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We had a lot of fun at yesterday’s Go! Saint Louis 10K Halloween Run! Thousands of participants and spectators enjoyed the beautiful fall morning weather in downtown Saint Louis, where over 6,000 racers clamored together just outside the Soldier’s Memorial Museum for the race start.

Out of 205 people in his age group, Matt came in 10th, and 69th overall. I’m becoming more and more impressed with Matt’s natural running ability…and I love that he is including running events into his yearly calendar. Now we have running races to attend during the triathlon off-season.

Overall it was a fun event that we’re looking very forward to doing again next year. The race also hosted a costume contest, and plenty of racers participated!

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Matt and I had the pleasure of participating in the 2011 Miles for Meso, a charity race held in several parts of our country to spread awareness of mesothelioma. This race was held close-by in Alton, Illinois. It was a beautiful morning–in the low 60′s with no wind, bright, sunny, and crisp. The perfect race weather! Matt had signed up for the 5K race, and since I was going to be there anyway, I decided to participate in the 2K Walk, which was not timed.

A group of elite athletes flew into town to participate, the winner being Julius Koskei from Hebron, KY. Koskei finished the hilly course in an amazing 13:48, maintaining a 4:27 pace. I was able to see him race past me with ten or so other athletes on his heels as I walked the 2K. It was truly impressive!

Matt finished 3rd in his age group and 15th overall…out of 298 finishers! Matt’s personal goal was to complete the race in 20 minutes or under…and nearly broke that goal, in fact, he was off by only 8 SECONDS. He was a little bummed about that, but a 20:08 5K is nothing to be ashamed of! It will be really fun to see how he does in this event next year.

The driving went well. I’m not much of an endurance driver, but was able to somewhat comfortably drive the 6.5 hours to our hotel in Racine. Upon arrival, we decided to try out a homeopathic remedy to Matt’s illness, as recommended by Dr. Mercola. The method involves placing 2-3 drops of hydrogen peroxide into each ear canal, letting the solution fizzle for about 10-15 minutes, and then letting each ear drain. This seemed to help relieve some discomfort.

The next morning, we ventured out to Festival Park to visit the Ironman Expo and packet pick up. 70.3 Racine had a pretty large competitive field, comprised of nearly 2,200 athletes and professionals. Check-in began at noon, but the line was so long that we decided to put it off and bum around the Ironman Expo. That was a mistake.

When we returned a few hours later to check-in, the line had quadrupled in size, winding around the sidewalk outside. After a 30-minute wait, he finally got his race packet, and we then headed to North Beach to check his bike into transition. Lake Michigan was beautiful, vast, and cold! We walked along the beach and ventured around a boardwalk-type of walkway around a marina to discover an old, rusty, and closed lighthouse, referred to by locals as “Big Red”.

After a late lunch at the San Francisco Grill (in which Matt did not participate, reflecting upon the fried-green tomato fiasco at Memphis), we got to bed early to prepare for a 1:30am wake up.

Race morning was beautiful. A little warm, but at least the humidity was tolerable (unlike summer humidity in St. Louis). Things were going smoothly, we got a decent parking spot, Matt was out of transition early, and we had a nice and casual 1.2 mile stroll along the beach to the beginning of the swim start. As Matt prepared for his 8:09am start, we watched the professional triathletes kick-off the race.

After the exciting pro start, Matt got ready for his wave start. After nervous chatter with fellow triathletes and some last-second stretching, we parted ways. I walked the 1.2 miles back to transition, gaining a nice tan.

Considering the fact that Matt was ill, he had a decent swim time of 35:50. He decided to use the swim as a warm up, but felt somewhat exhausted afterward. Once Matt exited the swim and climbed the initial hill just outside the transition area, I quickly retreated to the car for some much-needed air conditioning. Around the 30 mile mark on the bike leg, his illness began to take its toll, and Matt finished the remaining bike portion feeling defeated. Unsure of his ability to finish the race, he decided to attempt the half-marathon, and after much deliberation, decided to call it quits after 1.5 miles. For someone as competitive as Matt is, especially after spending the past half year preparing for this race, it was an extremely difficult and painful decision to drop out. He felt humiliated as he walked past spectators, but thoroughly appreciated their support in cheering him and others along. I tried to comfort him, reassuring him that it was his illness that kept him from finishing, not his lack of ability and athleticism. Even so, I understand why he was so down. He spent the better part of the year preparing for this race, even sacrificing better performances at other races this season to keep him in line for Racine. Sometimes, life gives you lemons.

BIG KUDOS to the Marriott Racine. In an effort to actually provide excellent service, unlike other hotels we’ve been to, the Marriott reserved two rooms for athletes to take showers in after the race. Typically, hotels will not offer this seemingly obvious courtesy, so we really appreciated that Matt was able to take a shower before the long drive home. Gathered at the hotel entrance, as we decided on where to eat lunch, we got to actually see Craig Alexander, who was in town to defend his 2010 victory. Alexander, however, ended up coming in 8th place overall. If only I had my camera with me…I would have totally gone incognito-paparazzi to get a picture of him. Oh well. For lunch, we decided to try out the Yardham Bar & Grille. This restaurant had a wall filled with accolades, but we weren’t necessarily impressed.

The drive home was exhausting. We finally rolled into St. Louis around 10:30pm, tired, sunburnt, and ready to collapse.

Lessons Learned: Don’t attempt a half-Ironman while sick. Just don’t.

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Preparing for Racine

Finally! Racine 70.3 is just around the corner. We’re leaving St. Louis tomorrow for the 6 hour road trip to Wisconsin. Yesterday, Matt felt sickly, with a sore throat and body aches. Luckily, this morning he says he feels much better.

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The Big Shark 2011 New Town Triathlon was double the fun this year, both Matt and his sister, Lindsay, competed in the event. This was Lindsay’s first race after a two year hiatus while she recovered from illness. Race morning proved to be brutal–temperatures were already in the 90′s at the race start, and soared into the 100′s with high humidity.

Both Matt and Lindsay performed well, with Matt coming in 4th in his age group (in a field of 71 athletes) and 38th overall (out of nearly 700 racers this year). We enjoy this race due to the spectator and triathlete-friendly course, and the family-fun atmosphere that Ultramax Tri always delivers.

New Town itself is an interesting town. Ever see the Truman Show? Well, you might think that you’ve stepped onto their set once you’re in New Town. Located in (literally) the middle of agricultural fields and businesses in Saint Charles, New Town somehow manages to resemble a beach community rather than a corn-field community. New Town even has strict building codes in which businesses and houses must conform to certain “approved colors”, in shades of red, blue, green, yellow, orange and tan. The town, while still small and quaint, is quickly growing to accommodate the huge interest in homeowners and business owners alike.

If you have the chance, stop by and visit New Town. It certainly is an interesting place!

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We were almost expecting this race to be canceled or at least, delayed, however, the expected rainfall didn’t happen and the day turned out very nicely. Athletes and spectators enjoyed relatively cool temperatures, especially for this time of year, much to my own delight. Every year since Matt began competing in triathlons, we return to Innsbrook Resort in Wright City, Missouri, for the Ultramax Series Octo/Quartermax races. This year, Matt tackled the Quartermax, which distances equal a quarter (1/4) of an official Ironman race. This was the very first year that Ultramax offered a prize purse for elite triathletes. Matt has performed better in the past on this course but again, this race served mainly as an intense workout to prepare for Racine 70.3.

A few years ago, a tragic and, for those who were there, horrifying event occurred in which a participant drowned during the swim course, just 10 yards shy of the shore. Since then, the race directors have taken even more precautions to ensure the safety of their racers, flooding the lake with more canoes and volunteers and even hiring a helicopter to fly around while racers were in the water.

Overall, the race went well for Matt. I’m proud of him for keeping himself in check during these prep-races, resisting temptation to go all-out, to keep himself on-track for Racine.

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This season, not all races are treated equally. This year is all about getting a solid 70.3 performance under Matt’s belt. Which 70.3?

Ironman 70.3 Racine, which will be held along Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin on July 17, 2011. The rest of his season is mostly being utilized as intense training preparation for the half-distance Ironman, and that includes the 2011 St. Peters Rec-Plex Triathlon. The day previous, Matt did a 75mile bike followed by a 3 mile run…so he was pretty beat up race morning. However, even though he was dedicated to racing for himself by resisting temptation to lay down the hammer, he did well overall, but not without a hitch.

Early morning torrential thunder/lightning storms greeted us as we woke up in the early hours (Matt at 2:30, and I stumbled out of bed at 3:15), but luckily, the storm subsided and left us with much cooler temperatures than previously forecasted. We were expecting more rain during the race, but it only slightly sprinkled, leaving the spectators nice and dry. The heavy rains from the morning left portions of the transition area under water, but there was still plenty of room for racers. Because a portion of the bike course was flooded, the race start was delayed 10 minutes as race directors scrambled to come up with an alternate course, which was about 5 miles short of the usual 20-mile course. The swim portion went well, with Matt having to swim over several athletes that were blocking lanes or not successfully passing.

Now, I mentioned that race did didn’t go without a hitch. Prior to race start, Matt accidentally un-threaded the velcro support strap for his aero water bottle, and upon exiting T2 to begin the bike leg, the strap became undone and he had to stop to re-thread the strap.

Thankfully, a fellow racer was kind enough to hold his bike steady so that he could effectively correct the strap. Then, just seconds later as he clipped into his shoes, he realized his chain had somehow come off, so again, Matt had to dismount to quickly put his chain back on. Those were the only unfortunate incidents of the day!

The run course is typically brutal during the summer, mostly due to lack of shade, however, this day it was overcast, providing some relief to the athletes. Matt finished strong, placing 25th overall. Not his best time, even at this course, but it proved to be just what he needed, an intense training session to prepare for Ironman Racine.

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They don’t say “never sample the local cuisine before a race,” for nothing. Matt learned this the hard way, after giving into temptation to sample the Blue & White Restaurant’s Fried Green Tomatoes. Neither one of us had tried them before, and got caught up in the moment. While they were tasty, the intake of local fried delicacy upset his stomach and he felt nauseous for the rest of the day. Thankfully, he felt much better after sleeping off the mistake.

Last weekend, the Harrah’s Tunica Resort and Casino Veranda Hotel hosted the revamped 2011 Memphis in May Triathlon. Ironman recently acquired the race as part of their 5150

Triathlon Series, a new series hosting non-draft Olympic-distance events around the world. Memphis in May hosts two distances, the sprint triathlon held on May 21st and the Olympic triathlon on the 22nd.

Fears of event cancellation were high, as the area is currently heavily flooded. Luckily for the race, the venue is located far away enough that flooding only affected the run course, which was quickly re-routed. Sprint triathletes experienced intense sun, heat and humidity on their race day, while Olympic distance athletes raced in torrential rains and overcast skies occasionally illuminated by lightning and booming thunder.

In addition to the age groupers, physically-challenged athletes, and relay teams, several elite triathletes attended the historic race, including past event winners Dr. Amanda Stevens and Cameron Dye, along with ITU World Champion and New Zealand Olympian Kris Gemmell (who is competing the 2012 London Olmypics), Pip Taylor, Gavin Anderson, Jenny Fletcher, and a host of other elite pros. The pro start was slightly postponed due to lightning concerns. While we ate lunch in the gigantic tent just outside the resort, spectators watched as the elite athletes nearly bounced out of their seats as they eagerly awaited the race start. While the race was a ‘time-trial’ start as opposed to a wave start, there was no lack of excitement as the elite athletes entered the water and began the race for the $2,500 prize purse.

From a spectator’s point of view, I personally thought that this race was very well organized and really catered to the participants. Pre-race events included an expo, Pro Q&A Panel, live music, pool parties, and outdoor dinners and luncheons. The race directors were humorous, and the large volunteer force performed very well. The transition area was neatly set up, featuring more efficient bike racks and plenty of space for the athletes. Our only complaint revolved around the hotel’s refusal of a later

check-out time. We feel that it is an important courtesy as the event host hotel to allow a later check-out time for racers. For example, check out time was 11:00am, but the event didn’t even end until 2:00pm. I’m sure that many athletes were not able to actually take a shower after their race before heading home. My boyfriend had to race back up to our room so that he could take a shower before our 6 hour trip back home. The manager simply stated that it was the responsibility of Ironman to negotiate later check-out times in their host hotel contract. Despite the inconvenience, we thoroughly enjoyed the convenience of having the event on the resort. The transition area was a mere 3 minute stroll from our hotel room. This can be extremely important to the athletes…especially when it comes to, “Do I want to use the filthy port-a-john or just walk back to my room?”