"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.
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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”.
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.
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