Hi Slowtwitch,
Welcome to the first of a monthly article series on pro triathlon training, draft-legal racing, my behind the scenes opinions, and anything else you want to know. I’m Erika Ackerlund, I’m a US pro triathlete, and I race on the World Triathlon circuit. I want to give you more insight into my lifestyle, get to know you, and answer any questions you have.
A little bit about me: I grew up in Helena, Montana (ie. mountains, nature, real winters, small towns, etc.) and followed an academic scholarship to the University of Montana. Not a ton has changed about me since I was young. I’ve always had a strong endurance streak and hated stopping for breaks during any outdoor activities. My parents took my brother and I backpacking, rafting, skiing, biking, basically anything and everything you can do outside. I never did any year-round competitive sports. As much as I loved the idea and identity of being an athlete, there wasn’t a particular sport that I continually excelled at. When I went to college, I joined the dying triathlon club. My freshman year there were a handful of students, we had a couple 9pm swim practices, and I drove to two races with the team. It wasn’t a lot, but I loved everyone I met and began to connect with the local tri community as well.
The moment I was introduced to the idea of draft-legal racing, I wanted to do it. I reached out to the Collegiate Recruitment Program but really didn’t fit their system. At that time, my PR in the 500 SCY was 5:43 and I think I had gone under 12:00 once in a track two mile. I rode mountain bikes for fun, but was brand new to road riding and clipless pedals. Without much understanding of the World Triathlon system, I raced where my coaches suggested and continually surprised myself with results. I won NCAA nationals in 2016 and my second continental cup in Richmond, VA in 2017. I was still in college at the time and trained around 16 hours per week, much of it solo, and without a lot of running.
In some ways I’m the black sheep of USAT athletes. I didn’t grow up racing triathlon, I didn’t have any great swim or run PRs, and I didn’t figure it out by joining a squad. However, I’ve naturally had enough endurance to race three sports back-to-back and am slowly seeing my untapped potential in each of the sports individually. Personal coaching worked so well for me during college that I haven’t chosen to join a squad so far. While there’s times I might prefer more training partners, I do enjoy just being out training in nature and having some choice over where/when/how I do it. I also never envisioned reaching the level I have. I’m currently sitting 27th in the world rankings, but it wasn’t long ago that I thought just being on the start line of a World Cup or a World Triathlon Championship Series event would be enough of an accomplishment. Like everyone I’ve had good and bad seasons, but because my goals and expectations are continually evolving I’ve been lucky to have an overall positive experience so far.
A lot of people seem interested in how it works to race draft-legal events and not train in a squad. Social media makes the squads appear prevalent, but there’s not always as many options and people training in them as you might think from Instagram. I do spend a lot of time alone. I probably handle time alone better than most and also have just gotten used to it. I’m also lucky to have a boyfriend who joins me on sessions and has been critical in helping me develop skills like pack riding, transitions, and such. As far as racing goes, at the World Cup and WTCS level, most athletes travel solo but room together with their National Federation upon arrival (the only exception I’ve seen is with people ranked top 5 in the world). Before COVID USAT had always assigned roommates. Some athletes will do race prep with their squads and others just do it with their National Federation. If we have similar training sessions for that day, we might make a plan to meet up. But many people are like me, milling around the same areas getting their own sessions done for the most part. Then once it comes to race day, the large majority of athletes are being supported by their National Federation at the course.
Hopefully that’s a start on insight into what, why, and how I do what I do every day. There’s many years of sport ahead for all of us who didn’t peak in high school. It just takes a competitive spirit, working with your natural strengths, a whole lot of training, and having fun with it. I can’t wait to share about my upcoming season and/or get into detail on various topics in the coming months. Please let me know if there’s questions or topics you’d like to read about. I’ll do my best to give you the scoop, or at least pass on my own thoughts. Hope you enjoy it!