"You may never know the results of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results."- Gandhi.
I decided 2025 would be a lighter year in number of races. I just did four multi-sport races. I finished the season in Plano, Texas, at the Blackland Triathlon.
I signed up for the aquathlon, a race I did two years ago. I did it for the same reason: to have a second race to be ranked. With two races and ranking, it is possible to get an invite to the World Championship. It will be in Spain in September next year.
I just had to finish the race. It was an easy assignment with a 500-meter pool swim and a very flat 5K run.
I put the race on my schedule because I had signed up for the gravel national championship in Lincoln. Since I was halfway to my family in Dallas, I decided to make the trip and add this race.
The only downside of this race is the very early start. I never sleep well at night when I have an early morning race. It was a 45-minute drive to the race in the dark, which I don't love. My brother tagged along, and it was nice to have some company.
The race was uneventful. There was a kids' race before the adult race. It was fun watching the kids getting their start in triathlon.
I was wearing my Team USA uniform. Because this race attracts lots of beginners, I got asked lots of questions and for advice. It just seems like yesterday, I was the athlete, nervous before a race, and seeking advice.
This is a big race. The line to get into the pool to start the race circled the pool and out the door. We were seeded by timed and I reported my time as slower than it is. I wanted to be with slower swimmers. My logic was that I was less likely to be run over. For the race, we would swim on the right side of the lane, allowing faster racers to pass on the left. Once we got to the end of the lane, we would swim under the lane marker and repeat the process to complete 500 meters.
It was a short run to transition, and I was quickly out on the 5K run course. There were not that many of us in the aquathlon. The course was pretty empty because most of the athletes were out on the bike course. The weather was sunny, but only in the mid-70s, which is cool for Texas at this time of year.
I crossed the finish line. Mission accomplished. Because all of the athletes in the aquathlon were scored together, I finished last in the group. I was the oldest athlete. But I am now ranked and eligible for a bid to Spain. I will just have to wait and see if there is an open spot.
*******************************
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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