Into the Big Blue Chilly

Two weeks ago the Kansas River Valley Triathlon Club hosted its first open water swim event. It was a very sunny, windy and chilly afternoon. We met at Lake Afton at 2:00 and got into the water about 2:30. It took a while for everyone to get their wetsuits on, with one member of the club discovering that he needed to return his wetsuit for a size larger.

Walking out into the water, I quickly noticed that my wetsuit must have a few holes in it. I got about waist deep and started to feel a chilling sensation oozing around my body. After lots of yelping and hollering I finally settled down and decided to immerse myself in the chilly lake waters. I got about two strokes into my swim and had to pull up short. It took a few more seconds to catch my breath, my breathing was racing out of my chilly chest from the few seconds in the chilly waters.

Before long I was swimming behind the other club members. I didn’t go nearly as fast, nor as far. However, it was still great workout. It will take many practices in the open waters to get used to swimming in the cloudy sediment loaded waters. It’s difficult at first to get your bearings when you can’t see the line at the bottom of the pool.

After finishing the swim we stood around for a while at the shore discussing our plans for the bike ride. I quickly headed up to the open air bathrooms searching for the nearest hot showers. I was shivering uncontrollably from the cold lake waters. My core temperatures had dropped far enough that even the hot shower wasn’t able to restore them to normal. It took about eight miles on the bike ride before I got warm.

The bike ride lasted about 25 miles and covered some great hills. Bike riding in Kansas is always a fantastic event. The open fields, hills, and small towns are like something out of a movie. The bike ride was short and evenly paced. We rode through the small town of Cheney, Kansas and up the big hill outside of Garden Plain, Kansas. It was simply a great time.

I followed it up with a quick mile or two in the Lake Afton park. From there I made the quick drive home for dinner. Elizabeth was working on the front porch with the electric sander. I can see painting the front porch in the near future ha.

Wild and Windy at Emporia

Spring has sprung in Wichita and things are starting to heat up. Spring and Fall in Wichita are announced by shifts in the direction that the wind blows in. In Winter, it’s predominately from the north. In the Summer it’s predominately from the South. In the Spring and Fall it can vary from day to day. Last week the south winds have blown in warmer temperatures. The trees and flowers are in bloom. The city landscape has exploded with green and colors everywhere.

Along with the warmer temperatures, something else was blowing in the wind this week. Approximately 200 triathletes completing the Emporia Spring Migration. The Spring Migration is one of the best triathlon races early in the triathlon season. It’s perfect for both the folks transitioning from the indoor triathlons to the outdoor triathlons and for people who haven’t completed in triathlons before.

Results

Photos

The indoor swim is conducted in a serpentine fashion that is pretty exciting, especially when trying to pass other folks. The bicycle and run legs of the race occur outside. The bike route consists of a mostly flat course they heads predominately north of the Emporia State Campus. The lack of hills has definitely been negated by the wind during the last two years of the Spring Migration. Both years saw a very strong wind out of the South, sending cyclists north like rockets.

The run heads to the west of the campus into the hills where the town of Emporia is situated. This course can be very tough on competitors have not logged a lot of running miles. Some times you can pass three or four people who have decided to walk up the hills. The down hills are sweet, letting you stride out to get all the benefit from the difficult hills you just pushed yourself up.

This year the winners flew through the course, the numbers the posted were pretty amazing by my standards. The second place guy posted a faster 5K than I’ve run all year ha. The Wichita contingent was well represented. The Try a Tri Club must have had nearly 50 people there and the KSRVTC must have had about 50 more.

This year I put down an ambitious swim time and got placed as number 59. Standing in line is always a riot because you’re able to yell at the people you know going before you. As you move up closer in line things you notice that people either start talking more or they start to get really quiet. You can guess which happened to me ha. I got my ten second after the guy in front of me started and then it was off to the races. Overall, the swim went really well. I only got passed by two people and was able to make it out of the water without looking too much like a drowned rat. I was a bit over the time that I thought I could make it in, but things seemed to work out pretty well none the less.

I ran out to the transition zone and got to my bicycle. I proceeded to get everything on pretty well… until the shirt. Turns out that it can be very difficult to get a dry shirt over a wet body. The whole thing ended up bunched up under my armpits. After about five minutes of wrestling with it (and the crowd of spectators thinking I was having a seizure), I was able to get the shirt on correctly. I gabbed my bike and was off to the races. Except for one more thing. Running out of the transition zone, I realized that my gu packet was missing from my shirt pocket. After jogging to the end of the transition zone I realized that it was stuck between my shirt and my neck. I was able to get it unstuck from wet back after about three or four swipes with my hand up the back of my shirt. From there, I was up on the bike and headed out North.

The first half of the bike ride was fantastic. I was going about 24 or 26 mph almost the entire time. I was making great time on the folks who were returning South. Along the way north, I noticed one of the yellow sponges from someone’s aero bottle. It wasn’t a difficult object to avoid, but I wondered how the heck someone managed to lose that out of their bottle.

The turn around point came quickly. After making the turn, I met up with the wall of wind. The return trip South was much slower, averaging about 17 mph. I’m not sure how the folks on mountain bikes survived the ride. Later that day I discovered that a wind advisory was issued that afternoon.

The transition to the run went quickly, as soon as I located my stuff. I forgot to trace the steps to my stuff from the direction of the gates. I was over two too many bike racks and was running an eternity late when I realized where my stuff was located. I racked my bike where I was an ran to my shoes (rather clucked to them in my bike shoes). Once there I quickly made the change and charged out the gates.

I was up the hill in no time. The first mile and a half went quickly. Soon, I was passing folks with numbers much lower than mine. This meant that I was picking off people who had started in front of me. At about 1.5 miles into the 5K I realized that I had made a big mistake by eating the gu on the bike. It was fighting back and giving me a killer side stitch. Fortunately, I was able to fight and recover from it later in the run. My final time for the botched transition and side stitch 5K was just over 20 minutes. Not bad, but I know I can go a lot faster.

Overall it was a great race. I only got passed during the swim. I finished 29th overall. My age group was stacked. I ended up with 6th in my age group. It just goes to show that I’ve got a lot of work to do before I’m competitive in the local triathlons. It will be interesting to see what happens this summer.

Overall the Club members had some great races. Jason did fantastic, taking first in his age group and having a great race after taking 1st place in the Belle Plain Tulip 5K. Joe had an awesome tri. His swim was blazing fast and he was able to hold his place on the bike and run. It turns out that he was the one that lost the yellow sponge. Apparently, he hit a major bump and it bounced right out of his bottle. He ended up taking a Gatorade shower when he and his bottle hit the next bump ha. The real animal of the race turned out to be Alan. He totally tore up the course and managed to PR in the 5K. Not just a triathlon 5K, but his all time 5K PR! There were lots of folks who had awesome races. These are just a quick few that came to mind.

The next few weeks after the race will be spent preparing for the River Run races. So far the weather is holding and the training is going well. I’m just crossing fingers for a great race.

Ride the Rock

It’s that time of year again, time for the annual migration out to the mountains for one of the best bicycle rides in the west. Every year several thousand cyclists flock to Castle Rock, Colorado for an amazing bicycle ride at the base of the majestic Rocky Mountains. This is a ride for every level of cyclists with various length courses (8, 22, 32, 50, 65, or 100 miles) for every ability.

Details
When: June 1, 2008

Where: Castle Rock, Colorado

Transportation: At this time, it appears that we’ll be renting a vehicle and driving out to CO. Obviously the sizes of the vehicle will depend on the amount of folks who want to go.

Lodging: My buddy Dean and his totally awesome wife Melissa have graciously offered to help put some folks up for the two nights to do the ride (one before and one after). However, space is limited in their cool split-level home in Broomfield. They can host about three people (four including me ha).

If there are more than three people that are interested in making the trip, then we’ll need to make other arrangements. There are lots of options, hotels or camping at the E-Rock campgrounds (Douglas County Fairgrounds).

Costs: Nothing for certain yet. Registration for the ride is $55. The rest will depend on the group size.

Additional Information
Here’s a link to the website with all the info
http://www.elephantrockride.com/reg.html

Photos from previous years adventures
http://picasaweb.google.com/billybandwidth/ElephantRockRide2004

Please contact me if you’re interested or have any questions by April 30th .

Scott_wadle@hotmail.com
316.990.7745

Tulip Time In Wichita

This weekend Elizabeth and I had a great chance to escape for a little while from our chores to visit Wichita’s Botanica (botanical gardens). Marty Miller the director of the facility is a great guy and a good friend. It was fantastic to see the facility in such great shape and so many visitors at the site. From the look of things, there will be lots of great flowers to see in the coming weeks. Here is a link to the photos.

Run on the Wild Side

A great tradition here in Wichita is the Link for Life race out at Sedgwick County Zoo. It’s a great 5K race, with a fun course involving a finish through the zoo and a good start. The funding from this race goes to Comcare the County mental health department, so it’s a great opportunity to raise funding for a great cause.

The night before the race I did something foolish and ate a ton of brocholi. It was a silly thing to do and left me feeling really full and uneasy at the start of the race. Mark that and Indian food off the list for pre race meals ha. This race is always a dangerous one at the start because of the little kids that run for about an eight of a mile and then stop. Fortunately, this year things were too bad with most of them staying off to the side.

It took a while for everyone to settle in for the race. The recreational runners did a great job, with some staying up until the first 1.5 K of the race. After that, you could see how the race was going to sort itself out. I was in 5th place. I was able to hold onto it until the last mile. The guy who passed me had been on my shoulder for two miles. He ended up beating me by 15 seconds. Two folks in my age group, Mike and Matt were about 30 seconds in front of me. I’m hoping that training this spring will close the gap by this summer.

Overall, I was very pleased with my 6th place finish with 18:29 for the time. It was a solid finish and makes me think that I’m on track for a successful finish. I got in about two miles before the race, 1.5 after the race, and then four miles with the guys on a training run later in the morning. All total, I think I got in about 11 miles, which was right were I wanted to be. Today, I did 25 miles on the bike, one mile on the treadmill and a little bit in the pool. Next week is the Emporia Spring Migration Triathlon, which will take up most of next weekend’s training.

Results:
www.runwichita.org/race_results.php

Doing the Brew

This past weekend I got an opportunity to participate in one of the Kansas area’s great running traditions. It was the 14th annual Brew to Brew relay from the Kansas City, Missouri Boulevard Brewery to the Lawrence, Kansas Free State Brewery. The race covers approximately 43 miles in 10 legs. The legs are unevenly distributed, ranging from a little under six to a little more than three miles.

My buddy Jess McNeely put together the team of four runners, it consisted of the following: Jess McNeely, Frank Schoffner; and Joe (Jess’ nextdoor neighbor). We ended up getting third place out of relay teams. Pretty amazing considering that we had never done it before and were running with only four people instead of the five allowed by the rules.

The race was a great adventure, with great weather and awesome sights. Teams started at 6:00 AM or so, but coming from Wichita we decided to opt for a 10:00 start. Fortunately, we arrived early and were able to start at 9:30.

I started the first leg while my teammates drove to the first handoff position. I ran the first leg pretty hard and was able to shock everyone by getting there before they were expecting me ha. The other teams we started with were quickly left behind. Joe was the next runner. He was expecting a short leg ha. It was pretty funny because shortly after getting in the vehicle to drive to the second handoff position, we realized that he had actually gotten the longest leg of the race.

Joe kept up a great pace during the second leg and we were soon catching up to teams that had started at 9:00 and earlier. He handed off to Jess. We passed Jess in the team car and yelled lots of things to motivate him as we passed by. About half a mile pass Jess we stopped at a train crossing where the train was stopped on the tracks. After a brief conversation with a Sheriff’s officer we discovered that we needed to collect Jess and convey him in the team vehicle to the other side of the train ha.

Five minutes later on the other side of the train, Jess took off like a rocket and we were well on our way. Jess handed off to Frank at a convenience center. Frank motored through his leg with no problems and caught us up even further. Frank handed off to me at a highway barber’s shop.

The firth leg, my second, was really long leg. I’m sure it was about six miles long, not the 4.3 or so advertised ha. It wound through a small town, up and down lots of little hills. By the end I was really tired and looked up to see a very steep hill curving to the right. Fortunately for me my leg ended right at the base of the hill. I handed off to Joe and he took off up the hill.

After passing Joe, in the team vehicle, we realized that Joe was in for a very hilly leg, practically involving mountains ha. Joe caught up to us at a small farmhouse and commented that he actually liked that section of the course because it was so short.

Jess took off from the little farm and quickly came to the fork in the road where he had the following decision: go for the out bridge and the little boat river crossing; or go for the safe route the long way around the out bridge along the highway. Being the daring ultra runner he his, Jess of course went for the boat ride. Along the way to the boats he passed lots of of folks. Of course, when he got to the boat, they waited for all those folks to catch up and fill the boat ha. This collection of runners even included a guy and his little white dog.

In the next town, Frank got the handoff. He took off down a little dirt road out of town. The road appeared to be pretty flat off into the horizon. We were unable to follow along in the vehicle, and so we took another highway to reach the next handoff location at another little farm. The next time we saw Frank he was running down a flat dirt road for the handoff. Later we would learn that the seemingly flat 8th leg of the race is actually one of the hilliest and toughest of the entire race (way to go Frank!).

I got the handoff for the 9th leg. I was tired near the start and exhausted by the finish. It was great. It was filled with lots of rolling hills on country roads that lead down to the Kansas River. Coming up the hills I would pass lots of people walking to the tops of the hills. According to the country miles, I was running close to 6:30ish miles. It felt great given the wind and all.

Joe and Jess ran the 10th and final leg. It was mostly smooth with the last few miles along the Kansas River dike on the south side of Lawrence. By the time we got to the finish we had caught many of the teams involved in the race. At the finish line there were hundreds of people wearing all sorts of costumes, including Boulevard beer bottles, hooters girls, ninjas, and blind mice.

As with any good race, we finished everything with beers at the Free State. It was a fantastic finish to a great run. Later looking at the results, we discovered that we had gotten 3rd place, only beating out the 4th place team by less than a minute ha.

Here’s a link to the Brew to Brew website…
http://aircapitalwadle.blogspot.com/

Easter Feaster

3/23/2008

by Scott Wadle

So this weekend was too short, but which ones aren’t ha. I’m looking forward to an exciting week at work, with a huge presentation about the status of the PROS Plan. It will also be a big week because it will allow for some down time between the races.

Racing this weekend was fantastic in many ways. This weekend was the annual 10K and 2 mile Easter Sun Run. The race has some of the biggest purses of any road races in Kansas and attracts lots of talented runners from all over. Past winners have included collegiate runners from Kansas State and Oklahoma. Overall, you’re pretty good if you’re able to place in your age group.

The race conditions were unusually plesant this year. We had cool temperatures and virtually no wind to start (this was a huge relief since there was no ice like last year and no rain like three years prior). The course was also new for both races, generally a huge improvement over the past ones.

The 10K race was scheduled first at 9:00. About two minutes into the race things finally started to settle down, and you could see that two different packs were beginning to form. At the front were the five-minute guys and following was the pack of six-minute folks. I was able to settle in with the second group and I hung with them till about the 5K mark.

From about the 3K to the 5K I wrestled with my self to stay calm and to stick with the group that I was running with. Although it hurt to hang with them, I could tell that I could keep up that pace for quite some time more. Although my body was saying yes lets keep rocking, my mind kept looking for things that might be going wrong or questioning if I was hanging things out too fast and too early in the race.

It was tough going there, and got tougher as my friend Jason passed by. Right before, and after he passed by I could feel that something wasn’t quite right in my stomach. The 9.5 inch pizza I ate the night before wasn’t going down without some revenge thralls. I got a side stitch. The cursed thing was so powerful I considered dropping out of the race. Maybe it was physical manifestation of the tension and self doubt clawing at my mind during the time, but in any case it hurt like hell.

I soldiered on through the 6K and the 7K, eventually running through the stitch. Although by that time I was at least a minute off the pace. It was all I could do to hang on and hope that nobody else passed me. By the last two kilometers I was charging to make up time. At the finish line I saw that my time was 28:40. It was a great time and I’m pleased that I was able to run that fast with the side stitch.

However, I was out of the hardware when it came to the awards. With two of the the top three male finishers taken out of the age 25-29 bracket, there were just enough remaining fast folks to put me in fourth place. Jason got first, someone second, and Mike got third. Overall it stunk to run so fast and not to place, but it’s awesome motivation for the next round of races.

The two mile was a lot of fun. I got up to the line to avoid the little kids at the start (yikes) and ended up starting in third after the gun and finishing in about 7th palce overall and second place in my age bracket (by about two seconds ha). The race was a blast and the 11:50 something time was actually a pretty good workout, extending the race mileage to 8 miles racing.

After returning victorious from racing, the rest of the weekend events have mostly focused around church and family activities. The annual Easter egg hunt with the Goltry’s is always a blast. I’ll try to upload some photos soon.

Gotta run and get some studying in.

Happy Easter 2008!