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August 30, 2006
Club Race - "Indy Lake Aquathlon" Race Report
Maria Perez recounts a delightfully casual atmosphere at the September 9 club race:
Sometimes the smallest things result in the biggest and most rewarding surprises! I say this was the theme of the latest Ann Arbor Triathlon Club Race at Independence Lake County Park this last weekend. The event was, well, small. Only 5 people participated, with almost as many organizers as there were racers. Some of us even showed up a few minutes after the race was supposed to begin, getting lost somewhere between Whitmore Lake Road and the county park (yes, it IS possible!). We were not the only ones, actually. Jenny, too, got lost, and apparently she did not get enough excitement driving to the event—she ended up adding some minutes to her final time by getting lost during the last running portion of the race. Brian too had to overcome obstacles to make it to the race. He lost not his direction but the count on drinks during a fun night out that kept him from getting a good night’s rest. It seemed that the only one who had it together was Dick.
When we finally drove in to the park, we spotted him warming up. So, only 5 participants, but a diverse and adventurous crowd, make no mistake! At about 9:15am, we gathered around and got the lowdown of the event from the organizers and hosts: Brian, Julia, their 10 month old daughter, and Brian’s mom, Marcia. For those of you who didn’t show up thinking it was going to storm, let me tell you that it was a glorious September morning, sun and birds chirping and all. Anyhow, we would start running one mile, then plunging into Independence Lake for a 500 yard swim, then taking on 3 miles of running to the end. We were told that plenty of Gatorade, coffee, cookies, and freshly baked coffee cake waiting for us at the finish. We signed the waiver, got our numbers marked on our hands, organized our stuff for the transition, and off we went! Erik (my husband) took off like he was getting chased (by me?!). Jenny followed with a determined pace, and then it was Brian, myself, and Dick. As the nice path opened up before us, I wondered how one can live in Ann Arbor for so many years and still miss these great parks.
Our organizers had dutifully placed signs along the way that led us through a mile mixing asphalt, dirt road, and boardwalks. And there went the mile. Back in the main park pavilion, our cheering squad rallied us on to our transition and into the lake. Erik was the first one in. He was already in the lake when Brian and park staff managed to get the motor boat going so they could mark the turnaround point at 250 yards from the shore. Splash! The others joined. We all managed to swim through the nice but very weedy water. Erik soon lost his lead to his wife, who was very determined to pass him up. The swim portion was spiced up with tennis balls floating along the shore. Grabbing the right one might just give a racer a good enough bonus to make up for lost time elsewhere! Then started the last 3 miles of the run, a good chunk of which was through old farm fields that somehow escaped being turned into residential development. Brian had marked the path with little heaps of flour. At first there were lots of these white, powdery heaps. Then their frequency started to drop… Was this the right way to go? Most of us managed to connect the dots, but with enough excitement you could go off-course. That was Jenny’s fate. We later learned that Brian was running out of flour so he had to get economical as the yards added up.
So, still sunny and beautiful, all participants finished their race. I came in first, worried till the last minute my dear husband would catch up (he didn’t). Then came Jenny, who probably would have caught up had she not taken a wrong turn. Brian was next, overcoming his own obstacles brewing inside of him, with Dick wrapping the event in high spirit. Julia timed us all and even took pictures. Julia’s daughter and mother-in-law made for a fabulous cheering team. In all it was such a fun and relaxed event. We all got a wonderful workout followed by this fluffy and moist coffee cake that was better than any prize. Who could ask for more? As we drove off, my husband turns to me and said, “That is the best time I’ve ever had in any race!” Thank you, Club, for putting this on! Go, AATC!
Posted by admin at 01:02 PM
August 09, 2006
Steelhead Race Report
Alison Roth seemed to enjoy her first Half Ironman distance, despite some starting-line jitters:
I don’t know what possessed me to sign up for the Steelhead Ironman 70.3 on August 5, but it was obviously something beyond my control. With three sprint races under my belt, I’d never done more than 800M in open water or biked more than 17 miles in a race.
So after my last marathon, in April, I began training. I trained hard when I could, but since I spent most the summer planning my wedding and moving into a new house, it didn’t feel like it was often enough. I had trouble making it to the pool with enough time left in “lap swim” to put in adequate yardage, and I hurt my ankle in early July, resulting in almost a month’s rest from running. In fact, biking was the only discipline I felt truly prepared for. But that said, most of the biking I did was commuting on a mountain bike at less than 15 miles per hour. Don’t get me wrong – I did train. I just didn’t train as consistently as I’d wanted to.
We started the race by jumping off a pier into Lake Michigan. I was racing in a wetsuit for the first time, and the waves weren’t as big as I’d expected, but I still froze for about 15 seconds when the gun went off. It took the girl behind me shouting “go!” for me to take a deep breath and jump. There was the usual jostling at the swim start, but because they started us by age group, it wasn’t that bad. The zipper string on my wetsuit – which I had neglected to tuck in (beginner’s mistake) – kept getting caught around my arm, and as a result I felt like my form was falling apart. “Swim 10 strokes, then look up,” I kept telling myself. It seemed to work, because before long I hit the beach at just under 39 minutes. I couldn’t believe it was over so quickly.
The run to T1 was a good half-mile uphill, but it gave me some time to catch my breath and get my heart rate down. I put on my bike jersey, mounted my bike, and took off. Before long I was passing just as many people as were passing me (a rarity on the bike). I snacked on pretzels, gels and cheez-nips until I felt full enough to stop eating (not a good strategy – I should have spaced it out more evenly). I never really got tired on the bike, but I definitely got bored. Around mile 30, I had to go to the bathroom and was ready to be done. A quick pit stop in a friendly neighbor’s bushes and a couple of Advils to quell my headache, and I got a small surge of energy. It was enough to carry me back to transition.
T2 was uneventful, except that I forgot to take off my gloves. I felt great starting the run – no stiffness or pain (thank you, Thursday-night brick workouts!). But by mile 4, I got some painful side stitches – likely as a result of my poor nutrition plan – and had to walk the next mile. But you know what? Everyone else was walking, too. In fact, by the time I felt well enough to run again, I was the only one running. We went up a long, grueling hill at mile 11, but I barely noticed. I was too excited about the fact that I was almost done. The last mile was mostly downhill and completely exhilarating. I blew a kiss to my fiancé, threw my arms in the air, and “broke the tape.” The volunteers in the finishers’ tent were wonderful. Noticing that I looked a little wobbly on my feet, they helped me through the tent, took off my chip, and handed me a bottle of water.
I wasn’t particularly sore, tired or hungry after I was done, although I did sleep for almost 12 hours that night! I guess I wasn’t as under-trained as I’d thought. And Steelhead was far from the prettiest or most interesting course in the world, but the course support was fantastic and the spectators were great. I would highly recommend this race to anyone doing a Half-IM, especially for the first time.
Wisconsin, 2007? We’ll see…
Posted by admin at 10:07 AM