Pro Triathlete Interview: What It REALLY Means to "Go Pro"

I've mentioned Cathy Yndestad on my blog before. She's a stellar local triathlete who JUST TURNED PRO!! And I'm super excited about it!

Here we are starting the Gear West Duathlon together this past spring:

Cathy in front, Jenny Wilcox next to her, and me on the far side.
(With Jen Lenarz, Julie Hull, and I believe Julia's knee all close behind.)

And then there was this epic set of photos from the 2009 Gear West Duathlon where Cathy out-kicked Marlo by 1/100th of a second to take the win:

Anyway, Cathy just turned pro, and I had no idea what that REALLY meant. So she agreed to an interview, and I sent her some questions I had about "going pro."

CLICK HERE to check out the interview on my Examiner page. It's a 2 page article, and she makes some interesting points about the differences of racing amateur vs racing pro on the second page.

In the interview, Cathy ends by talking about her upcoming race at Ironman Wisconsin this weekend. It's her FIRST TRIATHLON as a pro. She says "I will give it EVERYTHING I have out there, and I sure hope I can keep a smile on my face all day." She finished her last Ironman (Kona 2008) with a HUGE smile, so I hope we can see this at the end of her race in WI on Sunday:

By the way, Cathy said she's wearing that same Gear West Flame jersey at IM WI this weekend, so if you're out there, look for her and give her a cheer!

Good luck at IM WI Cathy!! And thanks for the interview!