September 22, 2013
A LITTLE "ITCH" GOES A LONG WAY
"I am itching to do a 70.3..."
When I first read those words in an e-mail sent to me by Alysia Maschino on November 20, 2012, just two days after she finished the Gobbler Grind Half Marathon, I thought to myself, "Uh, oh. Does she know what she's getting into?"
I knew that Alysia was an outstanding runner. She had finished that particular half marathon in 1:46:08, placing third among 83 women in one of the most competitive age groups.
Going from runner to triathlete, though, is a big step. No one starts out as a triathlete. Every triathlete was at one time just a swimmer, a cyclist, or a runner, who got an "itch" to do a triathlon for some reason. Alysia told me she had been thinking about doing a triathlon for about six months. She had been suffering from running injuries, and thought that swimming and cycling would enable her to stay active when she couldn't run.
Almost all triathlon "newbies" start small, by doing a short, "sprint" triathlon. Most find it to be a lot of fun, and end up getting hooked on the sport. Some stick with sprint distances, while others look for bigger challenges and, after a year or two, step up to longer-distance races.
"70.3" refers to a triathlon that includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run, or a total of 70.3 miles. Races of this distance are also known as "half-iron" or simply "half" triathlons. It's a middle step between a sprint triathlon and the full-iron or "Ironman" distance, which covers 140.6 miles--exactly twice the distance of a 70.3.
As I said above, going from runner to triathlete is a big step. Going straight to doing a 70.3 is crazy.
Alysia was interested in doing a 70.3 in the early fall, and asked if I knew of any such races in Missouri. The only autumn 70.3 in the state was in Branson, but shortly after the September 2012 race the event organizer announced that it was being discontinued.
In December, the very highly regarded Revolution3 Triathlon organization ("Rev3" for short) announced that they were going to add Branson to their nationwide series of triathlons, and that a 70.3-distance race would be offered. As soon as I learned of this, I passed along the news to Alysia. The first line of her response was, "OHHHHHH BOY!!!! Very exciting!!"
Eleven days later, on January 10, 2013, Alysia sent another e-mail. "Welllll....I signed up!! Here goes nothing!!!"
If going straight to a 70.3 is crazy, going straight to doing a 70.3 in Branson is insane.
70.3 Branson was notorious among triathletes as having one of the toughest bike courses of any race of that distance in the country. That scared off many triathletes from participating, and low participation was one of the reasons why the race was cancelled after the 2012 event.
I'm pretty certain that Alysia had absolutely no idea of exactly what she was getting into. There's a classic line in the lyrics of Bob Seger's song "Against the Wind" that goes, "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." After her experience in Branson, I'll bet Alysia says "Amen" to that.
I never want to discourage anyone from taking on a challenge, no matter how big or crazy it may seem, simply because I have no idea if they'll succeed or not. And, even if they fail, there's virtue merely in the attempt. Also, you never know what's inside a person, and that's far more important than anything else in sports, including triathlon. You don't have to be a great athlete to finish a triathlon, regardless of the distance. What really matters is that you have the drive, determination and discipline to prepare yourself in the months before the race, and then do on race day what you've trained for.
I was hoping and praying that Alysia would succeed, and experience the exhilaration of crossing the finish line of a long triathlon. I was as supportive and as encouraging as I could be, but it was still up to her to prepare herself for this major challenge. It takes a lot of time and energy to properly train for a 70.3-mile triathlon. (Frankly, I have no idea how Alysia or anyone else with a job and family can squeeze it all in.) It's easy for "life" to get in the way, and derail your dreams.
I traded a few e-mails with Alysia between January and September just to see how she was doing. She couldn't do much running over the summer due to nagging leg pain, but things were improving and everything appeared to be good just weeks before the race.
Jim McDermott jumps on the Branson train
About two months before the race, Jim McDermott told me that he, too, was thinking of doing the 70.3 in Branson if the sprint triathlons he was planning to do in late July and early August went well. They did, and Jim signed up for Branson.
This would be Jim's first triathlon at this distance. I was much less concerned about Jim's ability to finish Branson, since he's an outstanding athlete (and remarkable at age 60) and has had plenty of triathlon experience. Still, this race was more than twice as long as any triathlon he had done previously, and this bike course would probably be the toughest he's ever seen.
Saturday, September 21 -- The day before the race
For months, I had planned to drive down to Branson on the morning of the race to watch it. About a week before the race, my fellow triathlete Denny Gillen forwarded an e-mail he received from Rev3 asking for help in finding more kayakers to join the swim course safety crew. I signed up right away. It's absolutely critical that triathlons have enough people on the swim course to watch over the swimmers, and I was more than happy to sacrifice a part of my day to help ensure the athletes' safety. Besides, volunteering is a lot of fun and very rewarding. It's also how I got started in this sport eleven years ago.
This was my very first trip to Branson, and when I saw the monstrous hills on Highway 65 leading to Branson, I was worried that Alysia and--to a lesser extent--Jim would have problems on the bike course. (I was also thankful that I hadn't signed up to race.) I was somewhat relieved when I heard that the bike course, while hilly, wasn't like Highway 65.
When I reached the Branson area, I headed straight for Table Rock Lake's Moonshine Beach, where the triathlon was to start on Sunday morning. While there, I saw Alysia and her husband, Shawn, dropping off her bike in the transition area. I asked Alysia if she was nervous, and she said "No". She looked calm, and that was very encouraging.
Sunday, September 22 -- Race day
After getting my kayak ready and receiving safety crew instructions an hour before the 7:00 a.m. race start, I went up to the transition area to look for Alysia and Jim to wish them good luck one last time. Alysia hadn't yet arrived, so I walked around looking for Jim. I spotted him, went over to say "hi", wished him well, and hung around a few minutes with my flashlight to help him get all of his gear ready. (I also discovered Jim's secret weapon--honey buns--packed up for the bike ride.) As I was heading out of the transition area, I looked one more time at where Alysia's bike had been racked, and saw that it wasn't there. I figured she was getting her tires inflated at the nearby bike support station. Sure enough, that's where she was. I went up to her to wish her luck, and asked if she was nervous. She said, "Yes!", in stark contrast to what I heard fifteen hours earlier. I told her to take it easy in the first few hundred yards of the swim--always the most intimidating portion of the swim course--and not to push too hard on the bike. She smiled, said "thanks", and I took off toward the beach to head out on the swim course.
Denny Gillen took a photo of me from his kayak. He knows I hate being photographed, so I took one of him.
Unfortunately, his eyes were closed when the camera shutter opened. (Sorry, Denny.)
This was
taken at 6:40 a.m. (20 minutes before the start), when it was still fairly dark.
The weather was perfect for a triathlon. The temperatures would be cool to mild all day, with clear skies and low humidity. The only weather-related issue the athletes faced this day would be the fog that created some difficulty in seeing the swim course buoys.
The fog started burning off once the sun came up, but that was too late for some of the early waves.
One of the best things about the sport of triathlon is the support you receive from volunteers, spectators and fellow athletes. That support extends just as much for those who finish at the back of the race as those in the front. Pictured above is the very last athlete to finish the swim course. She was far behind everyone else, and yet all of the safety course volunteers still on the water and the few spectators still remaining along the shoreline cheered her on as if she were the race leader. It was heartwarming to see and be a part of.
Once my kayak duties were over, I stayed around for an hour to help pack up the swim-to-bike transition area. When that was done, I drove down to the finish line area at The Landing to see what I could do to help out . . . and to try to find what was going on with Alysia and Jim.
Once there, I headed straight for the bike racks in the bike-to-run transition area. If I saw Alysia's or Jim's bikes in the racks, I could breathe a huge sigh of relief, since that meant they had safely finished the swim and bike. Since both Alysia and Jim excel in running, once they were on the run course, my worries were almost over.
As I walked through the racks, I spotted Jim's bike. That was a definite relief. I went further, and saw that Alysia's bike rack was empty. It was a little before noon, so it was still a bit early. A while later, I saw Shawn and the rest of Alysia's cheering squad. (I swear, I think she had the largest personal cheering squad I've ever seen at a triathlon.)
Alysia's bike rack. It was a shocker to see that Alysia was assigned the best bike rack location
of all 400+
athletes doing this race--even better than the pros'. It was basically row 1, seat 1.
How lucky can you get in your very first triathlon?!!!
A small sampling of Alysia's cheering squad waiting for her arrival at the bike finish.
I was relieved to hear from Shawn that Alysia exited the swim feeling great, and that they had seen her twice on the bike course. She had a flat tire about a mile into the bike, and the chain came off three times. Those are definitely annoying, but if those are your biggest issues in a triathlon, count yourself lucky. There are plenty of mechanical and other issues that can completely ruin your day, including many outside your control.
I decided to position myself at the bike dismount line to keep an eye out for Alysia and to help the other volunteers stationed there. Alysia's cheering squad told me that she was wearing an orange jersey and a lime green helmet. (Alysia, we're going to call in a triathlon fashion expert if you ever do that again! :) )
Suddenly, at about 12:30 p.m., roughly 4 hours and 15 minutes after Alysia started the race, there she was! Here's a video clip of it.
(Click on above image to view video.)
Needless to say, everyone was relieved that Alysia finished the bike. She looked great, and was in great spirits. She was obviously happy to see her cheering squad. She parked her bike, changed shoes, put on her race bib, and then headed toward the run course.
Poor Alysia. She's having a tough day at the triathlon. Can't you tell?
Another photo of the cheering squad, watching Alysia as she gets ready for the run.
I figured that Alysia would probably finish sometime between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., so I planned to sneak away from my volunteer assignment, if necessary, to make sure I saw her cross the finish line.
I wanted to see Jim McDermott finish as well, but I had no idea how far along he was on the run course. I was guessing that Jim would probably finish the race in something between six and seven hours. At around 1:30, I headed to the finish line area, and waited for him. It wasn't too long after that when I saw Alysia passing the finish line area on her second of three laps. She was obviously still feeling well because she responded enthusiastically when her cheering squad up ahead started yelling.
Two laps down, one to go.
A few minutes after 2:00, I saw Jim coming down the finish chute, so I quickly grabbed my camera and started recording:
(Click on above image to view video.)
Jim looked surprising fresh running down the finish chute. From a distance, I saw him leave the finish line area, but decided not to chase him down to congratulate him. (Hope you weren't offended, Jim.)
Not long after Jim finished, Alysia's massive cheering squad, which had grown even bigger than that at the bike finish, started gathering at the finish line.
The cheering squad, now advertising themselves as "Alysia's Hugs", break out the official t-shirts.
Rev3 Triathlon is known for being family-friendly, unlike it's much larger competitor. It's competitor, for example, disqualifies any athlete who runs down the finish chute with his or her family in tow. Rev3 not only allows families to cross the line together, but they encourage it, by giving medals to the kids when they cross the finish line. It's that central focus on the athletes and their families that has made the Rev3 series so successful since it's founding in 2008.
One of Alysia's two boys, showing off his medal. The text on the medal reads "LittleREV".
The moment we had been waiting for came just before 3:00, when Alysia, Shawn and their two adorable sons came running down the finish chute. In the video below, you can see the moment that the significance of the moment starts to sink in, and the emotions start to flow.
(Click on above image to view video.)
After lots of congratulatory hugs, Alysia and her "Hugs" gathered in front of the fountains at The Landing for a group photo.
Click on the photo for a much larger image.
For the record, here are Alysia's and Jim's race results.
Alysia:
Swim: 47:53 (2:32 per 100 meters)
T-1: 5:36
Bike: 4:13:32 (13.06 mph)
T-2: 2:06
Run: 2:24:17 (11:00/mile)
Finish: 7:33:22Age group place: 3rd of 4 in female 35-39
Jim:
Swim: 52:17 (2:46 per 100 meters)
T-1: 6:34
Bike: 3:25:03 (16.1 mph)
T-2: 2:09
Run: 2:27:08 (11:09/mile)
Finish: 6:53:11Age group place: 2nd of 2 in male 60-64
Words can't adequately express what it was like to see Jim and Alysia cross the finish line. They had taken on a big challenge--probably far bigger than they ever anticipated--and succeeded. I couldn't be happier for them.
I might add that, thanks to Jim and Alysia, this was one of the most memorable and enjoyable days I've had in this sport.
And to think it all happened because, months ago, someone had an itch.
Congratulations, Jim and Alysia!
Jim Glickert