The Great Urban Race: Cheryl Wright

As some of you know, Susie and I participated in the Great Urban Race in Seattle on Saturday. For those of you not familiar with the race, it is a 1 day race through the streets of Seattle. Similar to the Amazing race on tv. It was so much FUN! We had 12 clues and had to complete 11 challenges in 5 hours. We could only walk/run or use public transportation to get where we needed to go. We could use lap tops and cell phones to call people for help.

In one challenge, we had to find sign language interpreters at a park on Capital Hill. Each teammate had to sign a question to one of the interpreters. You had to figure out on your own how to sign the question. Thanks to a friend of Susie's we where able to complete the challenge. In another challenge, we had to make our way to the Comedy Underground for charades. One team member had to get up on stage and act out the words while the other team member guessed the answer. Guess which one of us got up on stage? That's right, Susie. We were part of human pyramid, took a picture with a street musician and lots more. The clues took us from the Space Needle to Capital Hill to Pikes Place Market to Qwest field.

We completed the challenge in 4 hours and can't wait to do it again next year. We have attached a couple of picture from our fun experience.

Shaun Linse Lake Sammamish Race Report

This was my first triathlon of the season and Scott's very first. It was a great day!!!!!

We arrived and it was pitch dark outside and of course we didn't have a flash light but filled up our tires by the car and went to set up our transition. This is the first year that I've had a Raise the Bar coat. Usually I wear my Raise the Hope Sweatshirt. I love wearing that coat around. People were asking me questions because they thought I was official and I new what I was doing because of our outfits. I felt like I looked fast and intimidating whether I was or not!!!!

I met some great people and one girl we're going to e-mail each other on what races we're doing because we'll both be 50 next year, although she passed me on the run. She either wants to race with me because of that or because a girl with a mountain bike came up and wanted to move us down to put her bike in on the end and I told her she needed to get here in the dark to have the prime location and she said well at the Danskin... and I said this is not the Danskin. So I guess I was a little assertive in my uniform but don't worry, Patty, it was in a friendly manner.

I went into this race as a training race with no real time goal. I would have liked to get under 1:30 but haven't done this course and first triathlon this season and no taper so didn't have a high expectation of that. My goal was to do this race with Scott for his first. Of course, I would have love to beat him but pretty sure that wasn't going to happen because of my run.

Scott started two waves ahead of me, approximately 6 minutes. When I got out of the water, Patty said he is about 30 seconds ahead of you and I said, Crap!!! I got to the transition and forgot to set my watch so had no idea what my swim time was. Yes, Cathy, I forgot to set my watch. Can you believe that?

I saw Scott get on his bike as I was running out of transition with my bike. It was a slow start because of the course at the beginning, single file cones, and it was raining. I was being pretty conservative on the bike. About two miles into it Kathy Morrison blows by me and says Good job, Shaun. I looked at her and saw that she was not letting the rain bother her and I thought that's why she's an elite. I also thought what Greg would have said, You're sailing, Shaun. You should be in your aerobars. I still didn't spend a lot of time in them until the second half when I relaxed and just said forget about the rain. I was cautious around the tight turns and cones because some we're knocked over, but overall my bike was good. I did a 47:49 on the bike. I know I could have done faster on the dry pavement but I'm glad it poured down rain because once I relaxed I was fine and this is a training race for Black Diamond Olympic which there's a good possibility it will rain.

When I came in from the bike Patty said it was slippery and so I took it easy. Gina and Chris were there and said Scott just came in. I saw him as I was running out of transition and, oh, if I could run faster. It didn't happen and I saw him run off into the sunset and everyone else was passing me too. Such a familiar theme, need to do speed work!!!! I like training but a race really tells you where your training is at and what your weakest link is. Mine is still running and I'm going to keep working on that!!!

At the end Scott was waiting for me and he beat me by 2 minutes. He did 1:31 and I did 1:33. It was a lot of fun and especially with all the Raise the Bar turnout. He was so excited and now wants to work on his swim. I knew I should have picked a half mile swim for his first so I could beat him just once. He was so excited and he said he had all this Testosterone and wanted to yada yada with his wife and I told him he should have let me Win!!!! Don't worry, everything is fine and dandy at the Linse household. We had a great day!!!!!

Ed Clarke's Fort Lewis Race Report - SERIES TITLE!

There was perfect weather for Ft Lewis #3 – high 60s and dry. The swim buoy was placed further out, making this a legitimate ½ mile plus, so this would favor a stronger swimmer. Nick Johnson looked confident and ready for the deciding battle. At the gun 165 of us went off in a mass start.

A strong swimmer went off the front immediately and I swam solo 2nd the entire distance, about 15 seconds in arrears. No one right on my toes but a dense line of contenders were within 30 seconds. Off the beach in 12:15 so indeed the course was nearly 2 minutes longer. I had a decent transition and off on the bike, rode clean through the turn I had missed in July. By mile 3 it was clear I was not feeling the A legs of July though. The same gear felt like one gear bigger, just a bit harder to stay on top of. I check the time at the turn-around, there was a chick within 40 seconds! Oh no, there’s Nick only 1:45 back! Dang… I gave everything I had for the return trip but my spirit was a little damaged with those early indications.

Rolling into T2 solo with a bike split of 48:50 (1 minute slower than July) I worked into my run gear clean and quick and out of the park I “jogged”. A strong looking rider (not Nick) rolled in <>

NJ ran 16:59, while I put up a turd in 20:02.

So on the series NJ bested me by 25 seconds. However… my close friend and loyal ally, Minerva, cited a technical point that NJ had entered as an age-grouper the first two races, noting that the rules for series trophy contention clearly state one must race elite all three races. I almost surrendered my trophy anyway out of pride and honor, but hold up, I’m 46 and he’s 23. Screw that. Wood is wood at my age. I have to admit NJ was the faster man this summer but I’m not one to buck the system or question rules and procedure! Bring me the chicken dinner suckers! This trophy is a little nicer than the one I collected 10 years ago. I’m still contemplating whether I will carve an asterisk into it, or maybe just let the little NJ detail fade into the forgotten forest.

David Raftis Lake Stevens Race Report

On Sunday I finished my first "Half Iron" at Lake Stevens. It was a great day for triathlon as the weather was perfect. I was not fast but I finished and it meant the world to me to just be there competing and doing a triathlon. I have a few circumstances in my life that may have made the Lake Stevens 70.3 seem like a long shot just a few years ago so this was a bitter sweet milestone for me. First, I was a smoker until November 30, 2005. I smoked for 20 years and with the help of an on-line quitsmoking support group, joining Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program, and finally RTB I quit and have stayed quit. I quit and relapsed many, many times over the years and in particular from 2000 to 2005. In a downward spiral I wondered what happened to the happy 22 year old that was doing triathlons in the early to mid 80's and I longed to be back in that place. I got a little hope from those memories and decided that if I could get free from smoking I would do triathlons again. I am not as fast as I was in 1985 but I have 14 triathlons under my belt since quitting and I cherish every experience. Second, I have an extremely rare inherited form of diabetes that is not the sugar type but a defect in the kidneys that prevents my body from reabsorbing water back into the cells of the body. In other words, dehydration is a problem. It is called Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus and effects 4 in a million. I take a diuretic which would make normal people loose water but is just the opposite for me and thus allows me to get to about 50% of normal function. I am also on a low sodium diet which recommends 500-1000mg of sodium per day. The reason for this is that the body can only regulate sodium by drinking water and I already would be drinking 4-5 gallons per day on the medication alone. By also keeping my sodium in this range it allows me to "only" drink 2-3 gallons a day. It is saving kidney function by reducing the sheer volume of water I process. So, salt tablets on race day - bad idea. The diuretic I take depletes potassium so race day was a balancing act where I cut-off the diuretic on race day and load up on my high dose prescription potassium. The diuretic effect still works for about 24 hours after taking so I was OK on that front but needed to get my potassium level up. On Sunday I drank freely all morning pre race. I chugged 16 ounces of water in T1 and I had 2 litres of water in my camel back. In addition, I drank four 20 ounce bottles from the aid stations. I still had a headache from dehydration by the end of the bike. It was getting hot and I was worried about my chances if it got worse. I drank a minimum of 16 ounces at each the 12 aid stations which led me to use the porta potties at least four times on the run. I walked more than normal hoping to stave off worse dehydration long enough to finish and it worked. My vision was a bit blurred after the race which is a classic symptom of dehydration but otherwise I was fine and estatic that I finished the race on my terms and not some course official or medical person. In addition, I have had reconstructive ankle surgery, knee surgery, and a previous stress fracture that kept me watching and listening to my body very closely during the training phase for lake Stevens. I also developed shoulder problems last year and did not race in 2008. The problem is still unresolved and thus I did not train swimming except for a handful of times this year. I "wung it" on the swim and had one of my better open water days so that worked out very well for not training. I still have dreams of a full Ironman but it would have to be the perfect alignment of stars, constellations, and weather to happen. I know from this 70.3 that 140.6 is a stretch but I can still dream can't I ?. This is my Ironman for now and I am very proud of my finish. I am grateful to the support I received all season from my wife Louisa and son Anthony. As all of you at RTB know they sacrifice daily as we are not fully engaged due to the training demands. I want to let my wife know I love her for going along with my "Half Iron" goal. I also want to let everyone from RTB know that I sincerely appreciated all the support on the course during the race and especially on the run - It helps more than you know. I was not going to let you guys down no matter how bad I felt. Raise the Bar Baby!!!! Dave Raftis P.S. On a funny note I was rushing around in the morning getting my transition set-up and went to get body marked before going back to the motorhome for final dress. I found the young lady with the marker and I pulled my shirt off for the arms and whipped my sweat pants down to my ankles before I realized I was standing there only in my tighty whitey's. I just laughed, said oops and quickly pulled my pants up. I have attached a photo I took the moment I quit smoking back on 11/30/05

Deb O'Connell's Lake Stevens 70.3 Race Report

Well, Sunday was my second 1/2 Iron distance triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run=70.3 for you uninitiated!)... All in all, it was a great day! (In a painful, exhausting, wake up at 4:20AM kind of way.) My #1 goal was to finish strong, no medical guys this time. And so it was! My overall time was 6:49, which is about 7 minutes faster than my 1/2 Iron in June. But even better than that, I felt very strong at the end, and pushed a 9 minute mile out on the last mile of the run. I was able to charge the finish (I love doing that), eat pizza, carry all my stuff back to the car, drive home, take the boys to the pool (and swim a bit more!), and do a bunch of laundry and errands Sunday night. After a 12 hour sleep, I was at work yesterday. The mental boost of this is unmeasurable in terms of Ironman confidence, yee-haw!

The weather was perfect, you couldn't ask for a better day. About 50 and chilly at 5AM when we left the hotel to go to Lake Stevens, about 10 miles east of Everett. After the pros, and just about everyone else, us old ladies (45 and up) were due to start at 6:59AM. Due to low-lying fog on the lake, the race start was delayed for about 10 minutes. Saw Patty and Bill Swedberg at the start, yea! So, it's time for a few photos and hugs before the start. Eventually, it was time to go. And, for perhaps the first time ever, no swim anxiety. How awesome is that???

One super cool thing for this location is the fact that they have cables under the water (one out, one coming back), with little buoys on them for the rowing crews that race on this lake. So, all you had to do was keep an eye on the white cable under the water. It was like the black line in the pool, I loved it! Didn't have to sight at all on the big bouys. There was a bit of crowding around the cable, everyone wanted to follow it. So, a bit of bumping and pushing going on here and there. I didn't care, I just held my space. All too soon, the swim was over. Last 1/2 Iron swim was 48 min, just about the same this time (47:46). I'm okay with that. (Of course I would like to be faster, but was swimming conservatively... have to keep in mind my #1 goal, see above, and watching out for "goal expansion" )

Run up the ramp to get ready for a brutal 56 mile bike ride. And I'm off. Well, we had already ridden the course this spring, so we knew what to expect. It's a brutal double loop of rolling hills that never seem to end. No big issues for me, thank goodness no mechanical issues like my team-mate Linda, who had 2 (!) flat tires back-to-back. 3:30 later, I was back in transition again. That was my goal time, so I was happy again.

Off to the run... Well, the cloud cover is gone and it's heating up (probably about 75 degrees). I'm not really feeling like running, and of course as soon as you head out, there's a medium sized hill you have to run up, shoot! Okay, it's over and there's the first aid station already! Wow, that mile flew by. The run is a double loop too, and before you know it, I'm at mile 6 ready to do the loop again. There's Patty at the turn cheering me on, GO DEB GO! So, I'm sprinting around the corner, and up that same darn hill again yuk (okay, I'll do a Jeff Galloway and take a walk break on this hill!) Then, I met a lady who had done Ironman Florida last year, and so we chatted for about 2 miles (she was walking and I talked her into running). Nice distraction, even if I was doing most of the talking when I probably should have been running! Needed the break I suppose, because the final 3 miles had really good (sub 10 minute) time splits for me. I got some good Ironman tips from her, and she saw me at the finish and thanked me for pulling her along when she was ready to give up.

I was amazed at the "good job" and "nice work" I got from the other participants. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging, it was so great. So, I ask myself, could I have gone out harder? Did I leave too much in the tank? Well, perhaps I did. Besides a stiff shoulder/neck, I'm not really sore at all. But, I remind myself, my goal was not to go all out and see what I could lay down. My goal was to go at the same rate I trained, nice and steady, and have a good strong finish and feel good, and that is how it went. Ironman is not about going all out (for me anyway); it's about being consistent, steady and following your plan.

Thanks for reading my story. Keep to this channel for more news on the Road to IRONMOM...

Next up, Las Vegas Rock N Roll Marathon, December 6, 2009.

XODeb

Lake Steven's 70.3. QUITE the day!!!

Bill and I loaded up the car for a full day of spectating at Lake Stevens. Tough to know where to go yesterday! The Danskin was also happening and we had some folks out there too. I'm hearing good things about the day at the Danskin and congratulations to our gals and the gals from my Danskin Mentor group that conquered that race. RAH!!

Longer races seem to be quite the petri dish for stories and yesterday's 70.3 was no different. Many of the stories I don't even have an ending for yet.... But here's what we know..

Matt Hoover, RTB's resident celebrity from "The Biggest Loser" conquered the race with a flat on the bike course and a very sore back. Bill's got a picture of him running that is almost sideways. Ow.... Get a massage or something!!! Matt's well on his way to race in Kona in October for the Ironman and we are PSYCHED for him! If yesterday is any indication (and why wouldn't it be) he's going to do great.

The other men of RTB - Dave Raftis and Jim Hutter crossed the finish line in great form. Well, Dave did. Jim was bloody in a number of places from a mishap on the bike course. LOVE Jim Hutter. Jim has crossed more finish lines limping and bleeding than not, I believe. And you won't find a nicer guy out there. Strong athlete. Dave, coming off a shoulder injury, looked fantastic all day.

Then there were the girls and their stories.... Bri Caldara, Andriette Timblin, Tammy Magnuson, Tammy Barnhart, Cindy McGonigle, Deb O'Connell, Linda McCandless, Barbara Huseby, and Tracy Brown. Linda's day was postposed temporarily by 2 flat tires (what's with the flats yesterday?) and Tammy M dealt with very ugly blisters during the run - ow. And Cindy McGonigle....aargh...who was caught in the confusion of some volunteers on the run course who were certain they were supposed to close down the run course during the afternoon - explaining that there was a time cut-off. The confusion was cleared up in about 5 minutes but poor Cindy was one of the athletes whose day ended early because of it. Cindy is a trooper but is understandably disappointed in how her day ended.... 6.5 miles short of her first half Ironman finish. She'll certainly be out there again - hopefully granted a free entry by the race director.

The best story I've heard SO FAR was given to me by Kris Stolmeier who is one of the directors/athletes of our tri-neighbors at Team Fastt. One of her athletes was flying downhill on the bike course yesterday and hit a dog! After his trip to the hospital and finding out he was ok he found out the dog's owner died and the dog needs a new home. So even if our Team Fastt friend didn't get to cross the finish line yesterday, he's apparently adopting a new dog - and a very resilient one! Triathlon heaven... Glad you're okay, Marcus!

More Pictures on the RTB Gallery HERE

Congratulations everyone.

Lake s

Phil Spencer's Crash....ugh....

Not only did Phil sacrifice some dermis on this little adventure, he also sacrified his beautiful Cervelo Road bike. RIP...

Small turn out for the sunday ride. Wet roads. Erin and Rick both working me like a rented mule the entire ride. Took Spencer Corner at what I thought was a reduced speed but apparently not reduced enough and I went down...again...at the same exact spot! Slid across the oncoming lane of traffic. Somehow my long suffering and greatly overworked guardian angel kept me largely out of trouble again. Lots of f'Brian style road rash and bruised ego but all bones seemingly still connected.

There was still the little matter of my race and after a call to Speedy Reedy they said they would be able to replace the destroyed derailleur, the bent derailleur hanger tape and lever in about 1 and a half hours to get me to the race in Kirkland in time. So after a very painful shower and debridement, I loaded up the big hairy mutt, and we made the trek to Speedy Reedy. I gotta say, they really are an awesome shop and did all the work in time for me to get to the race.

So the race was basically an exercise in jumping back on the horse that threw me. No time to ease back into feeling comfortable on the bike as this would be a fast, technical course with high speed corners and 60 people all trying to continually move up. The first ten minutes was crazy fast and I felt every bump and bruise, then it settled down and I was feeling better every lap. Final lap, final corner...I was sitting 5th wheel in perfect shape when another guy came diving into my inside where there was no room and nocked my rear tire out. I had to break and hold up to stay upright and...for the third time this year, my sprint was over before it started. No points:-( I stuck around afterwards and flirted shamelessly the rest of the evening and watched the rest of the racing. Not only did I have Leo working for me but I also had bandages for the "pity" attention-seeking angle. Saw lots of people I haven't seen in a long time and had a blast.

Diana Hull's Whiskey Dick Triathlon Report

So I finished the Whiskey Dick Olympic tri which entailed a mile swim in the Columbia, a 28 mile ride up Old Vantage hwy and a 6 mile run through Ellensburg which took me 4:35 minutes to complete....I even had 25 minutes to spare since there was a 5 hour limit. The swim was great the water was clear and cool with very little current. The bike ride was very tough for the first 12 miles and windy and I was really wondering what I had gotten myself into, then I thought if it wasn't hard they wouldn't give you a medal at the end and that helped me to keep going. I finally figured out what those aero bars on my bike are for. After the first 12 miles it was still windy and some hills, but nothing like the first part. It turned out to be a gorgeous day in Vantage and Ellensburg not cloudy and overcast at all. It was pretty warm on the run, but some people had out sprinklers so that was nice. All in all a good day.

Ken Pinchiff at Lake Samish

I didn’t know if I would but I managed to get a race in last weekend. I did the Lake Samish Sprint Triathlon up in Bellingham and low and behold was excited to find that there were other RTB members there also. I shouldn’t be surprised but was very excited when a team mate (Greg Kline) flashed the RTB jersey at me when we arrived. I was very excited about doing this race but when I saw team mates there my energy level went up a couple of notches and really made a difference for me during the race. It is always so great to share a smile or a high five on the course as we pass each other. Anyways, just to prove I was there and actually did a race I got some pictures.

RTB's Maillot Jaune

XTERRA Black Diamond was yesterday - it's the best attended RTB event all year. We've got a handful of brave athletes that actually DID the race!!! Matt Morrisson, Jerry Sommerman, Paul Morris, and Sean Wittmer were our individual competitors. We had some relays too - Patti Anderson, Katy Smith, Brad Williams, Wendy and Dave Graves... We did our first kids race and saw some RTB kids out there too. It was a FUN day to cheer on our teammates who worked hard in the hot sun.

There was also an army of 72 volunteers that worked in the hot sun all weekend getting ready for the event, putting it on, and cleaning it up. Toby, Kathy, and I were grateful to you guys for being there, but it wasn't until we did the laundry today and put the volunteer shirts in the sun to dry that we realized just how many of you were there and how really grateful we am.

To the men and women that wore the Maillot Jaune this weekend at XTERRA Black Diamond - Merci Beaucoup!!

Toby, Kathy & Patty