STR Reaches New Heights

I am happy to report that the Z-machine and I returned from an awesome trip to the Cascades in Washington. Over the last 10 days Z and climbed in some of the most spectacular wilderness this country has to offer. During our trip we hiked into Boston Basin at the foot of Mount Forbidden only to be socked in by a complete white out for two days.

Boston Basin when we hiked in…

Boston Basin next day…To escape the split pea soup (Z’s apt description of the weather) we moved to the western side of the cascades to climb the South Arête on South Early Winter Spire. Multiple pitches of moderate rock with great exposure…pure alpine bliss!
From there we continued on to Levenworth, WA to climb a 3-pitch climb called Midway. The first pitch (5.6) tested Z’s composure. While the next two pitches were technically easier, there was plenty of exposure for the both of us!

Pitch 1...

Pitch 2...

After having our fill of rock climbing we moved on to Mount Rainier. Our schedule at Mount Rainier National Park was intense! Route shown below. On Sunday, we left Paradise at 7am in an absolute white out… arrived at Camp Muir at 12:30pm to beautiful skies…
melted water, brewed up drinks and ate; went to bed at 5pm, got up at 12:30am, and left camp at 1am. After climbing for about 6 ½ hours and crossing many large crevasses, one of which required a ladder to cross, we reached the summit around 8am!
It was a magnificent day to sit on the summit where we made sure our accomplishments were properly recorded in the summit register.
After descending to back to Camp Muir we took a 2 hour siesta, packed up our camp and returned to Paradise by 6pm Monday morning. In less than 36 hours we climbed up and down a total of ~10,000 feet.

PURE STR DOMINATION!

Doctor, Doctor

I would like to say congratulations to Shawn "Dr. Ice Dog", and Mac "Dr. Skinny". Shawn successfully defended his Ph.D this month after over a decade of schooling at Michigan State. Shawn will help keep this world a little cleaner and will teach the young minds of tomorrow as a Professor of Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University.

Mac completed his ER residence and is officially done this month! Mac finished his last residency in a small village in Africa, where he introduced emergency room medicine and ultimate Frisbee to the locals. Mac and his wife Amy, will be moving to Traverse City this summer.

You guys both dedicated countless hours of hard work to achieve your dreams and you did it!

First Tri

I just wanted to give you all an update on my 1st tri this past weekend. I started off my training with some swim lessons at the Y. I knew how to swim, but usually did this to cool off after laying out, never for a workout. It has been a tough 4 months, but was able to complete a 1500m workout in the end. That I was very proud of!!! The bike and the run were something I did in the basement after the kids went to bed. I would say I got in about 4 outdoor workouts prior to this race. Not the most ideal situation, but did what works best for our busy schedules.

If you are considering doing a tri, I STRONGLY recommend you train in open water and make sure it is not Lake Erie the night before a huge storm. I jumped into the lake after picking up my packet and knew I was in for a tough swim in the morning.

Race for Recovery – 1000m swim, 14 mile bike and 3.8 run.

The swim was very choppy with 1+ foot waves. Not exactly the same situation as I had in the pool training in the Y. I was so overwhelmed not by other people, but by the waves. I ended up swimming a large majority backstroke just to survive. I looked around at one point hoping there was a guard around, so that I did not drown from the mouth full of water I just swallowed. I however completed this leg of the race in 37 minutes.

The bike went a lot better, but again had huge gusts of winds. I was a fast as 19 mph and when I was headed into the wind 12 -13 mph. I however averaged 16 mph and was happy with this.

I was pretty tired by the time I got to the run and started walking for about 25 yards. I then thought to myself, I did not train to walk this and started to pick up the pace. I had no clue if I was moving fast or not, but that my legs were still going. I completed my 3.8 miles with a 9:49 minute pace. I trained on the treadmill around 9:30 miles and was thrilled to death. I thought after lumping everything together, I would be closer to 11 minute miles.

Finished the race in 2:13:13

I had a blast doing this and can’t wait for the next one. I know that I have to get in the lake a few more times prior to the next one.

Michelle

Hawk Island Triathlon - Lansng

I completed my very first triathlon. Thank you to Shawn & Kim for your cheers on the bike ride! You gave me a much needed energy boost! Despite an asthma attack in the water at the onset, I actually finished! My times were, well a starting point! 1:40:35. The tri was a 400M swim, a 16K bike, 5K run. I would definately recommend this to anyone as a first triathlon, but... rent a wet suit. The water was cold.

And to The Dominator, I didn't 'leave it all on the course', but thank you for the recommendation! Also, thank you VERY much for your help with the GREAT hand-out and showing me how to set up the transition area. THat was a HUGE help!

The Flat Tire Challenge.

The FTC is over! There were eight STR members competing to see who could get ride of their spare tire. After 4 months, Mac chiseled his way to a 21 lbs and 10.4% weight loss to claim the over all weight and greatest percentage of body mass lost. Mac's weight loss secrets include; living in a small African Village, walking to work at a tiny hospital while providing much needing medical care to the locals, ultimate Frisbee games, and yoga by the lake. Mindy W. had an impressive 17 pounds and 7.98% weight loss. Mindy has been training for her first tri and a 300+ mile bike ride, not to mention keeping up with her 2 young children. Vinnie dropped 13.2 pounds during his 1/2 marathon and 25k training. Vinnie is looking good in his long sleeve STRength shirt. Mac will bring home both prize purses, Mindy will receive a long sleeve STRength shirt and Vinnie will also receive a prize for his third place finish. Jon was 4th with his 7.4 lbs drop, I came in 5th with a 6.2 loss, Allison, Justin and PJ all lost 5 pounds. Together we lost almost 80 pounds during the most difficult months of the year. Great job to all of those who step up and excepted the FTC. I am sure it was just a start of what is to come. Keep up the great work!

Komen Race For The Cure - Lansing

Kim and I joined over 1,200 runners today in downtown Lansing for the Susan G. Komen Foundation Race for the Cure. After some heavy miles this week in preparation for the River Bank Run, we decided to enter this 5k as a “nice and easy” recovery. I say “nice and easy” for Kim, who says that when I get in a race I never take it “nice and easy”. Today was no different and our recovery run turned into a PR for both of us with a 22:26 finish. The fast pace (7:14min/mile) was good enough to earn KB another podium finish – 2nd place in her age group!

It must have been my new STR racing shirt - Ralph, you didn’t tell me they are extra speedy!

The Come Back Trail

It was a cold windy morning for the Roads End 5 mile trail run. I was a little nervous at the start of the race, it had been 4 weeks since my last run and almost a month since the car accident. Three of those weeks I was not supposed to put weight through my right leg. The last week I worked on getting rid of the crutches and reminding my muscles how to work again. During the past week of therapy I began to feel stronger and the pain was decreasing, so why not run a 5 mile trail run race. I already paid for the event so I might as well see what I can do, right? It did not make a lot of sense to me either, especially waiting for the start of the race. I have done a many races where I thought I just wanted to be able to finish, but this one was a little different, I was about to attempt a 5 mile trail run, and I could not even run 5 feet. The most I have walked in the last week was a mile and that was to get ice cream. Maybe, I should have stayed in bed. I guess you never really know what you can do unless you try. So, with my trekking poles in hand, I line up in the very back and waited for the horn to blow. I started out with a walk, which turned into a trot as I made my way across the start line. With a good luck cheer from Annette I was on my way and she was on her way back to the car to warm up. I made my way across the field, over the hills and through the woods. I was a challenging trail, I had my work cut out for me. I soon passed the 1 mile mark, and settled into a rhythm with the poles, roots, rocks and sand. I made my way through the trail, enjoying the Michigan woods in the spring, while trying not to injury myself more. I crossed the finish line around the 1:04. It felt good to be able to race again, even if I was not in racing form. But I am on my way!