August marks the season of triathlons in Michigan. It is that one perfect month of the summer where the mornings are not stifling hot, the waters have warmed up and the sun is shining (most of the time). With that said, it is no surprise that over the past few weeks we have had several WSI riders compete in several different triathlons around the state. Here’s a summary of them all.
The Cereal City Triathlon has been a yearly event for me. I have participated in this event since it began 3 years ago. This year I did not know what to expect as I was in a 10 hour adventure race the day before (that is a whole different race report). The swim and bike went as expected. This course is home turf for me, as the start is only a mile from my house. The run was tough. I was tired, my legs were spent from the day before. I had another friend in the course who had participated the day before in the Battle Frog and I knew he and I were in the same boat; exhaustion. I passed him on the bike but knew I could not hold him off on the run. Sure enough, he came up behind me. At this point we needed each other to keep pushing to the finish. We finished together. Not my best time, not my worst. It was a finish, nonetheless.
Danny Wolin
This is the first year I have done this duathlon and had a great time. Nice (local) course, well run and good weather. At the last minute they shortened the first run to 2.5k from 5. I stayed close behind the lead runner and had a good ride which made the last run a bit less stressful. Ended up winning and finished in 1.01 with a PR finishing 5k. Great race and I will do it again.
Matt Wright
Matt participated in the aquabike portion of the event, placing 1st.
This was my 2nd triathlon in two weeks. The Girls Best Friend Tri is an all women’s tri put on by a company called 3 Disciplines. It was a well organized event at the Prairie View Park near Vicksburg. Nice venue, but the lake was a bit weedy even though we have gotten plenty of rain this summer. I was a bit nervous about the thickness of the weeds and the fact I would be heading out with 75 other women. But I decided to strap a pair on and take a more direct path to the first buoy (which would put me in thicker weeds). There was more bumping and touching toward the end of the swim due to a small space they were funneling all the swimmers through. Mentally I did well and did not panic and had a great swim.
In my category I was ranked 4th coming out of the water. On the bike I passed as many women I could and was ranked 1st on this leg of the race. I had a fast transition going into the run and was ranked 3rd in the run. Overall I finished 2nd in my category about 3 minutes behind the first place woman. There were 15 women in our category. My strong bike and fast transitions saved me from getting 3rd place in which I beat her by 4 minutes. It was a fun race, and lucky I finished before the heat set in.
This is the 3rd year I have done this race and this year raced for a local family battling cancer. I was very inspired to race for them and it was a beautiful day out.
This is a hard course. Super hilly bike course that never lets up and a second run with some tough hills. The first run went well and was a PR for the 5k (6.39 pace) and the ride was a bit faster than last year at 22 mph avg. Not a great pace but you really need to ride this course smart …given the hills and the second run. I was the first Olympic athlete in and started the run with a nice lead. PRd the second run at 6.44 pace and won the duathlon by almost 25 minutes. I was the first Olympic athlete in overall and fastest ride. Overall I knocked a minute off the last two years with just a cleaner race.
There is still time to donate if anyone wants and I would like to thank everyone that has so far. I am lucky to get to do this and am fortunate that I have a great support network (my awesome wife, kids and friends). And the Jokinks who inspired me a lot today.
Peggy Hasse
After finishing the 23rd Three Rivers Triathlon today, I had to chance to talk to Danny. I really thought he must have started in the wrong race or messed up on the course to have finished as fast as he did!! Amazing Danny! My race was a great experience with perfect weather. I was third overall woman, and first in my age group of 45-49. 1:11:22 race. I putted through the swim with no problems at 13:05, biked that crazy, hilly course at 20.7 mph average and finally finished the run, in hot pursuit of the only two females in front of me, at a 7:31 pace. I couldn’t catch them, but was pleased with my effort! Finished up with some great food and awards. Swag for volunteers and racers extra nice. This race is a volunteer race for me as well. My whole family and local community gets out there to serve. This is, by far, one of the best races around!
Saturday, Michigan. Despite the name, the sun was hard to find and severe weather rolled in. WSI athletes still had a great time with great results. Check out what our racers had to say about their races.
Matt Wright
I raced the Sprint Aquabike again this year and managed to win the division by 4 minutes. I got a slow start in the water, 750 meters of swimming, and then it was on to the bike course for 13 miles. I started 5minutes behind the sprint tri guys, so I passed a lot of people on the bike course. It was laid out well, marked and marshalled where the turns were. I felt really good on the bike and made up some time. The weather was perfect during my race and I was able to finish with no issue. I had all my gear packed up and then the severe weather rolled in with lightening and the race director had to shut down the race. This is always a great event: well organized, staffed and plenty of volunteers
Dave Goff, Sr.
As always Tri Del Sol Was a great race with beautiful weather! I did the Sprint Duathlon. I had a good bike, but struggled with the last run ended up second in my age group.
Peggy Hasse
Tri del Sol triathlon turned out a 2nd place age group finish for me in the sprint race. Time was around 1:20:ish. I had a good swim (got to wear wetsuits!) with no problems, fast bike at 22.7, and an 8:31 run pace. Bike course is the bomb, with just enough rollers to keep good speed. The run was challenging being the first tri of the season and pushing the bike a bit. Good weather until the storm rolled in and caused some of the other racers to DNF.
Kellie Sparks-Kramer
Tri del Sol was the 1st duathalon of the season for me and it was HOT and HUMID…. I did the sprint { thank God}. I finished up 1:31:35, 2nd in age group and was excited to see a 21.4 mph bike average. I am looking forward to next year.
Pictured are Peggy (left), Dave (2nd from left), and Kelli (right)
This past weekend I returned to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH to compete in the Rev3 Half Aquabike event, Clydesdale division (220 pounds and over). This also happened to be the US National Triathlon National Aquabike Championships, which was also pretty cool. This was also my big event to raise money for the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation (CNCF) as part of Pedaling With a Purpose. Inspired by Christi Thomas, a sweet little girl who lost her battle against the disease at the age of 9, Cedar Point was one of her favorite places and we spent many afternoons riding rides, eating elephant ears and having fun. Plus, September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, so even though my race is over, I’m leaving my donation page up through the end of the month and with any luck, I’ll be able to exceed my $1,000 fundraising goal (so spread the word!).
While most have heard of the term “triathlon,” which consists of a swim, bike and run, an aquabike event eliminates the run part and just athletes swim and bike. It’s a great opportunity to compete in a multi-discipline sporting event, yet avoid running (which seems to be what takes most athletes out of comission). I hurt my knee earlier this year training and was not up for the 13.1 mile run, but wanted to still compete in this great event. The funny part is, when I say I’m doing the aquabike, visions of a “bike riding on the water” spring to mind. However, with the rolling waves in Lake Erie at start (3-5 foot swells), there’s no way I’d even consider riding a bike on those waves (heck, swimming was hard enough).
A Swim Like No Other
Doesn’t look like much, but the waves got a lot bigger when you were in the water!
Our wave was the first to head off at 8:20 am and many of the full distance Rev3 racers were in the process of finishing their 2.4 mile swim (they went off much earlier). Heading into the water the get used to the temp I realized very quickly that this was going to be a swim like no other. I’ve played in waves this big before, but never swam in them, let alone tried to race. Good thing for the wetsuit, as the buoyancy was surely going to be a Godsend and keep me from becoming fish food for the Lake Erie inhabitants.
Start time arrived and we were off. Swimmers were “dolphin jumping” over the waves, as the sandy bottom reached pretty far out into the water. Once we got past the point of touching the ground, it became an immediate challenge just to spot the sighting buoys to keep on track and swimming straight, having to time my breathing with the roll of the waves. For racers that had done a lot of open water swimming this may not have been a big issue, but for me I have to admit to being just a “little freaked out” at what was ahead of me. I kept saying to myself “just keep swimming forward, even if that meant breast-stroke and doggie paddle to get this over (which happened more than I care to admit, unfortunately).
Happy to be back on land, headed to for the bike now!
Once I made the turn (which seemed like it took forever to get there) and started swimming parallel to shore, it got a bit easier. I breathe on the right, so when I turned my head I was facing away from the oncoming waves, but there were times when I went to stroke with my left arm and I could feel it never even coming out of the water with my timing coinciding with another oncoming wave. “Just keep swimming” I said to myself and make the turn to that final buoy to make the swim back to shore. One of the cool parts about racing in Lake Erie is at this point when I took a breath, I could see Cedar Point (assuming I was not at the bottom of a wave and looking at water, that is).
As land got a little closer with every stroke I was elated that very soon I’d be back on the ground and soon would be tossing a leg over my bike and headed off for my ride. Coming out of the water, my buddy (and WSI Cycling teammate) Shayne was there to cheer me on and he said afterwards that I looked totally spent – he was right. I can honestly say I’ve never been so glad to be back on land after a swim in my life. But the good news was I was headed off to get on the bike and then the fun would begin.
Let’s Go For a Ride
After getting “stripped” of my wetsuit (yae) by a couple of the volunteers, I entered the transition area. Knowing that I was not going to have to continue with a run afterwards, I skipped the socks and just tossed on my shoes, grabbed my helmet and glasses and was off for the remaining 56 miles. Due to my horrible swim time, I knew if I wanted to make up any positions I’d have to put the hammer down.
Love the bikes with roller coasters in the background.
It was so nice not to be sucking in water and praying for land like on the swim just a few minutes ago and I was able to keep a fast pace for most of the bike leg. Passing riders one after another, you can tell which division they are in thanks to the markings on the racers’ calves. “H” meant they were also competing in the Half Rev event, everyone also had their age, but I was looking for that extra “AB,” which stood for the aquabike. Those were the people I was after and needed to pass as many of them as I could.
I passed a lot of people out there, but it wasn’t until about the first 15 miles, I started to see some of my fellow AB-ers and was able to pass by them with ease. It was pretty obvious which of the disciplines was my strongest and I kept thinking about how nice it was going to be not to have to put on the running shoes and finish with those 13.1 miles at the end. Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to do all three legs of a triathlon (and a little part of me did miss being able to do the full event), but it always ended up with me passing a ton of people on the bike, only to be passed by them again on the run, which meant they ended up finishing before me in the overall event. Well this year that was going to change and I just ride.
The only “potential incident” (that was luckily avoided) was coming out of one of the small towns that we pass through. There were people lined up along the streets yelling, rattling their cowbells and cheering us on. I was coming up on the right of a woman to pass her and ahead was a 90-degree left hand turn to take us back out into the country. Not even thinking that she would go the wrong direction, I was surprised (and quickly applying my brakes) when she turned to the right, directly in front of me. It looked like she was really out of it and obviously was not paying attention, but fortunately I avoided a crash, which would have ended my day on a sour note (and some road rash).
At about mile 40 I could tell that I had been riding at red-line for most of the race as one of my legs began to cramp. I ate one of my energy gels, grabbed a drink and dialed it back a bit so I would not blow up. Heck, I still had 16 miles to go and wanted to make sure that I was able to finish strong. Fortunately, I got the cramping under control and was starting to see more AB racers. Being in the Clydesdale division, when I saw a “big guy” with an AB, that got me even more excited.
Coming into the last five miles, I basically took the gas pedal and stepped on it, all the way to the floor. While many of the triathletes on the course were starting to dial it back a bit in preparation for the run (which I would have been doing if 13.1 miles awaited me), I was blowing by people like a man on a mission. Making the final right-hand turn in to the big Cedar Point lot, I could see the aquabike finish banner in the distance and sprinted across it, leaving “nothing in the tank.”
This makes four Rev3 finisher medals!
Coasting into the transition area was much different than years past. I would have been hurrying to get to my rack, ditch the bike, scurry around swapping my cycling shoes for my running shoes, messing with my number belt and then heading off to run the streets of downtown Sandusky. Not this year. My event was done and I coasted in, took my time, sat down and leisurely put on my socks and shoes to go out and then run through the finish chute and claim my medal and get a few cheers from the crowd.
I hopped up and exited the transition area. Volunteers were handing out water and Gatorade, which I would have normally taken as I started the final 13.1 miles of the day, but I decided to leave it for the runners and made my way to the final turn, headed back into the finishing area. Shayne was there and could see he was headed back to try and get a photo of me, so I just took my time and even waited at the end of the final straightaway for him. The announcer, who is a bit of a card himself, even called me out on it saying something like “looks like we’ve got another finisher taking some extra time to make sure he’s got a nice Kodak moment – here comes Eric Cook from Battle Creek, MI.”
Unfortunately, Shayne’s iPhone froze on him (hmm… maybe he should get an Android – ha ha) so I don’t have any photographic evidence of my finish, but I came across in 3:34:12, which was good enough for 2nd place in the Clydesdale division. Overall I finished 78 out of 141 and considering the horrific swim time, I was happy with my result. Not sure I could have done either the swim or the bike any faster, which is what my goal was.
Two-Time Champion
Celebrating Shayne’s finish.
The day before my race, Shayne raced in the Sprint triathlon, which was the second year for the Saturday event. He won the Clydesdale division last year, and since it was the first time for that race, we were telling people he was the “world record” holder for the Rev3 Cedar Point Clydesdale Sprint Triathlon. May be a bit of an embellishment, but it was true (technically speaking). Good news is that he retained his crown and again won the Clydesdale division. In true Shayne fashion, I caught him “hamming it up” a bit coming into the finish line (and yes, I’ve got an Android phone that did not freeze up!).
Just Being Kids
Front row (again). Did you know you’re not supposed to take photos on the rides? Oops!
One of the best parts about this race is spending time at Cedar Point with Shayne and just being “big” kids. We went in Saturday and Sunday and rode just about every ride we wanted. As mentioned earlier, it’s a special place for me given the memories of Christi. Angela, Shayne’s wife, and Shayla, their daughter, came up Sunday as well and I got to take Shayla on a lot of the rides her sister and I used to ride together. Of course, Christi was seven or eight years old and Shayla is now a sophomore in high school, but it was nice to carry on the tradition.
With any luck I’ll be back agai next year for the “regular” half (70.3) triathlon and will have some time to get a bit of running in. While I’d like to continue competing in the Clydesdale divison, it would be nice to also come in next year under 220 lbs. I have a feeling the run would be a little less painful if that were the case, so we’ll see how it goes.
Thanks again to those that have donated to support the CNCF and supporting me along the way (and it’s still not too late to donate). While the ability to compete is certainly a blessing, being able to tie it to something that can does good for others is just an added bonus.
