Wet Dog Triathlon Race Report by Paul Erickson - 7/19/2014

Let me just go on record here now and say this:  I hate riding a bicycle in the rain.  The water in the eyes, the greatly diminished traction, lousy braking.  I hate it all.  When I saw the forecast for the 2014 Wet Dog Triathon in Decatur, I was NOT a happy camper.  But I paid the fee and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.  The name Wet Dog has probably not been more appropriate for any race I've done to date (small set of data points though!).

Wet Dog is the first triathlon that I've done that is one I've done before (last year was my first year for triathlons).  It's amazing the confidence you can get just from having experienced a particular course or venue before.  I was excited about this one!

I’ve always had a hard time tapering the week before a race day and this week was no exception, except mentally.

• Monday - Spin at the Hogan YMCA
• Tuesday - Run and Arsenal Rid
• Wednesday - JetPlex Ride
• Thursday - Hobbs Island Swim
• Friday - REST (yeah, THAT word)

I also managed to get over to Packet Pickup Friday afternoon with my wife and was NOT loving the Transition area.  The bike entrance/exit was rather deep.  Visions of photos I’d seen from Memphis in Mud/May flashed through my head and I knew it wouldn’t be pretty.  Yet, onward and upward!

I felt good all week, had been eating well, and felt relaxed for all of the week, even with the workouts, so I felt confident.

Saturday morning, 4:00a.  Alarm goes off.  Do my normal morning routine of feeding the cats and dogs, but also loaded up the truck with my tri gear, bike, DRY clothes for afterwards, and then proceeded to make my breakfast, which I generally forget.  NOT TODAY!!!!  Whole wheat egg sandwich with lunch meat and a slice of cheese.  Not much but enough for a sprint and far more than usual.

Swam, err drove, over to Point Mallard Park and got there by 6:00a.  Got my transition set up only to realize I left my Infinit-filled water bottle in the fridge.  Crap.  But with the temps being cooler and the sky cloudy, I wasn’t too worried about it.  I got a bottle of water for transition and would drink between legs of the race.

6:30a – Popped a Gu chewable any my Sports Legs so they could be in my system by race start.

6:45a or so – Got in my warm-up swim.  I learned during the Hobbs Island practice swim, where I went 1.2 miles (according to my Fenix 2), that about around 3-400m, I kinda bottom out, so I figured I’d get in about that distance before the race so my body would cooperate on the swim today.  Swam till I felt tired, about to the turnaround buoy, then came back.  Felt great, once my body acclimated to the water in the river, which felt a bit cooler from the rain.  I suspect some people had warmer water directly around them as I saw quite a few with that s***-eating grin while sitting around in the water.     

I stayed clear. LOL

7:00 – Started to lineup single file (yeah, right, whatever), until the race started.  Rain started to fall on and off for a while as I waited to plunge into the water.  That actually helped chill me a bit so when I finally did start, the river felt nice and warm by comparison.  BONUS!

Well, Not a bird or a plane, but I sure felt fast!

But I forgot to start my GPS.  OOPS.  About 75m in I hit the start button.  This was to be a recurring theme all day for that watch! 

Anyway, felt GREAT on the swim and found my rhythm early.  Actually passed people for the first time EVER and was sighting pretty well.  Felt a few hit my feet as they were swimming every which way but I kept on going.  I hit a couple of people and I paused to apologize (I don’t want to be THAT triathlete that just mows people down – not cool), but continued.  Got to the turnaround buoy and felt like I was on a Caribbean dive – the diesel from the safety boat was pretty noxious, but since I scuba dive too, was kind of used to it.  Just go faster and get outta there. 

Turned around and went back to dry land (dry being a relative term today), and had a few sighting/current/wave issues and I swam into the buoy line a couple of times.  I guess all the people coming/going just messed with my vision a bit and I got turned around.  No major thing, just re-sight and go.  Got out of the water and noticed my wife.  She saw me and smiled and said that I was going fast (which again, is relative to the other racers, but it DID feel faster than usual for me).  Made me feel good and gave me confidence to keep on chugging up the beach out of Point Mallard and to T1.  Time from entry to the T1 mat was 8:40, so I figure my actual swim time was sub 8:00 for 400m, which thrills me! All you speed demons can stop snickering now.  With swim being my most feared/worst leg of the tri, I’m proud of the progress I’ve made this year so far.  And many thanks to Eric Broyles and the Swim Hobbs Island crew for putting on those training events (Eric is trying to talk me into doing at least the 2 mile swim event).

Back into T1, I try to dry my feet a bit and slip on my baby-powder filled socks.  No real problem, but grass and sand are going along for the ride.  My shoes somehow STILL got wet in the rain despite being covered, so it was a sloppy mess any way I look at it.  Gregg Gelmis comes by and has me look up for a photo.  Only later do I realize I still have river water/muck on my face still.  And all this time I thought it was a great tan! LOL

Smiling in T1, just before realizing my helmet
strap/clip had problems...

I get on my helmet and hook it ... wait, where is the other half of my strap clip?  Crap, it fell off and was hiding almost under my towel.  Took it off to fix it knowing I would NOT ride a wet road in a race w/o a helmet.  Just stupid.  Got the clip fixed, but I took at least a 30 second hit in T1.. Time: 2:22.  OUCH.

Got on the bike and got my bike legs by the time I got to the entrance to the park.  Last year I averaged 19.8 for the race.  Not bad considering I had just started riding seriously in March of that year.  But with more training, a proper bike fitting, and a really cool aero helmet I won at the Fleet Feet Tri Expo this Spring, I was zipping along.  

Leaving T1 with helmet strap repaired.

 2 more Gu to chew and I was cruising comfortably in aero at about 23 to 24 mph on the way out.  Got to the turnaround, unclipped the inside shoe just in case, and started heading back.  Hey, where’d that wind come from?  A breeze on the way back had me working a bit more, but I still managed a 20+ pace.  YAY!  My goal was to be faster on the bike than last year and so far I’m on pace.  I was sure to call out ‘Passing on the Left/Right’ to ensure people knew I was coming was just some added insurance to ensure I didn’t spill it on the road in the wet/slick conditions.  I avoided all the paint lines too.  

As I passed people, I tried to give encouragement as all the riders were looking great whether they were on road bikes, tri bikes, or hybrid/mountain bikes.  Finally, on the way back to the transition area, I noticed my GPS was on RESUME.  I never clicked out of T1. LOL  Lost cause, but I continued pressing the Lap button until I got to the ‘bike’ portion.  Slow stop to T2 to avoid skidding.  No flying dismounts like I know I can do.  I just don’t want to scratch myself or my bike on this wet road.  Bike time:  26:05 with a 21.4 mph pace.  Happy there too.

Again saw my wife on the side of the road, still smiling and cheering me on.  It’s amazing how a loving face and smile can drive you forward!  My ride stats: 

Into T2 and I change fairly quickly.  Debate changing socks to avoid blisters, but I am wearing my Swiftwick socks and realize the trail portion of the run is going to be wet and muddy so I keep them on.

Grabbed my hat, appropriated water bottle, bib, and the Gu from my bike bento box and head out.  Pop two more Gu and drink some of the water.  ¼ mile into the ride and I check my pace. OOPS.  Still showing ride.  Couple of presses of the Lap button and I’m now on the run.  I’ll use the times from the results to update my data as needed.

Felt good on the run overall, but that water bottle was bugging me. So I poured it on my head, drank some and then looked for a trash can on route.  I then had Rebecca Reynolds from Team Fleet Feet Tri join me for a bit, but I couldn’t keep up with her.  So I paced with some other runners to help give me some inspiration and motivation to keep going.  I had fun on the run by dodging the puddles and branches and focusing on not tripping on anything.  The race crew did an incredible job marking tree roots with bright orange paint to help minimize this!!!!

Again, taking time to thank the water volunteers, I paused to drink some water because I cannot drink and run without choking most of the time.  Finally hit the turnaround and was on the homestretch.  Kept a solid 8:40 pace most of the time, with spurts of faster times in there where I felt I could handle it.  The sun had started peeking out a bit so the humidity went to a nice 1500% it seemed but I knew I was almost done!

Rounded the long curve to the straightaway before the final turn to the finish and picked up the pace.  People I had been pacing off of were getting further away and I didn’t want that, so with about 200m left to go, I used what I had left and hit the gas.  Passed them all and drove to the finish line.  Final time for the run:  27:02 for an 8:42 pace.

Overall results:
119^th place overall (was 206^th last year)

12^th in age group (out of 29, was 24^th of 36 last year)

Final time: 1:05:14 (time was 1:08:59 last year)

So I improved in placement, time, and splits despite the wet weather.  I may not have stood on the podium, but I got to watch a lot of our team and my friends stand up there and receive their awards (while downing a hamburger and chips!).  A good day for me personally, and a great day for the team and my friends as a whole. 

I get it.  I’m in a very tough age group around here.  But I’m improving regularly and pushing myself and doing more each time I get out there.  So truly a win for me in my performance and my attitude.  I had FUN yet again.  From seeing my wife’s beautiful smile while racing to missing high-fives with Rick on the run course because I was looking for a trash can to cheering on the fellow racers, I truly enjoyed the experience.  I’m not racing to get hardware, though that would be a nice bonus.  I’m racing to improve myself physically and mentally.  I think emotionally too to some extent.

What did I learn from this?  The rain and fear of what may happen distracted me a bit.  Forgot my water bottle and had issues with the Garmin because I was focused elsewhere.  I need a better way to keep my transition stuff (shoes and socks mainly) drier when it is wet.  I have a plan for that!  But perhaps I’m learning to have more faith in my abilities that my friends and teammates say they see in me.  I sell myself short – frequently.  But Saturday showed me that I can do more than I give myself credit for and that I enjoy it a lot more when I focus on just doing my best, but having FUN while doing it.

It wasn’t the perfect day.
It wasn’t the perfect race.

But for me, it was the perfect experience.

I had my wife cheering me on.  I had my friends and teammates doing well.  And I had FUN the entire time.  What could be better than that?

Wet Dog Race Report by Melissa Johnson

“First Race Report Ever” dedicated to Alex Clark

“If you're not “First,” you're “Last!” Well, I wasn’t last at the Wet Dog Triathlon, but I wasn't first either, more like 12th out of 23 in my stellar 45-49 age group. Props to all my Fleet Feet teammates and the other Amazing racers who won today. I won't bore you with how I rose from the water like a Baywatch Babe, tearing of my yellow Fleet Feet Cap and running into T1, hopping onto my bike has I raced through a pond of water to beat my competition. Only to come rushing back on my bike to once again run through the pond and head off onto my run. My first run, by the way, since being cleared from a stress fracture. Splits, negative splits, whatever you diehard’s keep track of, I have no record of that, because according to my Garmin, I had an amazing swim the entire race! Obviously, operator error.

But instead, I discovered, I’m not the “Die Hard” athlete, but the cheerleader to make another person’s race a little better. As I was passed countless times by people with the look of pure determination on their faces I would shout, “Great Job, Keep Going!” It was during my run when I passed the gentleman on crutches I said, “You are amazing, keep it up,” and he said to me “No, you are Amazing.” I didn't get it then, but I get it now. Sometimes we get so focused on the race we forget about all the amazing athletes out there and what they are capable of doing. And just a small acknowledgement can mean so much to someone who is struggling. Like the gentleman on crutches, or my teammate, I told to keep going when she had a side cramp, or the lady I cheered when she thought she couldn't finish, and the last place finishers that I cheered while ever one else was gone. I’m not going to deny it’s “Awesome,” to win and to get the recognition. But it’s the experience I take away from each race that is the real prize. The friendships I've made and the people I've encountered, will long last the prize that sets on my desk collecting dust.

Ironman 70.3 Muncie - Jennifer Carroll

Ironman 70.3 Muncie – 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run – July 12, 2014 

Pre-race 
I had traveled to Muncie, IN with Joanna Whisenant (who was also doing the race) on that Friday, the 11th. I had done this race in 2013 so I wanted to try it again with the sole purpose on trying to improve my time. We left out early Friday morning (around 5 am) because it was going to be about an eight hour drive up there. We drove straight to packet pickup, which was held at the transition area. Picked up our packets and then did the optional bike check in. I wanted to go stick my feet in the water just to see what the temperature was like so I did that. They said it was around 75 degrees which made it borderline wetsuit legal. The water felt great and it was nice and warm. We then drove to the hotel, which was about 30 min away because all the closer hotels were booked up. Ate dinner and called it an early night. Race Morning We got up at 4 am to start getting ready for the race. Got our stuff together and I ate my normal breakfast of oatmeal and a banana. I wasn’t really hungry when I got up but forced myself to eat because I knew it was going to be a long day. We gathered our stuff, packed up the car and headed over to transition. We got to transition around 6:15 so we had 30 minutes to get our stuff set up before transition closed. The water temperature was 74.5 degrees so it was definitely wetsuit legal. The only thing I brought with me was my speedsuit, I left my wetsuit at home. Oh well, the water temperature wasn’t that cold, in fact, it was rather warm. Since the race was wetsuit legal, I was able to wear my compression sleeves in the swim rather than trying to put them on later. At 6:45, the race officials kicked us out of transition and we headed down to get a warm up swim in. The water felt great and I was kind of glad I didn’t have my wetsuit. I would’ve gotten too hot.

Swim – 1.2 miles – 59:18
The pros went off at 7 am, our wave didn’t start until 7:45 so we had some time to kill. We got lined up around 7:30 and then we were able to get in the water and wade out to about waist deep. They fired the gun and we were off at 7:45. I stayed close to the buoys because I couldn’t swim a straight line if my life depended on it. Still the current was pushing me off course so I kept having to correct myself. The farther out I got, the choppier the water got. Every time I breathed, I kept getting a mouth full of water. The swim course however is pretty straight forward. Just a rectangle keeping the buoys to your right. I did get pummeled by the faster swimmers that were in the wave behind us. There were times that I got punched in the eye and kicked in the head. I was hoping to go below 50 minutes for the swim but I kept getting off course so that added time to my swim. T1 – 4:34 I came out of the water and ran up the carpeted hill to transition. I had to ask one of the volunteers to help undo my zipper of my swim skin. Ran to my bike, stripped off my swim skin, put on my shoes, helmet, sunglasses and race belt. Grabbed my bike and I was off.

Bike – 56 miles – 3:33:14 The bike course if fairly flat but extremely rough. Coming into and out of transition, I felt like I needed a mountain bike it was so rough. They changed the bike course from last year and this year it was 2 loops. A straightforward out and back twice. It was extremely windy that day and even though I managed to average around 16 mph, there were times when I could barely get to 13 the wind was so strong. I kept up my salt tablet intake every 45 minutes and ate a Honey Stinger waffle when I got hungry. I downed about 2 of those. My 2 bottles of water made it to around mile 45 when I had to get another water from the aid station. I felt pretty good about the bike portion, it just seemed to go on forever. I finally made it back to transition and survived the rough roads. T2 – 3:39 Came back into transition, racked my bike and pulled off my shoes. Got my socks and run shoes on, grabbed my visor and I was off.

Run – 13.1 miles – 3:11:29 I was really hoping to get under 3 hrs for the run even though this course is extremely hilly. I felt pretty good the first half of the run. I was only walking the aid stations, which were about every mile. After that I fell apart. I could barely run a quarter of a mile at a time after that point. The hills were relentless. After I topped the last hill, I could see the finish. I had enough left in me to sprint through the grass to the finish. Got my medal and hat and I was done.

Tri'ing for Ole Glory - 7/5/2014 Race Report

The 4th of July weekend brought lower temps, lower humidity, and beautiful weather for the 2nd annual Tri for Ole Glory on 7/5/14.  As a sprint tri, it was a nice venue at the USSRC, and with it being a MOUNTAIN bike tri versus the regular road bike, I figured this would be fun.

Let me back up a bit though… I did cyclocross back in the early 80’s before it even had a name.  My friends had BMX bikes – Torkers, Diamondbacks, Mongooses, and a few custom bikes.  I had a Huffy 10 speed. Yeah, oops.  So to hang out with them, I took my trusty, heavy, and street-tire equipped Huffy over the hills, logs, and jumps.  So this mountain bike thing sounded like LOTS of fun.  I wasn’t disappointed.

Now back to the 21st century…

Wendy Tyler’s husband, Mike, led several of us around the Ole Glory bike course a few times in the weeks preceeding the race.  Since I didn’t have a mountain bike, I rented a Specialized Stumpjumper from Trailhead and got some mountain bike lessons from Grace Ragland, a friend and fellow Bike MS rider to get used to the dual suspension and riding terrain rougher than Wall Triana highway before riding with Mike, Wendy, and a few others.  I mean it had been probably 30 years since riding offroad in anything other than a Jeep.  Special kudos to Wendy and Mike for leading those training rides. They made a huge difference!!!

After doing a trail run with Rick Greif and Eric Charette (Dirty Dash for Dough) and face planting into a rock, I’ll admit I was very tentative on the bike during the practice runs.  Then on the 3rd, we did a run-through.  One of my friends out there got a flat so we got the flat changed.  Apparently, I got off the trail on that lap briefly and got a thorn in my tire.  As we were ready to roll again, I found my back tire flatter than the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.  OOPS!  Thus ended the training run. LOL and where's the beer?

A spare tire change later on the next day, I got practice around my neighborhood doing jumps off the sewers.  That training day got me a LOT of strange looks as most adults were used to seeing kids doing what I was doing, but I was loving it and getting comfortable with the bike – something I never really got on the practice runs (though I got quite familiar with the route thankfully).

Well now we’re finally at the 4th of July and I managed not to drink too much alcohol, ate good proteins (grilled chicken, self-ground beef burgers), baked potatoes, and minimized the bad stuff as much as I could.  Drank water ALL week to ensure I was hydrated just in case it was hot on race day (I didn’t trust/believe the weather forecast for cooler/less humidity).  I ensured I had the Sports Legs ready and had a Hammer Gel ready for my run.  On race morning, I had a good breakfast of an egg sandwich with a bit of cheese and some ham.  Heavy enough to sit well and keep my stomach happy but light enough that I wouldn’t bonk.  Loaded up my Infinit in my water bottle even though the bike had no cage on it, knowing I would use it before the swim and get drinks out of it during transition. 

Set up transition a bit different than usual since I didn’t have special bike shoes – just regular ol’ shoes and pedals.  And added some Deep Woods Off! for the bike portion… LOTS of ticks on those trails!  This would play a role later…

Downed the Sports Legs 30   Felt strong, relaxed, and happy, something that doesn’t normally happen before a race for me.  I started in Wave 3 after Waves 1 and 2 each went two minutes apart before us.  Jumped it with a mass start and went to the outside to avoid traffic.  I guess I went a bit TOO far left.  I couldn’t see the buoy because the sun was DIRECTLY over it, so I added some time there, but no worries.  Swim isn’t my strong suit unless I have my scuba gear on, and since that isn’t legal, I just focused on staying relaxed and not stressing about my speed.  I usually do about 2min/100m or so, and I felt I was hitting that pace pretty well throughout.  I have no idea how many got out ahead or behind me, but this was MY battle, and with the wave start, it’s hard to say where I was at that point.  I finished with a 6:36 I think and over 300m swam.  It was supposed to be about 200m but my Garmin showed .3 miles.  After talking with race folks, it was around 300m (give or take).  I can live with that.

minutes before start, headed out for a warmup swim with Wendy and felt ready to go.

Got into T1 after the nicely carpeted route from the water’s edge and dried off my arms, legs, face, and feet.  Got on my socks/shoes (with some baby powder in the socks), then the bib, helmet, and gloves.  I only used gloves on this one because of the riding position and demands on the upper body on a mountain bike.  Got the Off! going and proceeded to spray my legs, arms, and my face.  OOPS! Kinda forgot that it stings when getting in the eyes.  Battle on and kept going after essentially macing myself on to the bike leg.

Took off and hit the trails, thankful for Mike and Wendy’s tutelage on the route and what to expect.  With nobody directly ahead of me, I charged forward with my new-found confidence in my route knowledge and bike comfort.  Came up on some folks who graciously moved over and I hit the jumps head on and landed them without incident.  I came up on Wendy, who had smoked me in the water, as we pedaled up the power line trail through the grass and rock, thankful for my tri training and strength to get through that deep rock without issue.  We cruised together for a bit through the next bit of trail to the field.  The Sports Legs that I took before the race had kicked in, and I felt good, so I went ahead.  I slugged through the field to continue my ‘recovery’ and then hit the next set of wood trails.  I felt like Rudy the Rabbit (obscure Meatballs reference) on the trails and just kept going.  Passed a few people with numbers from waves 1 and 2, so I felt like I was making good time.  My only issue was that as a road cyclist, I’m used to pushing AND pulling with clipped in pedals.  On this bike, I’m having to do more pushing so I could feel the legs feeling a bit off, but not bad at this point.  Enough points that I was able to go into a conservative cadence safely while maintaining speed to let the legs recover.  Lap 1 done and I get X’d by Rick to show I finished it.  

Landing the jump and making the turn!

Second lap felt a lot like the first, but I got great air on the jumps this time.  Gregg Gelmis was there at one of them, but he wasn’t set up for my air time.  Asked him, “PLEASE tell me you got me in the air!” Nope.  Drat.  Oh well.  More trail to finish… But thanks for being out there to photograph the race, Gregg and We Run Huntsville!

Got into T2 and still felt good, but the legs were bit tired at this point.  Popped a couple more of the Sports Legs, put the Hammer Gel in my pocket and headed out.  NOW I was feeling the effect of all the pushing on the pedals.

VERY sluggish while I was waiting for the Sports Legs to kick in, so I decided to down the Hammer Gel (Orange) to help it along.  Okay, I forgot you REALLY want water to help down that stuff.  About yacked trying to get it down, but managed not to convulse too badly and stay on my feet.  From behind, it probably looked like a seizure and it didn’t feel far off.

Hammer Gel down, I settled into a pace I felt I could maintain and hit the power line trails towards the Davidson Center.  The uphill I felt great about riding up earlier on the bike got me on the run, so I walked a bit.  Feeling a bit fatigued and given my history on trails this year, I played it safe so I wouldn’t fall till I was past the rocks and started running again. 

I took some water for the head and some Powerade at the station (Thank You Fleet Feet for that!), and kept on my way.  My legs started feeling stronger and I quickened the pace a bit.  Being a bit downhill probably helped a bit too, but either way, I was feeling better.  My Garmin showed negative splits for each mile so it backs up the fact I felt better as I went along (and the course finished downhill LOL). 

According to the paper race results posted at the finish, I was 4th out of 6 in my age group at 1h:27m and some seconds (don’t remember exactly).

Very happy with how I felt overall, though I need to work on bricks some more - varying length and pace a bit.  Though I suspect if I had been clipped in, my legs would have felt different.  I feel good doing bricks after a road ride.  I just wish others in my age group had been a tad bit slower.

Many kudos to all the Team Fleet Feet racers and Tri 201 class members that reached the podium on Saturday!  It was a super-fun event!

One note about Mark Hudnall – Sir, you are a beast!!!! To ride a mountain bike nearly 8 miles over varied terrain while STANDING the whole time is truly impressive.  Granted, if you sat down, you’d have some serious issues since your seat was GONE, but still… truly amazing!  Kudos to you on that!

Things I would change about the event… I think the places where the bike and run courses overlap could use some work.  Some confusion on the course had runners and bikers taking wrong turns where they overlapped.  Also, if this event wants to grow, they’ll need to work out some logistics for parking for both athletes and spectators.  It was a bit crowded in the limited parking, so perhaps they would work out something with the gardens or the USSRC for better parking.

I missed last year’s race due to being out of town.  I won’t miss next year’s.  This was FUN FUN FUN!

Renaissance Man Race Report - A Sonnet by Kasandra Garner

In honor of the "Renaissance City" I wrote my race report as a sonnet.  It's not Shakespeare, but I think I could take him in a triathlon.

When the humid air of summer had arrived

In a city by a river calm and cool

The time had come to swim, bike, run: survive

And socialize with similarly afflicted fools.

With spandex revealing more than might seem wise

And bikes that cost more than the first-place prize.

The swim was through a sluggish muddy swill

With room to hit a rhythm with my stroke,

The sun just peeking o’er the wooded hill,

When once or twice I swam into a bloke –

No worries, it was only Dennis Mix,

Who admittedly likes drafting behind chicks.

Up to transition through the sand and grass,

I quickly found my bike upon its rack,

Slipped into cleats and helmet fairly fast,

And pushed it to the line to mount its back.

As always felt like lead the first few miles,

But after the first hill I was all smiles.

The bike course had some rollers but was sublime,

With long straight stretches mostly traffic free.

My bike computer died so I was blind,

So I just tried to push consistently.

I finished feeling fresh, ready to run

A race is only worth it if it’s fun.

Onto the final leg and feeling good,

Until the first steep hill when in the heat

I started to regret my lack of food

My blood sugar didn’t seem to reach my feet

I was so grateful to the volunteers

When the first aid station finally appeared.

Cooled and refreshed by water and by ice,

I kept a steady pace to UNA,

I saw the lion’s cage was very nice

(I was worried when I learned of them that day)

The run course had a multitude of sights,

Not least of which a house by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Then to the finish close behind Rick Greif,

The most sincerely cheerful man I know,

He encourages people in all walks of life,

And also won his age group – he ain’t slow!

A paragon of strength in body and mind,

(And by the way his wife is also kind).

Kendra Raney owned the women’s swim,

She moves through water with an easy grace,

Lisi Bratcher smoked it for the win,

Most of Fleet Feet’s athletes took a place.

The inaugural race was a smashing success,

And racers aren’t that easy to impress!