Multi-Sport

–By Paul Raynes, Team Athletic Mentors Multi-Sport Athlete

I’ve been involved in endurance sports for nearly forty years and have not missed a season of training and competition since 1977. Not to say I haven’t had set backs and challenges. Along the way it’s been a necessity to recreate myself as an athlete due to life changes, injuries and the natural process of aging.

At age 20, I began running to lose weight and to keep up with my older brother who had already joined the approximately twenty-five million Americans who embraced the running boom back in the 1970’s and 80’s. Back then there were mostly 5K and 10K road races and a growing sense of awareness around fitness.

After a few years, I’d shed 70 pounds. Running quickly turned competitive and the overweight teenager who suffered at the back of the pack running a mile during football practice was now able to speed to a sub-18 minute 5k. That one decision – the decision to jump on the running bandwagon – was transformative and led to a healthier life. Yup, I became a transformer.

I’m definitely addicted and love my daily dose of natural body chemicals. In the early days, I loved running fast (and still like to try). I could train hard without much rest/days off. However, back then I didn’t have the correct tools in my tool belt to totally support that type of running. I didn’t have adequate whole-body strength and I’m sure my mechanics suffered a bit. I can’t scientifically compare my 30-year old body at the peak of running fitness to my currently 59 year old self. I do know I can’t run as fast, but I can out cycle and swim that 30-year old from the past. I feel much stronger at 59 and I’m betting my general strength to weight ratio is much better.

Around the age of 40, running seemed to be more challenging, ending with a couple knee surgeries eventually causing me to quit running and take up cycling. I contribute the knee issues to carrying too much weight, playing collision sports and less than perfect running mechanics. Even though I encountered speed bumps like knee surgery, I recovered and still worked hard to get the most out of my body.

As I’ve aged (let’s call it gaining wisdom), I think more about the school of longevity. That means I continue to add tools to the athletic tool belt to keep my body strong and healthy, including smart and appropriate training plans. This gets more challenging as I age because my head wants to maintain the current or higher standard of performance. My body is not always in favor of what I demand from it – crossing that fine line from health to injury does sometimes happen.

I’ve made it this far by reinventing myself several times – from runner to duathlete to bike racer to a return to duathlete and finally to triathlete. In addition to adding swimming as a tool in the past few years, I’ve added more strength training and functional movement as well. I enjoy foot hiking as a great way to take a day off and still burn a few calories (it’s nice to slow things down and take in the scenery). No matter what your age, make sure you have 4-6 tools in your athletic tool belt – as well as rest and recovery.

I’ve educated myself and learned a lot from experience, some coming the hard way – and that brings me to the point of this blog. I hurt myself this season because I didn’t carry out a planned periodization for the running element of my training.

This past February, I compromised my calf muscletissue. At the time it was probably a class 1-2 strain.

My running was mostly short and fast during the 2015 triathlon season and since the roads stayed clear last winter I kept running hard and short. I wanted to keep and/or add speed. That was mistake #1!

Normally, I would have taken a few months off from hard running and focused on longer, time-based, easy-to-moderately paced runs, and gradually brought speed back as spring rolled in.

The second and third mistake involved my head getting in the way. I was in a pinch to recover, wanting to make the first team event (Strider Classic 5K), so I pushed the tissue rehab. I happily scored a first in my age group and all was well until the next week when my injury popped up again. I was concerned as I was looking at six weeks to the Double Time Tri in May or eight weeks to GR Tri in June.

I decided one way or another, I had to recover and get back to training. I pushed the recovery again with my focus on the GR Olympic. In my gut I knew I was vulnerable, but my head strong need to be in the action and compete overruled good judgment – I was ready for Double Time. I told myself I needed it as a warm up to GR and would just run it relaxed. I convinced myself this was totally rational and landed a podium finish. The injury reappeared the following week. This time it was different and I knew it was worse, possibly a stress fracture.

MRI results showed no stress fracture – just the soleus muscle tissue pulling from the bone. The doctor said, “You need to take 8 weeks off.” I replied that I would be dedicated to 8 weeks off running and would only continue to do what didn’t hurt – like cycling and swimming. I’d also do all the therapies for appropriate healing. He responded, “There’s no stopping you people.” I think he was referring to Team OAM NOW. 

Instead of taking the summer off, I decided to recreate myself by signing up for aqua bike events. And after four aqua bike events, and completion of the eight weeks off running, I was ready to build running back up again. I ended the season with a final sprint podium finish at the Deer Creek Challenge Triathlon. That felt good and I’ve been running regularly since. Back to the drawing board, I plan to build a run base (slow and easy) this winter and complete my first half iron next season – slowing things down and recreating myself once again. As a side note, I surprised myself with a second overall finish at the TridelSol Olympic Aqua Bike, proving that even rocks can learn to swim with good trainingJ Thanks Athletic Mentors (Cheryl).

No matter your age, make sure you have plenty of tools in your tool belt so you can recreate yourself once and a while. If you are not engaging in strength training and/or some type of functional fitness – start! If you have a solo sport, add something – mix it up, keep it interesting and be healthier for it. If you have an injury, fall off your bike, or boredom sets in, you’ll have backup options. Mostly, love what you’re doing.

We have an amazing support system and athletic community in Southwest Michigan. I feel fortunate to say I’m looking forward to the 2017 season – my fortieth year of endurance sports. I’m transitioning to the 60-64 age group – my ninth age group since joining the running boom of the 70’s. A lot has changed, but my love for endurance sports has not!

–By Brian Reynolds, Team Athletic Mentors Triathlete

On September 11, 2016 I raced Ironman Wisconsin.  My goal was to place high enough in my age-group in order to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.   The weather in Madison, Wisconsin could not have been more perfect for racing.  It was sunny and dry with the high temps only in the mid 70’s.  The only concern was getting sunburned, which I did unfortunately.  The race had over 2,400 participants and thousands of spectaculars swarming the transition and swim start areas.

The race officials started letting the athletes in the water 15-20 minutes before the start of the race.  The swim was a one 2.4 mile loop in Lake Monona.  The race was a mass start meaning all swimmers started in the water at the same time.  These mass swim starts are not as common anymore since Ironman has been going to a rolling start for safety reasons.  However, the mass start was not as crowded as I originally thought because the start line was very long.  As we waited in the water for the cannon to go off the atmosphere was electric!  The athletes were getting either very excited or anxious.  The athletes around me were aiming for under a one hour swim which was my goal as well.  

The cannon goes off!  I started at a strong pace to keep up with the swimmers that went out fast.  There was a lot of pushing and hitting the first half mile.  However, I’m use to some pushing and hitting in the water since I’ve been doing triathlons for 5 years.  When I passed the mile marker I started to pass a lot of fatigued swimmers because most of them started out too fast.  I felt strong the second half of the swim as I kept picking off swimmers one by one.  When I exited the water my swim split was a 58:20!   There were fans lined up around the helix yelling and cheering which really got me pumped up and excited.  I felt great through transition and I passed at least 3 athletes through the bike transition area.

 My goal was to complete the bike course in 5 hours and 15 minutes.  The bike leg was challenging since the course was very hilly and is considered one of the hardest courses in the Ironman circuit.  The best way to describe the course was like a roller coaster ride.  There were over a 100 short steep hills that would slowly fatigue you.  There was one extremely challenging hill at mile 40 that was so steep that a lot of riders had to walk their bikes up the hill.  I was able to ride up the hill but I had to burn a lot of energy doing it.  

The best strategy for riding this course was to start conservative to ensure that you didn’t over fatigue the first half.  However, I went out a little too hard the first half and paid for it the second half.  The last 2.5 hours of the ride was really challenging as my power slowly declined.  I tried to remain positive during this tough section and reminded myself that once I got to the run that I would be fine.  The spectators on the bike course were fantastic!  There were several uphill sections with people lined up cheering for you.  Some sections felt like a mountain stage in the Tour de France.  The crowd support motivated me to keep pushing through the pain. I ended up finishing the bike leg in 5 hours and 26 minutes which was 20.6 mph average.

As I entered the run transition with tired legs I handed my bike to the volunteers and I ran into a building to pick up my run gear.  I had to take a quick bathroom break before I started the marathon.  I was moving very well the first 6 miles of the run because I was averaging 6:20s pace.  My goal for the marathon was 3 hours so I was well under pace so far.  Even though I was moving well I wasn’t feeling good.  My stomach was very bloated from taking in a lot of nutrition on the bike.  I was not able to take in hardly any nutrition on the run because my stomach was so upset.

After the 6 mile mark it was a struggle both mentally and physically to keep running.  My pace the next several miles gradually slowed down to a 7:10-7:30 pace towards the end of the race.  During this tough stretch I started to respect the Ironman marathon distance.  It was very different from a regular marathon where you would start out fresh.  The pain I normally experience at mile 18 in a regular marathon was what I experienced at mile 6 of the Ironman marathon.  I had to walk through some aid stations to take a mental break but I managed to grind out a 3 hour and 8 minute marathon split.

As I made my way down the finishing stretch I was greeted by all my friends and family at the finish line.  I put in a final surge and ran across the finish line in 9 hours, 41 minutes, and 21 seconds.  After finishing I was absolutely exhausted.  I had to sit and lay down most of the day to help recover.  I was very fortunate to have my friends there to support me on my special day.  However, I wish I was able to celebrate more with my friends.  Instead they had to keep an eye on me and help me around to ensure I was ok.  I couldn’t thank them enough!

The next day was the Kona slot allocation and rolldown ceremonies.  My results got me a 4th place finish in my age group and 9th place overall.  It was going to be a long slot to qualify for Kona considering they announced only the top 2 athletes in my age group will be taken.  The only hope I had was the first 2 athletes not accepting an invite so it would roll down to the 3rd and 4th places.  I was not luckily because the first 2 athletes took the Kona invites.  I was disappointed that I did not go to Kona but I was still happy with my effort.  I could not have done anything more to change the results that day.  This was my first Ironman so I’m feeling very optimistic of qualifying for Kona someday.  There is no doubt that finishing an Ironman is an accomplishment in itself.   So I am proud to say that I’M AN IRONMAN!

–By Elaine Sheikh, Team OAM NOW triathlete

Wow.  I don’t fully have words to describe my experience at ITU World Championships in Cozumel, Mexico.  However, it is one of those experiences in life that I will never forget and will always cherish!  For those who don’t know my story, last season (2015) was a really rough year for me.  The second week in January I suffered a severe injury and was unable to run until the last week in April.  Therefore, I was unable to participate in any early season races and I felt I had lost a lot of training time.  I was worried about the rest of my season that year.  With the expert coaching of Mark Olson, I pulled off 4^th in my age group at Age Group Nationals in both the sprint and the Olympic distance races!  It truly is a testament to what having a great coach and a plan can do!  That race qualified me to race in the ITU World Championships this year.  Again, thanks to great coaching, I was able to stay uninjured for this season (a first for me, I have never gone a season without an injury!).

Coming into Mexico, I felt strong, but I have always suffered from a lack of self-confidence.  The first race I competed in was the sprint distance on Thursday.  It was draft legal, which puts people like me, a non-swimmer/strong cyclist at a distinct disadvantage.  I swam well, but had a mishap mounting the bike which cost me precious time as the pack rode away.  I worked as hard as I could on the bike, but a lone ranger is no match for a pack!  I completely disintegrated on the run.  It was hot and humid and my gut exploded.  It was a repeat of my 2016 Age-Group Nationals Olympic race.  I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t swallow, doubled over in pain and could barely shuffle through the 5K run to collapse in pain at the finish.  I was so disappointed and scared going into Sunday’s race.  A friend gave me the advice “don’t forget to have fun!  I always find that if I crack a smile I race that much better.”  After that, I was determined to have fun!

On race day that rang even more true.  Coming out of the water after a harrowing swim against the ocean current and an accident that almost ended my race there in the water, I looked at my watch and my heart sank.  I knew then that I was likely SEVEN minutes behind the race.  In an Olympic distance race, that is a HUGE deficit.  I mean, my race is just over two hours.  Seven minutes is good proportion of that time.  I ran out of the water and I heard a friend from Michigan State yell out encouragement.  I was crying a little bit as I ran the quarter mile to transition.  I grabbed my race number, sunglasses, and helmet and charge out onto the course with my bike.  The first two miles I was choking and coughing sea water and at one point I was coughing so hard that I was afraid I was going to make myself vomit.  I got down some Infinit and that helped.  Then I put my head down and pedaled.  I realized that I felt good.  I was able to talk to competitors as they passed or I passed them.  And I remembered that this race was about having fun!  I remembered my 2015 season and how uncertain everything had been for me.  I didn’t work that hard to come to Cozumel and a) not finish the race or b) not relish the experience and enjoy every moment.

Before I knew it I was rounding the corner to come back into the Fonatur Marina and hit the cobblestones that signaled I needed to get my shoes off and prep for the dismount.  I came through T2 and hit the run course.  It was hot again!  Instead of focusing on the heat, I focused on something Age Group National Champion Todd Buckingham, my friend and travel buddy, had told me.  Every time I wanted to think of my discomfort or the heat, I told myself,  “You’re doing AMAZING.  You’re here, you’re rocking this, and you can’t help it if you get passed, but you are going to pass every single girl you can.”

One by one, I passed girls from different countries bearing the “20” tattoo on their left calf.  I was hurting, but when I grabbed my U.S. flag 400 meters from the finish line, nothing else mattered.  I heard my mom in the bleachers calling out my name as I hit the blue carpet and I was beaming from ear to ear with the flag held high.  I finished in sixth place in my age group!  It was so much better than I could have imagined after my terrible swim!  Most importantly though, I finished with a heart full of joy and a smile on my face.  I’m so incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to race in Cozumel against some stiff competition.  If you ever qualify for Worlds, it is definitely something you should consider participating in.  As for me, I have one more race until a much-deserved off season.  I’ll be under the radar in training for a few months, but there are some awesome new challenges for me to undertake next year!

By: Roxane Kippen, Multisport Team Captain

It is very hard to believe that another triathlon season is coming to an end.  This year has been another of hard work and much success for Team OAM NOW multisport athletes.  The best part about my role as a team captain is celebrating the victories of our outstanding group of triathletes.

Our multisport team members range in age from 19 years old to flirting with retirement and each decade in between is well represented.  We are a diverse group made up of teachers, students, attorneys, and finance, IT and engineering professionals.  A healthy balance of all life has to offer is important to us.  On top of things like work, school, family and other worthy causes; we find time to train, race and promote active lifestyles by volunteering in our communities.

As I look back at our stats from two years ago, I am amazed at the growth in the numbers.  We have nearly doubled in team members and have gone from competing in 24 different triathlon events and a total of 50 triathlon finishes to competing in 31 events with over 90 finishes.  Of the 90 finishes, over two thirds resulted in top 3 podiums.  There were 61 podiums in 2016 versus 37 podiums in 2014, including 11 first place overall finishes.

First Place Overall Finishes in 2016

Danielle Nye                     Gull Lake Sprint Triathlon

Elaine Sheikh                 Bear Lake Olympic Triathlon
Tri Del Sol
Michigan Titanium Olympic Triathlon

Jeff Nordquist              Seahorse Triathlon
Grand Rapids Triathlon Olympic Aquabike

John Meyers                Double Time Duathlon
Shermanator Duathlon

Kathy Braginton          Gull Lake Triathlon Masters
Shermanator Triathlon Masters

Todd Anthes                Gull Lake Olympic Triathlon

Other highlights for the season include Tammy Shuler’s perfect 8 for 8 age group wins, Elaine Sheikh’s double top 10 finish at USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals in both the Sprint and Olympic distances for the second year in a row, Lindsey Lilley’s top 5 overall finish at Michigan Titanium, her first iron distance event ever and Brian Reynolds’ top 10 overall finish at Ironman Wisconsin, his first iron distance event ever.  In addition, Danielle Nye and Elaine Sheikh represented Team USA at the ITU World Age Group Championships this weekend in Cozumel, Mexico!

As a team we have a common goal to balance work, life and sport.  We are a family and love to share in each other’s successes and encourage each other through challenges and setbacks.  While we always enjoy being on the podium, the journey is more often a larger victory. We are thankful we have such great sponsors that support us in doing what we love and allow us to be proud stewards of the sport.

–By Michelle Dalton, Team OAM NOW triathlete

“My husband and I are Triathletes”. This statement is usually met with blank stares or at best polite nods. Sometimes an explanation is required. “We race in events that require us to swim, bike and then run.”

James and Michelle Dalton have been competing in triathlon for over a decade!

We have been competing for over a decade in this sport, both here and in our native Australia. We were introduced by a friend whilst training for a half marathon in Sydney. She was a Grandmother – and I thought well if she can do this, I would like to give it a go. And I did. And then James did. And we have been hooked ever since.

It’s not easy having two endurance athletes in the family, especially with two small children, jobs and lives. We have to balance very carefully training with work and family. And it has worked well. Mostly.

This year we are both training for our first Ironman in Cozumel Mexico in November. An Ironman is a 2.4 miles swim followed by a 112 mile bike and then a 26.2 mile run. It’s a huge event and requires many hours of training – in our family that means Ironman volume training times two. After people get over the shock that you are actually thinking of attempting such an event on purpose, they often ask us the question of how we manage to both do the work and have time leftover for everything else.

The answer is that sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. The key is to have priorities. Family is always first. We have explained to our children that this year is a lot of training and time away from them to try to fit in long bike rides and runs. And when we are done, it’s their time.  And at 9 & 11 they sort of understand this. I also think the opportunity to watch mum and dad work very hard for something that they want and are passionate about but are not going to win is very enriching for them. They get that it is important to work towards your dreams. To try your very best no matter what. I believe that in watching us train toward our first Ironman, they are learning some valuable lessons in dreams and hard work.

In terms of training – we have to be on a schedule. We talk at the beginning of the week about who has to do what and when. And we try to stick to it as much as possible in fairness to the other person and the girls. We don’t always get this formula right and sometimes this means missing something but you have to have balance. But at the end of the day, we want each other to succeed so we do whatever we can do help each other out.

The challenge of balancing training, family, and everything else life demands!

Our household isn’t prefect! But what we have learnt about training and racing together has enabled us to be more structured in our approach to training, more flexible when things go wrong and more patient with the other when you things get tough. Its also helped us to teach our kids some valuable lessons along the way.  Determination, perseverance, commitment, healthy choices and doing something that you love.

This is a challenging year but when we cross the finish line in November, it’s all going to be worth it. And to have the other one racing beside you, makes the finish line look even better.

–By Elaine Sheikh, Team OAM NOW Multi-sport athlete

When I went to write this blog, I spoke out loud in exasperation: “What the heck am I supposed to say? I did a thing, it didn’t go the way I wanted, it was a huge disappointment?” So here I sit, in the car on the long drive home from Nebraska to Michigan, contemplating what actually happened this weekend.

Leading into the weekend I was tapered and feeling fast – probably the best that I had felt going into a race this year. My training has been solid and although I was nervous, I was ready to see it pay out for me in a big way against the most competitive field I had been in this season. I was doing everything the way you should – divide the drive there between two days, relax, eat enough food and high carb intake, and plenty of positive thinking. We pre-drove the entire course and rode part of it, ran part of it, and swam in the thick, murky green waters of Carter Lake. I tried my best to focus on the positives, controlling the controllables, and putting my faith in my training.

Saturday morning started at 4:40 am. snack, pack, drive to the race site. Park, practice mindfulness, setup transition, breakfast. Then settle down to wait for three hours before my wave started. My wave started at 10:30 am, which meant I was running at noon. I made it through the green murky swim and had a decent (although much tougher than I expected) bike split, but drinking warm infinit in my bottle (despite having frozen half of it the night before!) didn’t set me up for a great experience in the run. Even though I was confident I would nail the run, I ended up having my slowest run in a triathlon in a very long time. I was doubled over in pain crying on the run course, and all I could think was that this was the race I had trained for. This was the one that mattered. And I was blowing it as I ended up finishing the run 6-7 minutes slower than I was capable of. And despite the fact that I have worked very hard to improve my mental strength in the past few months, I was shattered. I cried almost the whole day. I would get myself under control, and then someone would ask about my race or I would look on social media and see something about the race and I would lose my composure again. I was beyond disappointed in myself, and my confidence was gone. And I had to race the next day.

Sunday morning started just a few minutes later than the day before. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support that people had given me after my heartbreak and subsequent meltdown the day before. The best advice I got was from a fellow triathlete: “Pick 2 things you can improve on (concrete things like equipment choice or transition mechanics) and 2 things you are proud of from today. Keep those in your head for tomorrow.” That comment really helped to ground me and bring me back from my personal crisis point. The other thing that helped? The faith that other people had in me. Knowing that other people believed in me made it so that I didn’t have to try to convince myself to believe in myself. I just had to believe in the people I trust. In the end, my race on Sunday wasn’t stellar, but I managed to snap my head back into the game to put up competitive splits and have a respectable race.

Maybe national champion wasn’t in the cards for me this year. A) there is always next year and B) there is now a fire lit beneath me for worlds in five weeks. Onward and upward! Hopefully with a lot of work and a little luck, you’ll be reading a victory post soon!

By: Brian Reynol​​ds, Team OAM NOW triathlete

During the Fall of 2015 I decided to pursue one of my ultimate goals which was to quality for the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  The Hawaii Ironman is the most prestigious race in the Triathlon World.  In fact this race inspired me to get into triathlons.  I remember during high school watching the NBC documentary coverage of the race and thinking to myself “I want to do this race someday.”  That someday could be October 14th, 2017 if everything goes according to plan.

To qualify for Kona I will be doing the 2016 Wisconsin Ironman which will be my first Ironman distance.  There are 50 Kona slots available at Wisconsin. In my age group (25-29) it has historically been the top 3 that have qualified.  Last year’s 3rd place overall time was 9:41 hours which is a very doable time for me if training goes well.

Achieving a Kona slot will take hard work, dedication, and more importantly a smart training plan.  When my coach Mark Olson and I sat down to review the game plan it was obvious that I needed to work on my biking.  The bike leg of the triathlon has always been my weaker discipline.  In the Ironman distance the bike leg will make up over 50% or roughly 5 hours of the race so it’s very important to be a strong cyclist.  

The game plan was to dedicate more time to biking early in the season which meant significantly reducing my running mileage.  During the late fall and winter I was putting in 10+ hour weeks on the bike which was the most I’ve ever done.  My biking improved significantly; however, my running was getting worst.  I was only doing 10-15 miles per week which is very low.  This low mileage was making me lose running fitness.  Being a runner my entire career I was not used to being out of running shape.  However, my coach had confidence that once I started to pick up the running miles in the late winter my running would come back.  I had to remind myself that the goal was not to run fast during the winter but rather be the best triathlete I could be at the Wisconsin Ironman.  

Brian claimed second overall in the Seahorse Olympic Tri during his early season prep for his first Ironman

My first triathlon of the season was the Seahorse Olympic distance.  The Seahorse would be the first true test to see if the bike training was paying off.  At the race I had my best power average for the bike split by over 30 watts.  The game plan was working!  In addition, my running was quickly improving and I was looking forward to my next race which was the Grand Rapids Triathlon.

The Half Iron distance at the Grand Rapids Triathlon was my first “A” race of the year.  I did this race last year so it would be a good comparison to measure my improvements.  At this year’s race we had perfect weather conditions.  Besides my swim being a little slower than last year I set a new Half Iron PR of 4:09:33.  I was very happy with my bike split which was the 11th best bike split in the field whereas last year I was 23rd.  My power average was 40 watts better than last year which was a significant improvement.  In addition, I was able to pull off a personal best run split in the half-marathon split by a few seconds.

After the Grand Rapids Triathlon I have more confidence in my biking and am looking forward to the Wisconsin Ironman.  So far this season has shown me that in order to become a better triathlete you need to try different things.  However, trying different things may mean some areas  being sacrificed temporarily.  In my case that was sacrificing my running fitness to improve my biking.  Working on your weaknesses is best utilized early in the training season so there is time to refocus on the other two disciplines before race season. Right now I have 5 weeks to go until the Wisconsin Ironman.  My training is more balanced to ensure I have good fitness in all three disciplines on race day.  Keep in mind that I still need swim for 2.4 miles and run a marathon which makes up roughly 4 hours of the race. Hopefully everything comes together on race day and I’ll be sure to post a blog on my results.

Brian celebrates with coach Mark Olsen and teammates James and Michelle Dalton after the Grand Rapids Tri