St. Croix Valley International Distance Triathlon

Call me Ishmael.

Wrong story, maybe.  But more than a few people had a whale of time this morning at the St. Croix Valley International Distance Triathlon.  I did not race this, but Katie did.  I was moral support, chauffeur, and photographer.  Maybe Katie will tell you her story about the race—about both the best of times, and the worst of times.  I will tell you my story about spectating, and avoid references to classic literature as much as possible.

The big story this morning was the weather.  Minnesota has been having a HOT summer, so waking up to an air temperature of 45°F was a bit jarring.  Arriving in Hudson, Wisconsin, we knew that the cold would be an issue, particularly after coming out of the water.  The water temperature (it was between 60 and 90 degrees), was warmer than the air temperature, and the St. Croix is not a very warm river.  A few weekends ago when Katie and I swam it the St. Croix, it was chilly.  I don't believe that it got any warmer. I suppose it was a good thing the race was not only wetsuit legal, but also that most people wore wetsuits.  (A few brave souls did not, however.)

Here is the swim course being constructed.  Note that the buoys were not in the straightest of lines

Just upriver of the swim course.  What?  You don't see the river?

Katie is apparently confused by her transition spot.

After Katie got set up, I was mostly on my own as she did her warm-up.  I noticed this one older dude, who, I kid you not, wore his wetsuit to the race.  Under the wetsuit, he had on a long-sleeve cotton shirt, and he was wearing socks and sneakers.  I'm sure that he probably suited up at home, then drove in his wetsuit.  Probably kept him warm though…

There he is on the left.  By this point he had removed the cotton shirt and put a jacket on.  The sneakers remain.

The race was getting close to starting, so Katie suited up in her wetsuit.

Since Katie likes to take awkward photos of me, I decided to exact my revenge.

The athletes listening to the ever-engaging Mark Bongers of Final Stretch

More of the pre-race meeting

Then they were off to the the swim start.

A look of trepidation.  At least the fog cleared.

Funny side story.  As the athletes gathered on the beach, I noticed this woman:

Yes, she is wearing Ugg Boots.  She said she would leave them on until the last possible second.  Interesting fashion statement—wetsuit and Uggs.

It was then time to race!

The first wave starting

The leaders rounding the buoy to start their second lap on the 2-lap swim course

The swim was particularly difficult because of the sun.  On the swim back towards shore, the sun was in the swimmers' eyes, so it made it impossible to see.  Many, many athletes went waaaay off course, and very few started running up the beach in the correct direction.

First person out of the water

Matt Payne was the second person out of the water.  He would end up being the overall winner.

Interesting side story.  Katie and I volunteered at the YWCA Women's Triathlon last month.  We were "Noodle Swimmers".  (We had swim noodles, and offered it to women who needed a little break during the swim).  There was one guy who was a noodle swimmer, and he remarked that since he thought the water would be warm, he just wore a Speedo.  Well, as it turns out, that guy was Matt Payne.  I didn't know he was a rockstar triathlete, so it was a surprise to see him come out of the water second, then win the whole event.

Speaking of Speedos...

Yeah, he was probably pretty cold

First female out of the water

Second female out of the water

Here comes Katie!

I think she dropped her wallet somewhere out there

Forget the wallet, it's time to bike!

Katie transitions while the person next to her is attacked by a large red bat

Bicycle, go!

After Katie left on the bike, I went with her folks up to a coffee shop in town for a warm beverage.  Her folks were in for the weekend, and this was the first time they got to see her race.  Anyway, all I wanted was a hot chocolate, and the owner/cashier/barista asked what type of milk.  I responded: do you have whole milk?  She answered in the affirmative, and I was overjoyed!  Yay whole milk!

The lead biker (Matt Payne), coming into T2

And then he starts the 10k run

This kid was part of a team.  He is only 10 years old.  He was actually pretty speedy for being 10.

This guy did the whole run barefooted.  I know that barefoot running is catching on in the running community, but I didn't know that triathletes did it.

Matt Payne heading in with about 200m to go

Here is an older couple.  They were out for a stroll.  They were just flabbergasted by what was going on.  They also didn't understand when people told them to get off the course.  Doh.

Katie starting her 10k

After Katie started her run, I walked about ½ mile up the course.  I like to cheer for athletes at quieter places along the course because it's easy to lose motivation there.  It's amazing how much a random stranger telling you that "you're looking great!" can keep you going.

Here is Katie with about ½ mile to go

At this point, I ran back to the start so that I could see Katie finish.

Jerry MacNeil was having a great time announcing Katie's finish

Here she is, just meters from the end of her first international distance triathlon!

A photo of Katie with her folks and dog, Lily

Katie and Lily.  Lily is very photogenic.  Katie is too, but dogs tend to steal the show.

Afterwards, there was a Luau, and, as always, Final Stretch puts on a great party.  Katie won some socks.  Then we went home.

I then noticed this:

Yes, there are 4—FOUR—water bottles there

Katie wasn't sure if they would need to bring their own swim course, so she brought extra water—just in case.

Katie seemed to have a fantastic time, and I enjoyed watching everybody come and go.  I like small races, and this race seemed like just the perfect size.