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| Duathlon National Championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
" In battle we do not rise to our expectations, we fall to our level of training." - Archilochos, Greek Poet
I have not done a blog entry for almost a year. It didn't seem right in the middle of COVID. I did race a few times last year, but most of my races were cancelled leaving me with little to write about.
Things are starting to get back to normal in the U.S. Races are also back on for this season including USA Triathlon National Championships.
This would be my first race since doing a sprint triathlon in August in Michigan last year. I knew I would have some rust to knock off. A duathlon is a bike and run race. May is a bit early for those of us in the Midwest. We have had very little weather where we could cycle outside.
Miles on the trainer are not great training miles, so I knew I might not have a great race. Plus two weeks before the race, my car was T-boned sending me to the emergency room with neck and back pain.
I missed a week of training and am still under doctors care for on-going neck and back issues. I always have high expectations for my performance. I want to have a good race more than anything. I want to feel strong and fast. The weather forecast for race day was humid and 90F. We have not seen those kind of temperatures here in Wisconsin since August. So for a lot of reasons I knew I had to adjust my expectations a bit.
I had signed up for three races:
- Standard distance of 10K run, 40K bike, 5 K run
- Sprint, non draft of 5 K run, 20 K bike, 3 K run
- Sprint draft legal of 5K run, 20K bike, 3 K run
The first two races the standard and non draft sprint were on Saturday with the draft legal on Sunday.
Spots were on the line for the age group Team USA and All American designation for the top 10 in each age group.
I decided to drop the standard race and do both the sprint races. I would race as a physically challenged athlete on Saturday and an age group athlete on Sunday. I was going to do that so that I could qualify for the US Team. I cannot do that currently when racing as a PC athlete.
I was really proud to be representing Team CMT and with my#1 race number. Lots of people asked me about it.
Normally I am nervous about racing, but with no swim and the short distances, I was excited to be racing. The race was held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama which is about a 13 hour drive from Milwaukee. My brother came along to help with the driving and to keep me company. We split the drive over two days and arrived in the early afternoon on Friday for packet pick up. No race day pick up.
The other thing that was different this year was that masks had to be worn at all times when not racing. That included while waiting for the race to start and in transition. There was hand sanitizer everywhere. We were urged to practice social distancing.
Race day is pretty routine. I got set up, looked for friends and sat in the shade to keep cool. The PC wave on Saturday was the last wave. That meant I would spend parts of both run legs and the bike by myself. I hate that .
The first run was super hot because it was on blacktop. There was an aid station every mile with ice cold water and towels dipped in ice water. I don't know how they managed to keep it so cold on such a hot day. The volunteers were just awesome. The water was in bottles and the volunteers were not supposed to hand it to us. I poured one over me and took one with me.
When I got to transition I had trouble changing into my bike shoes. I touched my foot on the black top in transition and it was burning my foot. I was afraid to sit down. It seemed like it took forever to get set and be off on the bike.
The bike course was supposed to be flat but it was really a set of very long and fairly high hills. It seemed like it took forever. Usually it takes me about 40 minutes and with the wind that day it took me almost an hour. I think my race really suffered due to my lack of outdoor training. I am hoping for better results later in the year.
The 2nd run went well and I ended up the National Champion for the PC open female division. At first I felt a bit funny about that since I was the only one. But there were many age group athletes that were the only one in their division. I came home with a nice national champion shirt and a gold medal.
I was supposed to race on Sunday. Well Saturday night my body felt like it was on fire and my whole body was jumpy. At about 3 am I made the decision to skip the Sunday race. I did not want to risk over-doing it. That gave us a chance to get an early start driving back home.
My overall race time was 20 minutes slower than my last duathlon. I was hoping for much better. I have to say I was disappointed in my performance. As I get outside for more riding, I am hoping I can get back to where I was in 2019. Something to look forward to.
************************
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 5th 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 2nd in her
age group at the Winter Triathlon National Championship, earning a spot on Team
USA
for the World Championship.
In 2020
she was named a National Ski Patrol Subaru Ambassador and a USA Triathlon
Foundation Ambassador.
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 CMTWe currently have 233 athletes in 41 states. We also have
members in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Vietnam, Iran, Scotland,
France, Turkey, Poland, Norway, Mexico, Wales, Ireland 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.
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