Road Runners!

I’m happy to share some great news with the STR nation, KB and I successfully completed the Akron Marathon today.

Kim has been struggling with some serious Plantar Fasciitis in her right foot. But, thanks to Ralph’s excellent “Magic Tape,” she was able to gut out a great race and finally break the 4 hour mark. KB and I finished together in 3:57:36! And let me add, Akron is HILLY! VERY HILLY! Making it even more impressive that KB was able to complete this race on a bum wheel. Otherwise, this race is extremely well organized and a great marathon!

Also, Vinnie had a great 15k race at Kensington in 1:29:19 and Z completed a Run Fit Training Run of 20 miles (his longest ever) in 3:10:30– congratulations!

2008 Sylvania Sprint Triathlon

Boondogglato and The End
Less than one month before our 8th wedding anniversary, Michelle and I began the event prep with something we had yet to experience in our A.K. era (After Kids) at the house…a night with no children (This is not going where some of your thoughts are headed). With the kids at Aunt Stacy and "Uncle Fat Kid's", we enjoyed a peaceful and quiet evening of collecting all of our gear and getting to bed by 9PM so we could get up at O'dark hundred and head to Sylvania, OH.
The morning was chilly. Temp at 4:50 AM departure was only 51 degrees, and it was to remain relatively stagnant up until race time. Fortunately, the water temp was 77 degrees, so it was comfortable to the touch while in it. Unfortunately, with stage 2 of the event being a 13 mile bike ride in the ol' spandex suit; fingers, knuckles, legs, and assorted other body parts were a bit chilly while speeding down the road at 22 mph. By the time the run came around, temps settled out in the mid-60's with the sun shining to warm things up.
Michelle looked the part in her newly acquired Quintana Roo Kilo tri-bike (Vintage 1998 - Thanks eBay!), bib number tats on her arms and legs, and a caffeine/Cliff bar/Hammer Gel infusion that would make any Red Bull jealous. She backed-up the "look" with an impressive time of 1:24:33, and an 11th of 18 placing in her age group. She crushed her target time by nearly 6 minutes, and had a personal best bike and 5k. Not bad for only her 2nd triathlon. Look out once she gets the swimming down pat.
I entered the event with the target of shaving 5 minutes off of the previous year's event time of 1:17:31 (9 of 20), and improving my overall standings for the age group. Starting in the first wave of yellow-hatters, the swim went well, incurring only minor contusions with several kicks and elbows to the head. The bike seemed tougher this year than last, with a significant head wind on the way out that did not seem to be as helpful on the return (perhaps it was my fatigue). The run was improved by ~20 sec/mile YOY, but there is definitely room for improvement (verified the next day when I PB'd a 5k run). At the end of the day, the tally was a 4:03 improvement over 2007 (1:13:28), and a 7th of 27 showing. All-in-all, it was a satisfying race day.
Next up on the agenda is the Nation's Triathlon (Olympic Distance) on 9/14 in Washington, D.C., followed by the Detroit Free Press Marathon on 10/19. Thanks to all of you that have supported the SMBC's and pushed me along the way…it is definitely paying off.

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!