I participated in Wanderlust 108 this past weekend in Nashville, TN at Bicentennial Park. The event was billed as a mindful triathlon, and began with an un-timed 5K run through the downtown streets of Nashville. My Strava app recorded my pace at 8:59/ mile. This was followed by 90 minutes of Vinyasa style yoga led by Chelsea Korus, which was fun and challenging! The “triathlon” was concluded by 30 minutes of meditation led by Enrique Collazo.
The weather was cloudy and 65 degrees, which was perfect for running and outdoor yoga. A great day!
The start of 2017 race season was a plan to get out of my comfort zone with the intent to set myself up for training for RAAM, the coast-to-coast bicycling race from California to Maryland (but more on that later).
Kathy Roche-Wallace finishing the 2017 Muncie 70.3 Ironman.
I started off the year with Hyner Park Trail Run in PA. I ran it with my oldest daughter Melissa who was gracious enough to stay with me. The course featured an extremely difficult combination of three big climbs. The total distance was 25k with 4,226 elevation gain. What a riot, and great to be with my daughter for the event.
The next event was the National 24 Hour Challenge in Middleville, MI. As the name implies, you have 24 hours to ride as many miles as you can in a 24-hour period. Making the race was even more difficult this year, a lightning storm forced the race director to close the course down from midnight until 3:30 am. It was a challenge to get going again after you were forced to stop, especially after riding for that long. I rode it like I was racing RAAM, trying to stay focused. In the end, I finished 1st in my age group 3rd overall with a total of 339 miles (even with the 3 1/2 hour break from riding)!
After that came Muncie 70.3 Ironman triathlon, I have not done one of these in quite a few years, and it’s strange to say this is a “short” race for me. Most of my training has been in the ultra-distance world. It was a great venue, but I seriously got my butt kicked. Still managed to finish 4th in my age group, but this engine is used to running for longer distances and the shorter course really didn’t play to my strengths (but still good training).
Next came The Marquette 100k Trail Run. This was amazing and one of the most beautiful and challenging trail runs I have ever completed. I was proud that I was able to just finish and 2nd overall female.
Lastly was the Wisconsin Ironman in Madison, WI. Again a great venue with great spectator involvement and a beautiful/challenging course. I finished 2nd in my age group and very happy with my results on this challenging and hilly course.
Now that my official racing for the year is over, training dials in for RAAM (Race Across America) coming up June 2018. This is a 3,000-mile bicycle race from Oceanside CA. to Annapolis MD. I’ll again (yes, I’ve done this a few times now) race in the solo women category and will have 12 days to complete the entire course or be disqualified.
I ran the inaugural Oberun 5k in Ypsilanti, MI July 14th. It was sunny and 85 degrees for the 6:30 PM start. Well organized event, with great swag and after party!
I felt a little fatigued and possibly dehydrated about halfway through the run, but I still managed to finish in 25:17, which put me at 18 out of 122 in my age group!
Kevin and I went back to Grand Island to run the Grand Island Trail Marathon and Half Marathon July 22nd. The Island sits among the forests and beaches of Lake Superior’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and is simply one of the most beautiful places in Michigan (at least we think so).
It’s an early-morning ferry ride to the Island, then a short wait to start the race. I began my race at 6 am, along with the ultra runners and other early-start marathoners. It was just getting light as we started our run and you could see the sun coming up over the horizon as the starting gun went off.The trails are a mix of two-track trails and singletrack. The route follows the perimeter of the Island, running along the beach sand in places, and climbing up to overlook the sandstone cliffs. The area had a lot of rain, so bugs and wash-outs were plentiful, along with mud and humidity. It was a tough, beautiful course. I set a goal to finish around 6 hours and came close, but in the end, I slugged it out to finish 6:12.
Kevin started at 8 am for the half marathon finish. Like me, he got to enjoy the humidity (did I mention there were lots of bugs too) during his time on the course, finishing his 13.1 miles in 1:57.
If you’re thinking of heading to this race sometime, here’s a few interesting things about this race to note. The race has amazing and wonderful volunteers, who fill your water bottle at the aid stations (no cups, in fact, everything is pack-in, pack-out). Also, swimming in Lake Superior after the race is divine! Yes, a bit chilly, but after a race like this, it’s a refreshing break and a great way to cool down (quickly). One last note, watch out for the Sasquatch that lives on the mainland! We hear he got to meet one of our other WSI Cycling teammates the week prior. LOL ~Katie (and Kevin) Bridges
When there’s a race in your own backyard, you can’t pass up the opportunity to be involved in something local, and unique. The Battle Creek Half Marathon and 5k, in its 2nd year of existence, offers runners a fun course complete with planes, runways, and great lake views. The WSI team tackled the event from all fronts; from race directing, to providing bike lead out, to racing on two legs instead of two wheels.
Danny ran the half marathon for the second year in a row. To him, it is one of the best organized events he has done. Great course, volunteers and all around organization. Once again he joined the 7:30 pace group with a goal of finishing with them. Last year he elected to drop off around the 10-11 mile mark to save the legs a bit. With a few more long runs in the weeks leading up to it, he thought he would make it. But around 10 miles the legs and hips tightened up so he elected to back off and finish well. Overall he finished second in his age group and 22nd overall. Not too shabby at all!
Matt elected for the 5k as he had to scoot off to work shortly after. At least he could squeeze it in. He loves the well organized events put on by Cereal City Athletics. The course was well marked and volunteers were everywhere. The beautiful, cool morning helped as well. Matt chose this event to support WSI sponsors, the local community and St. Jude Children’s Research through Charity Miles. With a goal of finishing under 27, he blew it out of the water with a finish time of 24:32. Way to rack it, Matt.
Josh decided to run the 5k as well and wasn’t quite sure how great his performance would be given last year was pretty much a loss due to an early season knee injury. It’s been a tough year getting back to it but his runs are improving and his cycling base is coming back. His goal was to run the 5k in around 25min and he finished in 24:37. That was a nice way to get back to racing and he plans to run a couple more 5ks this year, compete in the Cereal City Du coming up in a couple weeks as well as some fall races to complete his 2017 season.
Charles ran the half marathon as well. Not his best, but he finished. Who can blame him for being exhausted before the race even started from a 4:30 set up start to unloading a 30 foot trailer all before the race start at 7 am?
As for me, Nikki, I was behind the scenes, putting out fires, making sure aid stations were set up, taping all the turns, and so forth. The hours upon hours of emails, coordinating with local businesses and PD, answering questions and so forth were all made worth it when I got to take a short break and watch runners cross the finish line! (And I promise, I did not threaten my teammates in any way to say such nice things about the event!)
