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31st Seahorse Challenge Sprint Aquabike Race Report

Medal

It was a perfect day for racing here in Climax this morning! The air temp was about 60 degrees at the start. The water temp was 67. I raced the Sprint Aquabike division which means I had to swim 500 meters and then bike 20 kilometers. I was able to get right in the front of all the sprint athletes at the start of the swim, I always try to do that to avoid getting caught up in the slower swimmers. I felt pretty good throughout the entire swim and my time was 9:18. I then raced up the hill on foot to get my bike from transition.

The bike course was very hilly, but the wind was very light (about 4 MPH). My average speed on the bike was 20.5 MPH. I finished first….because no one else was doing that particular event. It was great to see so many other WSI team mates there, plenty of awards for the team! Everyone did awesome!

by Matt Wright

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2014 Sodus River Road Time Trial race report:

It was a cool and sunny morning in Sodus for the event. Temperature was about 53 F. at 9:15 just before my start time. The event was small, then north to finish. I used a normal road bike with clip on aero bars and placed 9th out of 9 in Cat 5 men. Average speed for the 20K was: 21.56 with a time of 34:34.4. If I had taken off the aero bars and ridden the “Eddie Merckx” class I would have placed about 4th. Maybe next year…. One added bonus was a free pint glass just for participation! A nice event that I would highly recommend.
Thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors!!

By Matt Wright

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A Big Day of Birds By Bike

Birding by BikeHaving recently completed a Barry County Big Green Year in 2013, this year I needed a new challenge combining my two passions of cycling and birding. I decided to cram it all into one day with the goal of seeing or hearing as many birds as possible in Barry County. Riding for reasons bigger than myself, this time I would be riding for charity…

Being a new father, it’s important to me that my daughter Barry YMCAgrows up seeing healthy living and being outside and active as normal. I decided to ride for the Barry County YMCA and their Play60 program (getting kids outside daily for at least 60min). My goal was to raise $1000 and tally a bird list of at least 100 species.

The day began at 2am and without getting on the bike, bird #1 was in the bag. The endangered Henslow’s Sparrow was doing what they do best, calling at night. You may ask why a person would get on the bike at 2am… NIGHT BIRDS!!! Whip and the moonWhat a morning it was. I tallied 50 birds by the time the sun showed itself through the trees including Barred Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Great-horned Owl, Sedge Wren and the illusive Eastern Whip-poor-whil.

At sunrise, a few local birders met up with me for a nice long hike through great habitat and by the time I left, my list was over 70. Family PhotoA lull in bird activity coupled with a nutrition problem early afternoon made for a rough couple hours but #100 came around 2pm in the form of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.  This bird should be in the UP right now and for some reason decided to stay just long enough.  With #100 in the bag, that was the encouragement I needed to continue on.  I got past my nutrition barrier and a random nesting colony of Bank Swallows presented itself. At that point, the numbers starting going up again. By the time I reached Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, my family was already there grilling some brats which really hit the spot. Lillian loves birds but she may like swinging even more!

I made it home at 8:30pm which meant I was on the road 18.5 hours, rode 106 miles, hiked 5 miles, kayaked 1 mile, tallied 116 birds total Josh Riding & Kayaking(which is a Barry County record, bike or no bike), burned over 4000 calories and climbed over 4000 vertical feet.  Needless to say, I slept well that night!!

Most importantly, I surpassed my charity goal of $1000 and have brought in over $1400. Thanks for all who donated. I’m even hopeful by the time my donation site closes; I’ll have raised over $1500.  If you would still like to donate, please visit www.active.com/donate/joshhaas by May 31st.

-Josh Haas

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Du-what? Another Seahorse Race Report

Today I competed in my first duathlon. 3.3 mile run, 20k bike, 3.3 mile run. The weather was beautiful and temperature perfect, although those competing in the triathlon may have thought differently with the water temps being a whopping 67 degrees.

imageMy theme today was slow and steady. I was doing this for me and no one else, I was my only competition. Within the first 10 minutes of the start I needed to remind myself of just that. I know my limits, I know my strengths and there was no way I was keeping up with the rest of the runners in the duathlon. Mind you, there were only about 12 of us so the field was small.

My biggest fear going into this new challenge for me was being last, I did NOT want to be last. I know, it doesn’t matter because I’m out there doing it, but last………

I was so incredibly nervous about the bike portion that my typical first mile nerves were present for the entire first run! And what a run it was! The Seahorse advertises the run as a fun course that keeps you going and having fun. Sure, if you consider crawling up steep hills, dodging roots, crossing moving bridges and climbing flights of stairs fun. In all honesty it did help the run fly by but the nature of the course was definitely challenging. Every turn I took there was a race director in a golf cart or the lead biker in front of me probably making sure I hadn’t passed out in the woods or gotten lost, because I was the last of the duathletes still running. I’d like to consider them my own personal escorts because I am THAT AWESOME!

As I ran into the bike corral I noticed about 3 bikes left in there which either meant there were 3 people behind me from the triathlon or three people already done with their bike and heading out on their run. I’d like to think it was the first option. Again, my fear is being dead last. And now for the moment of truth, exiting the transition area and clipping into my pedals in PUBLIC. I did it, without falling! Woohoo! That set the bike portion off to a great start!

imageThe first few miles were a breeze. I could catch my breath, get a drink and ……Lord Almighty, look at that hill! The “rolling hills” or as I would like to refer to the second half of the bike course, the never ending hill, was a challenge. I passed 5 cyclists. Yes, I counted every single one only because I couldn’t count the number of cyclists that passed me. Not only did they pass me uphill like I was standing still, but they were on their second loop of the course doing the Olympic distance triathlon! On a side note, I am humbled, grateful and encouraged beyond belief at the fact that almost every single one of them encouraged me to keep going with a “good job” or a “keep it up”. All of them amazing athletes both physically and personally! It’s the little things that keep us going sometimes and they definitely helped.

Nerve racking moment number two: dismounting. Slowing down, unclipping and running the bike back into transition area. I escaped embarrassment completely today. Zero falling, tripping or sprawling out flat on my face!

I knew the last run would be a grueling one because I had just done it. Déjà Vu in full effect as I was running through the swampy trail with nothing but the sounds of my breathing and the boisterous bullfrog, crawling up the hill in the woods, and heading over the river and through the woods. (No, I did not end at Grandma’s house.)

I finished. Dead last in the duathlon, but there were still triathletes behind me in the course so no one knew the difference. Shhh!

imageThere was a great presence there by my WSI cycling teammates. Many of them walking away with medals in hand. Imagine my surprise when my name was called at the awards. 3rd place. Only because there were only 3 females in the “Heifer” category. No, they do not really have a heifer category. I lovingly refer to it as that. In multi sport events when you are over a certain weight the men are called Clydesdales. I could never remember the name of the category for women (which I now know is Athena). I have jokingly always referred to it as the heifer category. So there it is, 3rd place, by default, which I have also already been told I need to stop referring to it as that and just claim my 3rd place. Again, just keeping things in perspective. Did I work hard for it? Sure. But I have to keep it real: real slow and real steady. That’s how I roll (and run).

~Nikki

Update: Apparently I was 3rd in my age group, not Athena. My surprise at even receiving an award blocked my ability to hear what it was for. Ha.

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Bridges Family Race Report – Seahorse Challenge

Seahorse Challenge May 25, while Marie raced the duathlon and Scotty the Sprint Tri.

The Olympic distances athletes went out first, and I did not see Kevin or Scotty until the finish line. The water temperature was just fine. I really had some struggles at the beginning. In my head I was thinking, “how do I do this again?” At one point I realized my wetsuit was making breathing difficult, and as soon as I fixed that, things went a little better. Two loops around and I felt more than ready to head to my bike. Goodbye water!

The bike course was hillier than I thought. It was downhill at first and I was able to push it a bit to shore up my sense of self-respect after that swim. The hills came later and I really had to pay for that earlier speed! I found Marie on my first lap, and passed her. The roads were quite smooth and my ride was pretty nice. In one particularly rough/hilly spot, R.J. from Team Active was perched on the side of the road to assist anyone who might need it. Luckily, my trusty Synapse got me through. Two loops around and I arrived back into the park. Time to run!

The run course cut through woods, swamps, campgrounds and fields. Michigan was really turning up the heat by that time, and I looked around me and thought, “finally it’s summer!” The run was very well supported and I took advantage of EVERY water/HEED station. The run finishes with a run up a set of stairs… I was ready to be done!!

The highlight of my race was seeing my daughter Marie at the finish line, along with my great teammates and friends Nikki, Charles, Danny and Matthew. Third place in my age group, I’ll take it. Not bad for my first tri of ’14.

Scotty BirdgesScotty: Its finally triathlon season, I did the sprint distance. Swim was good came out of the water 16th, spotted all my buoys perfectly, time to bike. I was flying past a lot of people with carbon fiber time trail bikes, averaged about 21 miles per hour and hade the 8th fastest time, and felt very good. The run was a nice mix of pavement and trail. Ran a 24 minute 5k and 6th fastest on the run. Finished 8th overall with a 1:14 time. Finished first in my age group, ready for Gull Lake Tri.

Kevin: Seahorse Triathlon holds a very special place in my heart, it was my first triathlon a few years ago. This year I did the Olympic distance, previously I’ve done the Sprint race.

The water was much warmer than I thought it would be, at the start of the swim I got kicked and had my goggles knocked out of place. Normally this isn’t a big deal but today I had a hard time getting back into a rhythm, after about 300 meters I got it together and finished the swim without any problems.

The bike went very well my Speed Concept performed flawlessly, I do need to work on the engine though. The run course at Seahorse has a little of everything pavement, dirt, and trail. It was nice to see other teammates on the run and encourage each other. I didn’t finish with a medal, but had a solid performance to build on going to Gull Lake.

Marie BridgesMarie: I did the Seahorse Duathlon. It was a beautiful day and it was a great race for me. I’m a 16-year-old girl so I’m normally one of the only ones in my age group, which I was. There were very few of us anyway. We went out on pavement and the running course was on pavement for the first mile, then we went on a trail. It got spongy for a little bit, but most if the trail is dry. It goes back on the pavement. Both of the runs are 5k.

The bike was my favorite part. The first part is mostly downhill and I could get really fast. I got up to 28 mph once, which is really fast for me. It was a nice day, no wind, very minimal traffic on the road, which I appreciate. The bike course goes through beautiful southern Michigan farmland.

I was the 3rd overall female and I made an awesome friend who was the first overall female in the duathlon, and I hope to see her in many more races as the summer goes on. It was a great race, and I hope to do it for years to come.