Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon- My Murphy's Law Race

"Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can." - Arthur Ashe

I usually have a reason for any race that I add to my season schedule.  I wanted a chance at being nationally ranked in triathlon and that takes three race. This would be the third race that I needed.

It was also a chance for a do-over.  The Pleasant Prairie Triathlon where the Para-triathlon National Championship was contested was in the same location and run by the same race organizers.

This race would be women only with a sprint distance and a duathlon.  The swim would be straight across the lake instead of a triangular course.   I missed the bike turn around in the first race and was directed the wrong way by a volunteer. I wanted to improve on the terrible finish time I had of 2 hr 2 minutes.

Since this was a USAT sanctioned race, I signed up to race in the physically challenged division.

I did not sleep one wink the night before the race. I don't know why that is, because after 6 years of doing triathlons, I don't have any nerves.  It adds stress to not sleep at all and watch hour after hour go by. I lay there knowing I am going to feel terrible because of the lack of sleep.

Transition opened at 5 am and I was at the race venue at 4:45. I wanted a parking spot close to transition. I was far from the only early arrival.

I went through the usual routine of setting up my area. I checked over my bike.  Both wheels spun freely clearing the brakes. The chain was on the large chain ring, but I left it since the course is super flat in the beginning.

I put down my transition bag at the end of the bike rack. The women with her bike at the end protested saying she had to set. I pointed out she could not set up in the aisle and she said she was going to. She had a wet suit slung over one arm. The race was not wet suit legal, meaning she would be in the last wave and not eligible for awards. I did have an exemption from the wet suite rule.  PC athletes can wear a wet suit up to 78 F without penalty. The water temp that morning was measured at 72 F,

When the athlete was done setting up her area (in the aisle) my rack neighbor pointed out there was still room next to her stuff. We both put our bags down and there was still room. She went crazy, yelling at me. Sleep deprived as I was, I started yelling too, asking here why she was being such a bitch and that there was room for everyone.  I told her I was moving my bag and she continued to yell.  I left transition to get away from her. Not my finest hour. 

I did not realize I had dropped one of my swim ear plugs during the argument. I did not discover it until I got to the starting line. Because the swim is a point to point across Lake Andrea, I had to walk almost a mile to get to the start. I was not going to walk back to transition to look for the missing ear plug. The sun would be on my left shoulder so I figured I would only breath to one side and be fine.

For some reason race directors always put me in the elite field when I race PC.  The field was really small with only 7 women. Iron Girl was the same weekend as Age Group Triathlon Nationals, so the better athletes were probably there.

I got to sit on the beach and wait for the start. I got to visit with a few of the other athletes and watch the sun come up. It was the most beautiful shade of red.  It is etched in my memory.

I warmed up for the swim and was glad I had a wet suit. The water felt colder than 72 F. 
The 750 meter swim would turn out to be one of the easiest I had done.  There were buoys on the left and swim rafts on the right.  The swim lane was wide. I was right with about half of the starting group and finished with a swim of 18:30, not too bad.

I got to transition and could not find my bike.  I had carefully walked everything done. My transition mat is lime green, so it is easy to find. Someone had moved my bike way down the rack.

When I got to the mount line I discovered my bike chain was jammed against the frame and I could not move. Two guys jumped out of the crowd to help me. They could not get the chain unstuck. I finally took over. I have replaced slipped chains many times and I had it back on in a minute.

Did my end of the aisle friend move my bike?  I don't know. Some athletes told me during the race briefing that bikes were supposed to be racked in numerical order. There was noting about that in the athlete guide which I read. There were no numbers on the rack. So it is possible a late arrival moved my bike to rack hers in numerical order.

In any case the lost bike and stuck chain probably cost me seven or eight minutes.

My bike computer refuse to turn on so I was riding blind.  I was trying to go as fast as I could to make up time.  There were lots of athletes cycling in the left lane.  One absolutely refused to move to let me through. As I passed many athletes, I nicely let them know that slower riders should stay to the right. I stayed to the right unless I was passing.

I saw the turn around this time, although the sign was really small. I commented to an athlete near me, how easy it would have been to miss it.

There rest of the race was routine. The run was hot and humid. I finished the race in 1 hr 43 minutes, much better than the over 2 hours for my last attempt.  I had wanted to have a clean race.
This was far from it. It was a little disappointing because I did not feel like I had my best race. I handled every curve this race through at me.  Kind of like life, you just do your best with what life throws at you.

Despite everything that happened I had fun and finished.  One of my goals for this race, was to get a time to qualify for Partriathlon National Championships next year. I did not achieve that goal, but without the mishaps I would have been close. I just might have to sign up for one more race this year.

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

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 and at the Aqua bike National Championship in 2016. She represented Team USA at the Aquathon ITU World Championship in Chicago in 2015i, Cozumel in 2016 and Denmark in 2018. In 2018 finishing 5^th in the 60 to 64 age group.

 In 2014 she represented the U.S. as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.  She has won state championships in cycling and triathlon as a senior Olympian. In 2017 she placed 2^nd in her age group at the Winter Triathlon National Championship, earning a spot on Team USA for the World Championship.

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 and the book “Soup Sundays, A Journey Toward Healthy Eating”.

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

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 217 members in 39 states. We also have members in Australia, England, Scotland, Canada, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland, France, Ireland, Poland, Iran, Norway and Sweden. 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/

Follow CMT Author Chris Steinke
https://cmtandmesite.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/what-is-charcot-marie-tooth-disease/

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