Saturday, August 27, 2011

Pioneer Sprint Triathlon

Team CMT has members in 12 states and England. So when I made a visit to Texas in July this year I thought it would be a good chance to meet Texas teammates Joyce Kelly and Morgan Johnson. Lunch seemed like a good idea. That was not good enough for Joyce.  She said I was going to do the Pioneer Sprint Triathlon in Denton Texas on July 31st.

I was a bit nervous about the swim part since I have only done 3 tri's and the open water swims freaked me out a bit. No problem, this was a pool swim.  Then there was the problem of not having a bike. Joyce arranged for a rental for me from Richardson bikes. I picked up a great Trek bike for the race and  I was all out of excuses.

So I dragged my sister in law out of bed at 4:30 in the morning for the drive to Denton.  We had to be set up and out of the transition area by 6:15.  Joyce was sidelined by sickness, but Morgan and I were still in.

Because I registered late, I was near the end of the line to get into the pool. Athletes entered the pool one at a time, every 7 or so seconds. We swam up the right side of the lane, went under the lane marker to get to the next lane. It was an easy 7 laps.  The race was seeded by time and most of the athletes around me were newbies.  Many were afraid of putting their face in the water or making it the whole way. Those of us with some experience pointed out the swimmers doing the breast and side stroke and those resting at the end of the lane.

 I wan't even in the pool yet and the lead athletes were already done with the bike and were heading out on the run.  My turn came for the swim. It was in the high 90's at the race start at 6:45. Even the water was warm in the outdoor pool. I passed several swimmers. The swim leg usually does not go so smoothly. I love pool swims. I was actually first in my age group in the swim.

    Next was the transition area, to don my Team CMT singlet and shoes.  The bike portion was 16 miles and was advertised as flat. Well sort of....there were several long climbs and the couse measured much longer than 16 miles on my bike computer. There were large patches of road that were really rough. It felt like riding over a washboard. My hands and feet were starting to go numb. That happens due to the CMT.  I finished in 1 hr 8 minutes.  Not too good, but I have been mostly running this summer.

Last up was the 5 K run. There were water stations every mile. They also gave out paper towels soaked in ice water. I have never had that on a run. It was much needed and appreciated.
It had to be over 100 F. It said 106 F on the car themometer on the way home.

I finished, got my finisher medal and found Team CMT members Joyce and Morgan. That was exciting because while we had exchanged many emails we had never met. They had just given out the age group awards and I noticed my time was better than the 1st place finisher. I went to tell the race director and they gave me a 3rd place award. The final results show me in 3rd. My final time was 1:51 good enough to qualify me for paranationals if I am certified. I had trained very little so I am happy with that showing.

It was great to run in such a fun and well organized race. I had a blast. I can't wait till I switch over to tri's next year. It was also fantastic to meet Joyce and Morgan.



Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011


Team CMT members Cheryl Monnat and Chris Wodke ran the Reykjavik Half Marathon on Saturday August 20th.  It was Cheryl's birthday and she celebrated with a time of 1:49, good for 12th out of 87 women in the 50-59 age group. Chris Wodke ran the race in a personal best for the year of 2:10, good for 47th place.  Some days the training just clicks and the race feels great. We both had that kind of day. The distance seemed easy and we had fun.

There were three races, a marathon, half marathon and 10K, drawing 10,000 runners.  Over 48 countries were represented.  This race not only drew an international field but a fast one. 

The weather was a a little under 60F for the 8:30 start of the race. Perfect weather for a long run. The average high in Iceland in August is 60F.   Reykjavik has a bike path that runs throughout the city including a long stretch along the ocean.  We had both done runs earlier in the week on this path. The route made for one of the most beautiful course I have ever run.  The route was also quite aromatic as most of the runners around me did not seem to be wearing deordorant.

It was strange hearing different foreign languages spoken all around me.  All three races started at the same times and there seemed to be lots of runners with stories. I lined up next to a Canadian mom and son running together with tee-shirts to match.  I ran for awhile with two Icelandic sisters wearing identical pick tee shirts.  They asked me where I was from and when I said Milwaukee, a women runner right behind me yelled she was from Milwaukee. Guess it is a small world.  My favorite tee shirt said "pain is temporary, glory is forever and knees are replaceable." There were also several charities represented like the diabetes foundation and CMT.

Crowd support was great. Lots of residents came out and banged drums and played music for us.  The volunteers were efficient and friendly. There was plenty of water and Gatorade.

I saw lots of runners looking at our Team CMT singlets, so we raised some good awareness. It was a good week of site seeing in Iceland and a great day of racing. 



Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Team CMT Member Morgan Johnson

I joined Texas CMT member Morgan Johnson on August 1st for the Pioneer Sprint Triathlon in Denton Texas.  Morgan took 1st in her age group and 2nd overall. Our other Texas Team CMT member Joyce Kelly was present but sidelined by injury.

Morgan asked me to join the team because she coaches Team CMT member Joyce Kelly through Playtri.
Morgan is relatively new to the sport, with just 3 years of competition.  She is a national title holder and recently earned a spot on Team USA for 2011. She will be headed to China in September to compete.

Morgan started coaching 1 1/2 years ago and has lead the University of North Texas Womans Tri team to two USAT Collegiate National Championships.  Many of her athletes have earned a spont on Team USA.
Morgan likes to work with youth and developmental athletes. Her background in education helps her to relate well to these athletes. She is currently the first Playtri Lead Developmental Coach.

Morgan uses the lates research to train her athletes, also keeping in mind that each athlete is an indivisual with their own goals.   Morgan welcome to our team and good luck in Bejing this September!




Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

North Face Endurance Challenge

North Face is coming to run a series of trail races on September 17th and 18th in Eagle Wisconsin.

Races available include:
  • 5K
  • 10K
  • Half Marathon
  • Marathon Relay
  • Marathon
  • 50 K
  • 50 mile
The races will start and end in Ottawa State Park and will be run on the trails.  I will be running in the half marathon.  It is great to have such a quality race run so close to Milwaukee.  I am sure this will be a great event. North Face makes great products and I am sure their race will be outstanding as well. To get more details and register
http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/races/2011/wi/index.html