1 Day to Go: TK-421, Why Aren't You At Your Post?

Last night, Katie and I ventured to the Expo under the guise of picking up our race packets.  The real reason someone goes to the Expo is for the stuff.  Lot's of stuff.  And I caved:

Yup, those are my new Brooks Launch.  I have heard some really great things about these shows, and they were 20% off at the Expo.  20% off!  So I bought them.  I gave them a test run this morning, and I LOVE them.  They're considerably lighter than my Adrenalines, and they just feel great.  I can't wait to go on a longer run with them.

Fun Side Note:  At the TC10k this morning, there was a really close finish for first place.  The guy who took 2nd?  He sold me these shoes.

Speaking of the 10k, Katie raced it this morning too!  It was a cold morning (probably about 40°F when we got to the Capitol around 6:30am).  We hung out in the family fun tent by the heaters for a while, then Katie left to warm up.  When she finished, I decided to get a free cup of coffee from Caribou.  Remember, I hate coffee, but I REALLY needed to warm up.  So, I spilled the coffee all over the cream and sugar table decided to have only a quarter cup of coffee.

So, race time.  Katie was excited, and it was a great morning and course for her to meet her goal of a sub-60 10k.  Here she is about ready to head to the start:

Her race number reminds me of TK-421

Katie then leaves for 2nd Grade:

Look closely at the signs up ahead of Katie

So, my next goal was to spill more coffee get up ahead of the starting line to see her start.  Remember, now, that I'm trying to rest as much as possible before the race tomorrow.  I moved as quickly as I could, with a quick pause for the National Anthem, but everyone started moving!  Well, I guess the starting line wasn't where it said "Start", but 100 meters ahead of there, so everyone had to move up as part of a parade.  I JUST made it to catch Katie go by:

Looking very happy

Runners on their way.  Isn't this just a fantastic place to have a race?

Yup, I'll be looking at this tomorrow

So, I hung around for a while while she was out running.  My big goal was to find Hannah, who had a fun token for me (more on this later).  She is super cool and works for Twin Cities in Motion, and after texting back forth, I discovered she was at the media tent.  I searched for the media tent, but since exactly zero tents near the starting line are labeled, she had to help me again (thanks Hannah).

Runners started coming in, and when the clock said 55ish minutes, I knew Katie would be coming soon.  Lo and behold:

Not as cheery looking, but she's barreling towards the finish

So, did Katie meet her goal?  She sure did!  By a lot!  57'12"!!  I'm super proud of her, and I think she had a great time too!

I warmed up, Katie cooled down, then we left.  We almost had a disaster waiting for us in the parking lot.  When we got there in the morning, it was still dark, so I turned the interior lights on in the car so we could pay for parking.  When we got home later, the lights were still on.  Oops.  Thanks to Chevrolet for making the car smarter than me and preventing the battery from going dead.

Cross Country

Apple picking, pumpkin carving, and cross country.  That's what fall is.  It's strange, even after all these years, being a spectator at one of these meets.  Not having to worry about warming up, or getting the team cheer in before the gun.

D2 Men warming up for the 8k

For those who never did cross country, it may be hard to see the difference between one of these races and a standard road race or trail race.  But, oh, they are different.  The only thing a cross country meet has in common with your community 5k is that people run in both.  The atmosphere is infectious.  The solidarity of each team contagious.

D2 Men lined up to start.  The driving range dividers formed the "boxes".

Each person is out there to win—even if they know they'll come in last.  The dead silence before the gun is eerie—the tension apparent to even the most casual of observers.

D2 Men starting

You don't train all summer for one race.  You don't have an "A Race" basket into which all your marbles go.  You train for the season.  You race on Tuesday, then race on Saturday.  You race twice a week for two months.  Each race pushes you to your limits.

Leaders of the D2 Men's race

No one wears a costume at a cross country race.  iPods aren't allowed, and neither are watches.  It's you, your team, and everyone else.  Sometimes you know the course, sometimes you just run.

The main pack of the D2 men's race

As you run, you know that each place counts.  You aren't running for yourself—it's for your team.  Those that say running is an individual sport need only to come to one of these meets to see how wrong they are.  Your team provides you the motivation to keep pushing.  Your team counts on you getting the best place you can—for that can be the difference between winning, or going home empty-handed.

This was a HUGE meet with live video up on the screen

You run on golf courses, in parks, around schools, and any place with a soft surface underfoot.  Spikes are the mark of the serious runner, but even those without cannot be underestimated.  You worry about how many times you need to cross a hard surface.  You worry about how muddy the course is—not because you fret getting dirty, but so you can choose what length of spikes to use.

The D2 winner.  He was Canadian—from Regina.

In many ways, you are defined by your number.  Mine was 20'03".  Many were better, some were worse.  You attack each race knowing that the true test—regionals—were coming soon.  That your performance had better improve if you wanted a chance to qualify for the state meet.

An unattached runner, and, considering what he wore, probably rightly so

The weather would cool.  While the first few meets were blazing hot, you considered wearing your tights by the time mid-October rolled around.  

The leaders of the D1 race with the pack not far behind

There are no finisher's medals, no shirts just for competing.  If you wanted a shirt, you bought one.  If you wanted a medal, you won it.  But you don't race for the hardware.  You race for yourself, and for your team.  And you knew that at that finisher's chute, after you've left everything you had out on that course, that they would be there.  The moms (and the dads too).  So you ran—to your mom, and beyond.

—— 

The photos in this post are from the 2010 Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota.

I Should Get An Emmy For This

In my continuing coverage of the St. Croix Valley International Distance Triathlon, you're in for a treat with this post.  I thought it would be cool to take a video of Katie as she came up from the swim exit, then post it to Facebook so that all her adoring fans could get a live update of her progress.  Well, I failed on the "upload to Facebook" post because my phone will upload photos to Facebook, but not videos.  Strange.

Minor technical difficulties aside, readers of this blog will be treated to the world premiere of the video.  Feast your eyes on this gem, and I suggest watching it using the play-by-play I provide below the video.

0:00 − 0:07  With the fantastic lighting, here is Katie running up from the beach.  You even get to see her turn around to look for her wallet.

0:08 − 0:12  Instead of me doing the expected thing of hitting the "stop recording" button, we've started looking down at my sweatshirt and the sand below my feet as I begin to run up to watch Katie in transition.

0:12 − 0:20  Here's a close-up of my hand.  I'd say my skin is in pretty good shape, but I should probably moisturize.

0:20 − 0:30  Now, you're taking a journey inside the pocket of my "Bi-Peninsular and Proud" hoodie.  Get your own at Michigan Awesome and show off your Great Lakes State pride.

0:30 − 0:45  I've added some cool visual effects here.  There is a fence surrounding the transition area, and you can see its silhouette from the sun shining through it.

0:45 − 0:53  I then tell Katie's dad that I would head up to where the bike course starts, and then I start moving in that direction.

0:53 − 0:59  Oh wait, this thing is still recording?  Well, here are my fingers again.  Sadly, I end the video here.

If you need someone to videotape your special event, I do birthday parties, weddings, Polka shows, bar mitzvahs, and liturgical dances.  I expect to be fed (buffets are a good choice), and I don't work with animals.

I can already envision my speech.  "I'd like to thank the Academy…"

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.