Boston 3- Week 10 - Test Race

Winter Wonderland Triathlon-Verona Wisconsin 

" Ego is not a dirty word. It's the single thing that will determine your progression in this sport."  "Embrace it."- Chris Macca Ironman World Champion

2/23     Sunday               18F  Winter Wonderland Triathlon- 1 hr 27 min 6 sec
2/24     Monday             24F   bike 45 minutes
2/25     Tuesday             10F    run 60 minutes, wts 45 minutes
2/26     Wednesday       -1 F    bike class 90 minutes
2/27     Thursday             3F     run 45 minutes, wts 20 minutes
2/28     Friday                -1F     Swim 45 minutes
3/1       Saturday             8F      run 2 hours 20 minutes

The week started great with the Winter Wonderland triathlon in Verona, Wisconsin. This was a qualifier for the USAT College National Championship and for the Age Group National Championship.

My coach and I wanted to see where I was in my training. I'd been working hard, especially on the bike. Did I improve? My goal has been to improve my triathlon time for at least 4 minutes for the National Championship in Austin. This race would be a good measure of my progress.

An indoor tri is really easy. We started with a swim at the Verona high school. I got to see a couple of waves of college teams. Since this is a club sport there was a wide range of skills. I saw one swimmer resting after each lap. Another did the side stroke the entire times. Other swimmers burned through the 750 meter swim in no time at all.

I had a lane all to myself for the race. This is a whole lot easier than open water. I don't know how to do a kick turn so I lose a couple of seconds on every lap.  Still I cut 30 seconds off my swim time. With a wetsuit in open water I will be even faster.

It was on to the bike portion. I got to watch the college kids again. There were teams from Iowa State, University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, Drake, and Marquette.

It was great to see the future stars of our sport do their ride.  The bike was a 12.6 mile ride on a computrainer. You can see your progress and where you are compared to the other riders on the computer screen in the front of the room.  I took 3 minutes and 30 seconds off of my bike time.
Then it was outdoors for the run.  We were lucky the first wave had to run in the morning when it was 4 F. It was a balmy but windy 16 F when my wave started the run. In 26 minutes and 24 seconds I was done.
I did the entire sprint triathlon in 1 hr 27 minutes and 6 seconds. I had improved by more than 4 minutes. I am on track for the National Championship in Austin. Of course my competition may have improved just as much. I am doing my best to be ready. I still have three months to prepare. I think I can get even better.

My coach was happy, my bike time was right in there with many of the college women. My run also was improved. The swim is a bit of an issue, but I am going to take some steps to address that.  At least my coach can feel I am not wasting her time.

I am really feeling good about my training plan and how hard I have worked. I find that really motivating.
I am doing the things I need to do as an athlete to win a National Championship. I can't control the classification process to qualify for the paratriathlon wave.  I am going to concentrate on the things I can control. I will keep working the coaching plan. I can control how hard I work. I'm glad I did this race, it was fun and it really boosted my ego. Austin here I come! I think I have the talent to win in Austin. I celebrate my success and progress.

Oh I won the paratriathlon division and would have won my age group. If I had been scored as an age group athlete I would have qualified for the Age Group National Championship in Milwaukee. I've made the decision to pursue paratriatlon. So I chose to forgo a spot at AG Nationals to build my paratriathlon race resume.

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Author at National Duathlon Championship

Chris Wodke

Founder & Manager Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a two time participant of the Boston Marathon.  She was the 2012 National Champion Paratriathlon Open Division. In 2013 she qualified as a member of the Team USA Duathlon Team. She will compete in 2014 at the Age Group World Duathlon Sprint Championship in Pontevedre Spain.

She is the author of the book, “Running for My Life” that details her experience as a CMT affected athlete.

http://www.henschelhausbooks.com/catalog/memoir-biography/215-running-for-my-life-winning-for-cmt-9781595982827.html

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have 143 members in 28 states. We also have members in Australia, Canada, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland and Iran. If you wish to join us visit our web site; www.run4cmt.com or www.hnf-cure.org

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.

Additional Link

Follow CMT affected Paratriathlete Timmy Dixon
http://cmtamputee.wordpress.com/