. (David Mah photo)
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The crisp cool air of an October morning made Angela Naeth feel right at home.
As guest coach for a group of aspiring triathletes gathered for the free session at Masich Place Stadium, Naeth was sharing the wealth of her knowledge of what it takes to run, bike and swim faster.
As much as she’d like to remain a California girl and take advantage of a year-round climate for training, she came home to pay the bills after a leg injury curtailed plans to cash in on the World Triathlon Corporation 70.3 professional circuit.
Coming off a breakout season in 2008, her first year as a pro, with several top-10 finishes and an eighth-place result in the 70.3 Ironman world championship, Naeth thought her career was about to skyrocket.
Triathlete magazine wanted her for a cover story. Sponsors were lining up to suit her up with gear. She was the obvious choice for The Citizen’s athlete-of-the-year award in 2008.
Her troubles started in the Philippines. Picked up by Team TBB, a professional triathlon team, she left her home in Sovang, Calif., and headed south last winter for a two-month stint to train with coach Brett Sutton. Within a few weeks, the pace of running three times a day began to take a toll. Naeth tried to keep up, but it was too much of a jump from what she was used to. By then the damage was done.
“It was very intense, guts to the wall training every workout, and it just wasn’t for me, especially with my history of injuries,” said the 27-year-old PGSS graduate. “I started getting some pain and took some anti-inflammatories so I didn’t feel much when I was running, but it got progressively worse every day until I couldn’t walk anymore.”
She returned to the U.S. and an X-ray determined she had a stress fracture in her right tibia. Diagnosed in April, the doctor wanted to put Naeth in a full-length leg cast but she refused, knowing how much that would weaken her leg muscles. The cast was applied just below her knee on the promise she wouldn’t bear weight on the leg until it had healed. She couldn’t walk or ride for three months.
Now back in Prince George, her recovery is complete. She can run without pain, she’s swimming (her weakest event) with the Prince George Barracudas national elite group and she has no trouble logging time on her stationary bike.
“I’ve had numerous stress fractures, especially in the tibias and a lot of it comes from doing too much, too fast,” Naeth said. “Getting injured that way was harsh, but it also made me realize that I’m my best coach. I can’t always rely on somebody else telling me every day, what I should do, because they aren’t in my body. It puts the onus on me to be smarter about my training.”
She hopes to resume racing once every month, starting with the California 70.3 series race in Oceanside, March 27.
“Potentially I’ll go back to Team TBB,” she said. “Now that
Brett and I know each other, he will take a different approach with me.”
“I just want to try to pay off my debt and have some savings so I can go off and race again next year. The prize money helped me survive last year. I always knew I was on that fine line. I have a great education and don’t mind working but I want to go on to my athletic career.”
She’s now drawing regular paycheques, working at Victoria Sports Physiotherapy Clinic as a physiotherapist, the subject of her masters studies at the University of Columbia (Missouri), which she attended on a track and field scholarship.
Her plan is to return to States in late winter, either California or Arizona, depending on where her coach Chuckie V (Veylupek) is living. Naeth has been told by Sutton and Veylupek she has national team potential as a cyclist and has plans to pursue that ambition next year.
“My passion has always been triathlon but Olympics is in 2012 and it’s just a dream, but I’m going into the (cycling) time trial in June (in Edmonton) to see where I’m at,” she said.
Since she moved back in September, Naeth has been conducting free aerobic testing seminars for local athletes. She’s also coaching triathletes online. Her website is at angelanaeth.blogspot.com
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 October 2009 )
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