In order to get the message that I am “retired” from track– maybe I should get this billboard? 🙂
You can’t escape from the Matrix– that is what I think of this process of retiring as a track and field athlete. It’s harder to retire from track and field than it is to get started in it!!! I am not sure at what point people at USATF or USADA will believe that I want to retire– maybe I should get a billboard like this saying “I’M RETIRED!!!” Let’s see– through this whole situation– I have written both formal emails and letters with my statement to retire, announced that Nationals was my last meet in one of my Kmail newsletters, and I have mentioned it on my blog. What more do I have to do?
Yikes! I am in the Matrix! 🙂 I have one thing to say– don’t even THINK about retiring!!! Wow! I am only trying to retire and be the nice guy, but you wouldn’t believe the tone of the email I got back from USADA.Here are a couple of the more “juicy” parts:
“THE STATEMENT THAT WAS RECEIVED BY USADA WITH THIS INTENTION IS NOT CONSIDERED AN
OFFICIAL RETIREMENT STATEMENT. (The capitalization is theirs, not mine– pretty dramatic, eh?)
The email also goes on and says, “At this time, you will remain in the USADA OOC Testing Pool. This means that you are still obligated to fill out quarterly Athlete Location Forms and subject to OOC Testing. You are also subject to any possible penalties (such as Missed Tests or Sanctions) for not complying withUSADA protocol.”
Okay, well– there is more where that came from. I was also notified by the USATF (our track and field governing board) in response to the email that I sent them regarding my retirement:“Hello and thank you for your email! I will be out of the office until August 23 traveling on business.” Well, this might not be as dramatic as USADA’s response to me, but there is an issue here for me. It seems hard to believe that both these organizations can get my statement of retirement processed by the September 1st deadline.
The real issue here is that if this doesn’t get cleared up, then I will have to go through the drug testing process for the forseeable future. No coffee (gasp!!!), soda (this is just WRONG on so many levels), cold medicine (NyQuil) and over-the-counter stuff that you wouldn’t think would be a problem. Also, I have to make sure that if I am away from my residence in Los Angeles for more than two days– I have to notify USADA of my wereabouts.
Hmmmmm. I remember that the only woman tested in the prelims of the 2004 Olympic Trials women’s shot put was me. Did I win or place? Nope, I was 9th . This year I was 10th . Testing is but a weird inconvenience and I suspect that wanting to “retire” rather than spending the next 10 years of my life in track chasing the brass ring must seem very strange to them. However, I have always felt that it was important to get off the athletic train while you were still ahead.
The good news is that I have found some ‘official’ forms – and that wasn’t easy – and I had Fed-Exed them already today. But it took some time to get the “official” forms all squared away. Not only do you have to sign it, you have to have it signed and witnessed by a notary public. As I found out today by going to several places– August is the time for vacations– and that is where all the notaries were doing. But– I finally found a notary public who signed my documents so I can send them in. What a day this has been. 🙂 I’ll keep you all posted on what happens next– hopefully with having the official forms all sent in– I will finally be “retired”. 🙂
Hope all is going well and have a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen 😀
2 Comments
Roger’s View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo! » Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports? … are you really surprised? · August 23, 2006 at 12:05 pm
[…] Nevertheless, I do sympathize with athletes like Karen, it’s hard to see others pass you by with a ‘win at all cost’ mentality. Athletic competition gives you quite a unique rush…. but the pursuit of fame is a most cruel mistress… sometimes, it’s better to just settle for the bronze … or less. It’s should be easier for a ‘retiring athlete’ to accept when they realize that if they also took those ’shortcuts’ … they would – no doubt — also suffer physically and emotionally later on. This should give any young athlete cause to pause. […]
Karen’s Public Relations Blog » Why there is LIFE after being an Athlete! · January 12, 2007 at 10:23 pm
[…] After retiring from track– there are some things that I miss. I miss being able to eat the way that I do for starters! Steak every night– ah, the good old days! I will miss the competition and the excitement. But– as Edna from “The Incredibles” says: I never look back at the past, it distracts from the now! […]