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June 27, 2006
Ann Arbor Tri/Du Race Reports!
I cannot apologize enough for the delay in getting these wonderful race reports published! To make up for it, I promise I will yammer very little, and get directly to the reports.
Antonio Barbosa compares the race (his first in North America!) to others he has participated in:
This was my first triathlon in North American ground. Being from Brazil I have some races on my back ranging from the sprint distance to the half iron and Xterra, as well as a couple Chicago Marathon. The Ann Arbor tri was a great experience. Beautiful place, great views and very technical cycling and running. The fact of mixing road bike with trail running brings the best of the two in one race. Differences from Brazil, not too many, very competitive athletes, pretty organized race, good volunteer cheering, but believe it or not, the enthusiasm of the crowd was much greater!! I take pictures in my mind to recall the races... the lake view in the morning, the crowd on T1, the last hill on the bike and the wooden bridge on the run.
Antonio Barbosa
# 16
Richard Fast recounts a touching story of personal achievement:
The 2006 Ann Arbor Triathlon was the first time for me. I finished without any problems (other than being terribly slow!) and I can brag about being the oldest entrant (unless John Stover who was in the 65-69 AG with me already had his 65th birthday). John is in another world from me though. He finished in the top 100! Wow, is he an athlete, or what? I can brag on my swim though, having finished 366 out of 560 entrants, but I really don't want to talk much about the bike or run results.
The run was a lot of fun because most everyone who passed me, and a lot of people passed me, noticed the 65 on my calf and they all had words of encouragement for me. The most common statement was "way to go", and several said "I hope I am doing this when I am 65". Everyone was really nice and gave me a lot of encouragement, and thanked me for moving over to let them pass. Although I had done the bike course several times and the trail run twice during training, I had never put the two together before, especially after an 18 minute swim; so I was very cautious on my pacing. For the swim I just did my normal practice pace that I can easily hold for a mile, for the bike I held back being very worried about the run, and for the run I ran at my long, slow, distance pace to be sure I could make it through the whole event. The strategy paid off with a finish. My legs were pretty tired at the end, but I had some left.
For Waterloo, I am going to press a little harder, especially in the run. My training between now and then will include some intervals and tempo runs to try and increase my speed. My longer term goal is the Olympic (International) distance Accenture Triathlon in Chicago August 27th. What a blast that is going to be! The wife and I booked 3 days in the Hilton downtown, so we are going to make it a grand weekend.
I found the Ann Arbor Tri extremely rewarding and well run. Everyone was so nice and just having a good time. The weather was perfect and the park was beautiful. My wife made my day; she was crying as I crossed the finish line and greeted me with "I am so proud of you". Part of that may be the fact that I had a triple bypass exactly 18 months ago. I am so thankful to be able to do what I can do.
Tim Furbacher, the club's out-going (outgoing?) President, on the 'winner' of the Run stage:
The fastest runner past the park entrance was a very confused fawn who ran darted past us - no doubt chased from the woods by 650 two legged beasts in spandex.Ah, the elusive Biped-Monster in Spandex (Athleticus multisportus)... I hear they're especially dangerous in large herds; so be on the lookout!
Sheri Hall, who coordinated all the fantastic volunteers talks about how well things went from an organizational standpoint, and shares one of those stories from the race which only volunteers are usually privilege to:
We ended up with more than 20 people and no accidents!
Volunteers arrived at 7 a.m. and furiously swept each corner to get rid of the gravel that can cause accidents. And it was a pretty gritty course this year! Then folks directed bikers to slow down, and helped them navigate traffic on the course.
My favorite story of the morning was one guy - he actually looked pretty fast - who walked back to the transition area after leaving on the bike. He had gotten a flat tire. He walked back probably more than a mile to the transition area, changed his tire, and went back out on the course, even though his time was much slower because of it. We all had fun cheering him on when he headed back out.
Mimi Bogdasarian tells us several other (Though re-reading, I wonder if the second isn't the same as Sheri's! Were you two at the same corner?) tale that people IN the race rarely get to see — of an athlete persevering through equipment failure or other serious race-day hurdle:
Hi! I had a great day volunteering! I got to my assigned station just as the other volunteers were finishing sweeping the corner. Then I took off to buy a cup of coffee and got back in time to see the first du runner come through--and the cyclists start pouring out of the park entrance. I'm not sure that I did very much, but it was fun to see all the dedicated athletes--most with very serious concentration on their faces, and many who thanked me for being there. One fellow lost his bike shoe which was later retrieved by a friend- he shouted his number, so he would get it back. But he was not going to stop and lose a few minutes!! Another guy had a flat and ran back to transition to repair it- came out and really powered around the bike course! Another guy came up the hill running in his bike shoes--don't know how many miles he had to do that, but his feet, ankles and legs must have been pretty sore next day!! All and all, it was a beautiful day for a race. All those athletes were a real inspiration to me. Looking forward to a July Tri in Denver. Now if I could just lose a few more pounds...
Mary Winn wrote frankly about how this race (her first!) compared to her expectations:
So I completed my first triathlon. I've been saying I want to do triathlons for years now but I finally bit the bullet and went for it. I went into race day a little nervous (actually really nervous). I used to swim in high school and I was on the crew team in college but it had been years since I competed. I didn't have any lofty goals, I simply wanted to finish the race, but I was still nervous. I had been training for the race for several months but I cut back severely three weeks before the race to study for the GRE and I felt as though I wasn't quite prepared.
I don't remember too much about the race. I remember the swim felt good (though I could tell I wasn't in the best swimming shape of my life, having been a distance swimmer in high school and competing in several 3K open water events). I was one of the first few people out of the water for my wave, exactly where I wanted to be. The transition felt smooth though I was definitely shaking a little (more from the nerves than anything else). The bike was really a daze and over sooner than I would have liked. Then came the run. My mantra, "I will run. I will run." The miles were going so slowly and people were passing me left and right (or at least it felt like it). People were encouraging me as they passed or as I passed them and I never stopped running.
I was so glad to see the finish line. They announced my name and I could see my parents cheering me on. I finished! My goal fulfilled! I cheered on my boyfriend (the guy who asked for all these race reports and kept bugging me to turn in my own) and then we relaxed as we grabbed some food and water. It was then time to go see how we did. We pushed and shoved are way through the crowd around the results table and then, shock. I came in 6th place in my age group; sixth out of nineteen! I was in the top 33% of my age group and I had technically qualified for nationals. Not exactly what I expected. So now it is time to make a decision and the nerves are back. Did I really qualify? What if I am mistaken about the qualification standards? Do I go to nationals? What if I am the slowest person there? I don't know what I'm doing yet, I just finished my first triathlon ever. I guess I have a few more weeks to decide. I'll probably go, actually I most likely will go. Either way, I definitely will not forget my "first" triathlon.
Excellent reports everyone! Please please please, if you've been in a race recently, send me a report, your fellow club members would love to hear about it!
Also, to discuss this article, there is a topic where you can do so — sound off about the race reports you've just read.
Taking a line —
J. Woodard
Posted by admin at June 27, 2006 11:31 AM