Monday, September 7, 2015

Week 20 World Championship Preparation, Racing and Ready

Wisconsin Senior Olympics Medals 2015

"If you search for your authentic best self during competition, you will find it. Victory often comes along for the ride as a pleasurable side effect." -Adam Kreek,  Olympic Gold Medalist Rowing


Sun        8/30      Weights 30 min, run 1 hr 20 minutes
Mon       8/31     Open water swim 40 minutes
Tue         9/1       Wis Senior Olympics, Cycling 10 K time trail (20 min), 20 K road race (39:10)
Wed        9/2       Run 40 minutes, Swim 55 minutes
Thur        9/3       Run 12 minutes, bike 1 hr 30 minutes
Fri           9/4      Rest
Sat            9/5     Swim 1 hr 20 minutes, Run 1 hr 20 minutes

My world championship race, is now only about 10 days away.  That same week in Chicago I'll also be doing a sprint triathlon.

I've cycled, and run, and done endless laps in the pool.  In addition to all that training, I race to get ready. One of those races was for the Wisconsin Senior Olympics. The race is the state championship for Wisconsin.

First up was a 10 K time trail. The course is a little less than 2 miles for each lap. Because of that you get close to your competitors,  Last year I finished 2nd in the time trail. I wanted to see if I could beat last year's time and maybe even win my age group.  In  time trail the racers go off one at a time.
So you can often tell your position in the race, by who you pass.  The course is in a local park on a closed course. There are just enough small hills to keep things interesting.

We would do 7 laps. As I finished the first lap, I caught one of the women riders.  We traded the lead back and forth. I would pass her and she would pass me.  She nipped me at the finish line. It turns out she was in my age group. I finished second by 30 seconds, but took a minute off of last year's time.

The next race was the 20 K road race. I was pretty sure I was the only women in my age group.  We all started in one large group. I decided to see if I could win the race and stuck to the wheel of the fastest woman rider.  I drafted on the straights and would pass her on the hills where she struggled. She would catch me again of the flat and so we went lap after lap.  Because the course was closed we could race the tangents.   She passed me right before the finish and beat me by 10 seconds.  I was proud I was able to hang with too better riders.  I finished in a time of 39:10, more than a minute better than last year.
 It was so much fun. All the hard work I have been doing has paid off, I took the gold to go with my silver from the first race.  I met lots of nice people, I was on a high the rest of the week. Having a fun fast race makes all the hard work worth it.  This is a great way to pave my way for my  upcoming races.

I was also contacted this week by the USAT. They want to feature me in a story about Team USA athletes.

I had my last outdoor pool swim and I will do my last open water swim this week. It has been a great season so far, with the best yet to come this fall.

*********************

Author racing for US Team at PATCO Dallas 2014

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

Chris is a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a three time participant of the Boston Marathon.  In 2012 she finished 2nd at Boston in the Mobility Impaired Division. She was on the course in 2013 when the bombs exploded.

She has appeared three times at the Paratriathlon National Triathlon Sprint Championship. She was the 2012 and 2014 National Champion Paratriathlon Open Division Champion.

In 2014 she was the PC Open Champion at the Duathlon National Championship. She has qualified to represent Team USA at the Aquathon ITU World Championship in Chicago in 2015.  

 In 2014 she represented  the U.S. as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.

She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.

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

You may visit her author page at:
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Wodke/e/B00IJ02HX6


Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have 165 members in 32 states. We also have members in Australia, Scotland, Canada, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland, England 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/

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