Waupaca Triathlon-Racing with a Zen Mindset

 

"You must be prepared always to work without applause."- Ernest Hemingway.

My parents had a weekend place not far from the race venue. So when I was searching for races, the Waupaca Triathlon caught my eye.

We had to sell my dad's place when he went into a nursing home about 10 years ago. Still, I have fond memories of the area.  I was excited to go back and see the area where I spent so much time growing up.

Since my race in Milwaukee was canceled, I was looking forward to a road bike course. 

I signed up for the aqua bike race. It would be a 750-meter swim and a 20-mile bike.  I've done very little racing on roads the last couple of years. I have concentrated on off-road and winter events.

I was doing the event to have a chance to be ranked and get an invite to Team USA. I did the super sprint aqua bike at the Ugly Dog gravel race.

Last year at this race, there were only two women in the entire aqua bike category. When I signed up, I thought I might just get a medal. Awards are given to the top three finishers regardless of age.  I decided to race as an age group athlete at this race. Last year, when I did race as a para-athlete there were a couple of problems with my results getting to the USA triathlon site. I did not want any problems to interfere with being ranked.

All hopes for that were dashed as I was setting up in transition.  Three athletes from Tri Faster in Milwaukee arrived. One of Lauren Jensen, a former pro triathlete. I was hoping to average 15 mph on the course. Lauren did it with an average speed of 23 mph.

So all hopes of a medal were dashed.  That was fine, now I could just relax and treat the race like a workout.

The water temp was 76°F, nice and warm. The course was straight out and back. The course looked like the lane markers on a swimming pool.  There was a rope with bobbers. So if you wanted, you could just hang on any time.

I was about the sixth wave to start. Every wave had around 25 men and women.  We were put in the water two by two every couple of seconds. So there were lots of athletes in the water.

This is a race with lots of beginners. That can make for some chaos in the swim, since beginners often side stroke or backstroke. That means, as a faster swimmer, you are moving through lots of other swimmers.  It was croswed and one of the most chaotic swims I have ever done.

Someone from the next wave blew past me on my right between me and the rope.  I could not get past the woman in front of me, so I just tucked in behind her and decided to draft. I thought it would be good practice. Since I was not concerned about my time, I thought it would be a great experience to draft off of someone. I've never been able to do it for an entire race.  Despite all the chaos around me, I was in a remarkably zen state of mind.  I was very relaxed mentally and physically. What a change from my early days of racing.  My ribs also held up pretty well. They are still a bit sore from a bike crash last month.

I passed her right at the end, but she beat me up the very steep hill to transition.

I got out on the bike course and was able to catch her and pass. Good thing since she was on the aqua bike.  I finished 9th out of 10 women with an average speed just under 15 mph.  The course was nice with rolling hills in the countryside.  I really enjoyed the bike ride and did well over the  20-mile course.

There was one scary moment when a newbie racer passed on the right and did not even announce himself. He didn't know any better. I let him know never to pass on the right. It is a safety issue.

I have to decide in the off-season what direction I want my racing to take. If I want to be competitive in these types of races, I am going to need to do a great deal more riding. The little 45-minute rides I do around the neighborhood are not going to do it.

Because I knew I had not placed in the top three, I did not have to wait 90 minutes for the award ceremony. I was home before they gave out the awards.  All in all, it was a good time and I am glad at how much I have improved in the sport.

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

 

Chris Wodke

Founder Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete, Nordic skier, and long-distance runner. She is a three-time participant in 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.

She has won national championships as a physically challenged athlete in Aqualon, Duathlon, Aqua bike, and Winter Triathlon. She was the national champion in her age group in 2023 for gravel duathlon.

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

She was the 2023 Gravel Duathlon National Champion in the 65-69 age group.

She has won state championships as an age-group athlete in cycling and triathlon. She has represented America as an age-group athlete at world championships in Chicago, Denmark, Cozumel, and Norway. She earned a bronze medal at the Winter Duathlon World Championship in 2023 in Norway.

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,” which 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 find a cure for CMT. We currently have 257 athletes in 43 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 website: 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.

 

Keywords: Running, Running and CMT, triathlon, triathlon and CMT, athlete and CMT, cycling and CMT, Para triathlon, challenged athlete, Team CMT, Running for My Life-Winning for CMT. Hereditary Neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

CMT and running, CMT and triathlon, CMT and athlete, Charcot-Marie-Tooth and running, Charcot-Marie-Tooth and triathlon, Team USA and Team CMT, Running for my life-Winning for CMT, CMT athlete, athlete, and CMT, triathlete and CMT, Boston Marathon Bombing, CMT disease, CMT and exercise, exercise and CMT, CMT, athlete, and CMT. Team CMT, CMT athlete, athlete and CMT, bike4CMT, walk4CMT,  CMTA, HNF, Tri4CMT, Walk4CMT, MDA, #kneedeepinwo

Paratriathlon National and Age Group Champsionships- A Race No Go

 

“When a well-trained race horse enters the starting gate, it doesn’t look around and analyze the competition.  It simply waits for the gate to open and at the bell, lets the body do its thing-to simply run the race.” – Jerry Lynch, Author of Running Within.

I signed up to compete at the USA Triathlon (USAT) age group sprint triathlon on August 10th. It was to be held in my hometown of Milwaukee.  This race was also going to be the Paratriathlon National Championship.  I had hoped for a classification spot because opportunities are race. Unfortunately, I cannot make the 1 hr 25 minute qualifying time.  Most able-bodied women in my age group would struggle to meet that standard.

I begged for a classification time because I would like to compete at the Winter World Championships next year as a para-athlete.  It is not as though anyone is breaking down the doors. I have seen one male athlete compete.  So that was the first blow..  It means I likely will never be able to race as a para-sthlete at a World Championship. If I am to achieve the goal of a world championship, it will have to be as an age-group athlete.

There was an open division in past years. It is not divided into five divisions ATD1-5.  From the participant list, I could see there were 12 women signed up.  The list did not show which category the athletes fit into.  I decided to do some research on each of the women. I was the oldest at 67. The youngest two were 15.  The second oldest was 50 years old.

It is easy to look up finish times on the USAT website. Some of the women were close to the time standard. My hopes of placing on the podium were very slim. Some had no times listed and were a complete unknown.

I approached race morning with a bit of dread. As I set up in transition, I was not super excited about the race; my age and CMT progression were feeling very real. I remember the first time I did my first para and age group national races, I was 20 minutes faster.

There were flash flood warnings the morning of the race, with an advisory to stay off the roads. Still, I was on my way at 4am for a 5am opening of transition. My wave was the 2nd one at 6:45.

I had a feeling of dread. Transition was a muddy mess. Thunderstorms were predicted throughout the day.

I went over to the swim start and saw lots of debris in the water. A boat was hauling what looked like half of a large tree. A similar situation at a Para National Championship led to the cancellation of the swim. The race became a duathlon.  The problem was that there was so much debris on the road, I blew a tire, dropping me from second to 4th and my only finish at a para championship off the podium.

As the start time got closer, USAT leadership began to make announcements about race delays, and finally, the announcement came to cancel the race.

From where we were the everything looked ok.  We were told no police and fire were available to support the race.  What we did not know was the extent of flooding across Milwaukee and the surrounding counties.  Wauwatosa a suburb just to the west, had 600 EMS calls from its flooded downtown.

I found two streets blocked on my way home, including this one.

Three young women had been in the white car.  The water got up to chest high in just two minutes. They were to escape through an open window. These scenes played out all across the area. The State Fair, which attracts up to 100,000 visitors in a day, was cancelled due to flooding.

Although many athletes were disappointed, they understood especially when they understood the extent of the damage and flooding on the race course.  USAT made a difficult but correct decision. They did what they thought was best for the safety of the athletes. The city had declared a State of Emergency, and they did not want the race to interfere with vital rescue and clean-up work.

I do realize racing is a privilege. I am lucky with CMT, I can still race, even if I finish off the podium.  It is going to give me an incentive to work harder and give the other athletes a run for their money.

The race will be back in Milwaukee next year, and I am going to work really hard in the next year.

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

Chris Wodke

Founder Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

 

Chris is a triathlete, Nordic skier, and long-distance runner. She is a three-time participant in 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.

She has won national championships as a physically challenged athlete in Aqualon, Duathlon, Aqua bike, and Winter Triathlon. She was the national champion in her age group in 2023 for gravel duathlon.

 

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

 

She was the 2023 Gravel Duathlon National Champion in the 65-69 age group.

 

She has won state championships as an age-group athlete in cycling and triathlon. She has represented America as an age-group athlete at world championships in Chicago, Denmark, Cozumel, and Norway. She earned a bronze medal at the Winter Duathlon World Championship in 2023 in Norway.

 

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,” which 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 find a cure for CMT. We currently have 257 athletes in 43 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 website: 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.

 

Keywords: Running, Running and CMT, triathlon, triathlon and CMT, athlete and CMT, cycling and CMT, Para triathlon, challenged athlete, Team CMT, Running for My Life-Winning for CMT. Hereditary Neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

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Ugly Dog Gravel Triathlon- Fun with Friends

 

1st Place Overall Ugly Dog Gravel Aqua Bike

"It ain't about how hard you get hit. It's about how hard you get hit and keep moving on. That's how winning is done."- Slyvestor Stallone.

I took a hard hit just two weeks before a scheduled sprint triathlon at the Ugly Dog Gravel race in Grass Lake, Michigan.

I was on a training ride in my neighborhood when my bike hit a crack in the road and I lost control.  I hit my head on the pavement and my ribs on the sidewalk curb.  When I hit was not even sure I was ok.  I lay there for a minute, trying to decide if I could get up.  A lady who saw the whole thing asked if I was ok. I told her I was not sure.

After a couple of minutes, I got back on my bike and rode for another 20 minutes. I had two salad plate-sized bruises on both inner legs.  They looked terrible, but did not hurt much. The ribs were another story. It hurt to breathe. Lying down at night required doses of Ibuprofen.  My back also hurts. It was hard to get comfortable sleeping.

I had an annual medical exam later in the week, and the doctor thinks I have a microfracture of several ribs.

I was able to run and ride, but could not swim without a great deal of pain. I confined my swimming workouts to fins and a kickboard.

This happened at a really bad time in my season. I have the para-triathlon national championship in my hometown of Milwaukee on August 10.

I also had the Ugly Dog sprint triathlon on July23rd.  The first year I signed up for the race, I found out triathlon friends Robert and Cheryl Kearney had also signed up for the race. Plus, Cheryl's brother owned a home on the lake where the race was held. For the 4th year, this race has been a friends and family weekend.  I did not want to miss it. 

The 750-meter swim for the sprint race was out of the question. I had to figure out what race I would do.  I know from last year that the trail run was steep with roots and rocks. I would be worried that with the recent rain, the trail would be slippery.

I decided to do the super sprint aqua bike. This race would be a 300-meter swim and a 5-mile gravel bike.  I crossed my fingers that the short swim would be ok. I knew I would also need to be careful on the course. The race director told us in the pre-race briefing that the course was peanut butter (soft).

The only glitch in the race was on the swim. The safety kayaks kept getting in the way. Two of them blocked the route to the first turn buoy. I had to yell at them to get out of my way. There were lots of first-time athletes, and many were hanging on kayaks. I understand that, but the kayaks needed to move out of the way. Then a kayak was again blocking my way as I headed into the swim finish. I had a direct line on the swim exit and again yelled for the kayak to get out of the way.  I have never had this happen in a race.

My friend Cheryl was just seconds ahead of me out of the swim, but I beat her out of transition. I was biking as fast as I could to put distance between us. She was on a gravel bike, which is much faster than the mountain bike I ride.  It is a bit silly since we were not in the same race. Just a way to motivate myself.  Cheryl caught me just before we hit the dismount line. My race was done, and she was off on her fun to finish her triathlon.

The bike course was soft, but I got through it without incident. Awards for the aqua-bike are only given to the top three in the race. I finished 1st overall with a time of around 44 minutes.

My ribs were sore, but I got through it.  In 10 days, I have the biggest race of the season. I am hoping I can get through the 750-meter swim on that one. I guess we will see.

Here we all are at the finish.

Cheryl and Robert both took 1st place in their age group for the super sprint triathlon.  It is a fun event for us, and I look forward to being back next year.

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

 

Chris Wodke

Founder Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

 

Chris is a triathlete, Nordic skier, and long-distance runner. She is a three-time participant in 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.

She has won national championships as a physically challenged athlete in Aqualon, Duathlon, Aqua bike, and Winter Triathlon. She was the national champion in her age group in 2023 for gravel duathlon.

 

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

 

She was the 2023 Gravel Duathlon National Champion in the 65-69 age group.

 

She has won state championships as an age-group athlete in cycling and triathlon. She has represented America as an age-group athlete at world championships in Chicago, Denmark, Cozumel, and Norway. She earned a bronze medal at the Winter Duathlon World Championship in 2023 in Norway.

 

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,” which 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 find a cure for CMT. We currently have 257 athletes in 43 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 website: 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.

 

Keywords: Running, Running and CMT, triathlon, triathlon and CMT, athlete and CMT, cycling and CMT, Para triathlon, challenged athlete, Team CMT, Running for My Life-Winning for CMT. Hereditary Neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

CMT and running, CMT and triathlon, CMT and athlete, Charcot-Marie-Tooth and running, Charcot-Marie-Tooth and triathlon, Team USA and Team CMT, Running for my life-Winning for CMT, CMT athlete, athlete, and CMT, triathlete and CMT, Boston Marathon Bombing, CMT disease, CMT and exercise, exercise and CMT, CMT, athlete, and CMT. Team CMT, CMT athlete, athlete and CMT, bike4CMT, walk4CMT,  CMTA, HNF, Tri4CMT, Walk4CMT, MDA, #kneedeepinwo