2020 Member Spotlight – Emily-Anne Patt
July, 2020
What was your first triathlon?
Nations Tri in 2012(?). That one time the swim wasn’t cancelled.
What is the biggest mistake you’ve made in a triathlon?
I definitely got a 5 minute drafting penalty at IM70.3 Viriginia going uphill in the rain passing someone who was doing the sprint-crawl-spring-crawl leapfrog with me for the past 5 miles. My irritation with this rider was ill-timed with the passing of the race referee. Then there was the time at Rumpass in Bumpass that we arrived super late because of traffic. I basically had to drop my stuff in transition and jump right into the 62 degree water, which induced my first in-water panic attack, so while in the water, I stripped off the top half of my long-sleeve wetsuit and swam with it dragging behind me for the full 1600.
Do you have any memorable races or experience?
Watermans in 2018 was my first long course race. It was a perfect race day! I started like I always do at Rock Hall — swimming an extra 400 to find the swim exit — then taught myself the hard way how to exchange water bottles and eat peanut butter Snickers bars on an old-school bicycle, then just started running and around mile 7 had the strange realization that I was actually feeling okay, and despite all my worries had actually trained for this enough. I sang and run-danced the rest of the way. It was a perfect race day!
What do you enjoy outside of triathlon?
If I am not on my bicycle headed to the brewery, I am probably on a softball field either playing or coaching the kids at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. If it’s sadly raining outside, I’m either baking one of my blue-ribbon pies or knitting a sweater.
Do you have any cycling plans for this year?
Current bicycling plans for 2020 include two terrible ideas: Outfitting my old road bike to tackle the Great Allegheny Passage and completing the W&OD 90-mile/10-brewery challenge. Tips welcome for both! My favorite brewery on the trail is probably Black Walnut in Leesburg — a beer and a porch rocker round out any perfect bicycle trip.
