Women

By Roxane Kippen, Team OAM Now Triathlete

When forward progress on a bicycle is stopped by anything other than the brakes, it is likely that things won’t end well. Mountain biking presents endless possibilities for halting forward movement on a bike such as rocks, roots and, of course, trees. Wet roots and ultimately a tree, came into play for me at the USA Triathlon Offroad National Championships in Pelham, Alabama on May 16.

I had committed to racing the USAT Offroad Nationals back in November. This race was also the XTERRA Southeast Regional Championships, which was a qualifier for the XTERRA World Championships, and one I’d been wanted to do for years. The day after Iceman, I went out for my first run in over a month. It was a slow two miles, but it was a beginning. From there, I sat down to map out my training plan that would prepare me over the next 6.5 months for my longest race in 3 years. I have been racing offroad triathlon (swim, mountain bike, trail run) consistently for the last 9 years, but have only done a handful of championship distance (1500 meter swim, 30K mountain bike, 10K trail run) in that time. Preparation would require a bit more time and planning than recent years.

Michigan winters add a level of complexity to a training plan as weather can be very unpredictable and quality riding and running can be difficult to come by for long stretches of time. However, swim training is never impacted by weather, unless the school is closed for a snow day. Therefore, swimming became my focus for the “off season” and I planned 3 days per week in the pool, working up to an average of 7500 yards per week. I also spent 8 weeks attending the Athletic Mentors Swim Class to help improve my stroke and efficiency in the water.

I did not spend much time on the bike over the winter, but I did try to attend one spin class per week for intensity and did one “long” ride outside on the weekend when weather permitted. When spring finally arrived and the trails dried out, I had to cram in some 2.5 hour rides on single track to replicate my race conditions. Last fall, I acquired a new Giant Anthem Advanced 27.5 and still needed to get acquainted with the full suspension and smaller wheel base. By the time I left for Alabama, I was feeling confident on the new bike and ready to ride aggressively.

For a while, the run training was going really well, then work/real life, started placing demands on my time and energy levels. Such is the life of an amateur. That being said, I was able to maintain one or two runs per week and I raced a 5K every month from March – May to test my progress. I was happy with my speed heading into my “A” race. Throw in a couple of weeks of brick training, and I was ready to go.

The venue for the championship was Oak Mountain State Park, which boasts some of the coolest mountain bike trails in the nation and one of the IMBA’s EPIC rides. I had the opportunity to pre-ride the course two days prior to the race to get a feel for the terrain and test out the bike on the technical trails. I felt pretty good about being able to race the course with confidence, but was a bit concerned about how tight and technical (roots and turns) the trail was for the first 5 – 6 miles, when the field is scrambling for position after the swim with limited passing room.
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By Todd Anthes, Team OAM Now Triathlete

The Bear Lake Triathlon in North Muskegon is the final exam for the Grand Haven High School triathlon class. Wow. I wish they had classes like that when I was in high school. Maybe then I would be a better swimmer. It’s great to see athletes get started on the tri in high school, and this is a great race.

The past week of cold temps did not seem to affect Bear Lake very much. In fact, the conditions were perfect. A light breeze, some cloud cover and an air temp pretty close to the 67 degree water temp, greeted the athletes.

The olympic swim start was uneventful. The water was perfect and I broke the seal on my first triathlon of the season with decent sighting and drafting when I could. My swim split was a little slow given a poor start, but successful open water swimming always takes some acclimation for me. I was happy with my performance.

On the other end of the swim, T1 was horrible. I didn’t wear my race top during the swim because of the temperature; I didn’t want to start the bike with a wet top. As a result, I had a heck of a time getting my top on. I also opted for some thin wool socks as my feet tend to get cold (this was a good move), but probably cost me a minute or more.

Bear Lake’s bike course is pretty simple. Besides the turn around, 2 right turns on the way out, and 2 right turns on the way in, there’s a nice stretch on Lake Michigan and a large hill about a third of the way in called “Block House” Hill. It is a granny gear hill out and back. I love it. It always breaks things up a little bit.

I gained some ground on the field in the bike leg. It felt pretty good to be out there with the bike in full race dress and ripping along.

The next transition, from bike to run, went much more smoothly. I have been doing hard bricks for the last few weeks, and it paid off.

I was passed immediately by a couple of younger guys, something that rarely happens on the run. I don’t know where they came from as I was all alone on the bike. I might have caught them in transition. They had a nice cadence and I could tell they knew what they were doing. I kept them in my sights, but never caught them again. I averaged 40 min on the run, but never went back and forth with anyone. I was pleased with this, particularly as an early season effort.

I was 10th overall, and 2nd in my age group. Teammate Bob Schultz came in 3rd in his age group. While my first triathlon of the year was not the final exam the high school students were experiencing, Race Director, Ron Knoll, and Grand Haven High School triathlon teacher  Derek Warner, sure do a great job of creating an exciting race environment.

By Kathy Braginton, Team OAM Now Triathlete

Triathlon season officially began with the 35th annual Seahorse Challenge, the first triathlon in the Kalamazoo area. With the race held on Memorial Day weekend, and the cold winters we have experienced the last few years, racers never know what the weather is going to bring or what the water temps will be, thus creating the “challenge”. This year brought cool early morning air temps, a water temperature of 64 degrees, and no worries whether it would be a wet suit legal swim.

Seahorse features both Sprint and Olympic distance races. Each race follows the same course with the Olympic distance doing 2 laps in each discipline. Team OAM Now’s Kathy Braginton took on the Sprint distance, while Raquel Torres took on the Olympic distance. The Olympic distance started first with the sprint distance starting about 25 minutes later.

Raquel had a great swim leg and was exiting the water as Kathy’s race began. Raquel was the first woman out of the water with a 4 minute lead and kept that lead throughout the entire race. Kathy was the 4th woman out of the water after the swim and had a smooth T1 moving her into 2rd place. The first half of the bike leg features fast, smooth, and mostly downhill roads. Riders need to go hard the first 6 miles (miles 1-6 and 12-18 for OLY) and take advantage of the good roads because the second half gradually works its way back up those hills and has about a ½ mile stretch of rough roads where riders must use extreme caution.

Kathy went out hard the first half of the bike leg and caught the lead biker by mile 3. Building on that, she gained a 5 minute lead to be the first biker into T2 and the first runner onto the run leg of the course. The run leg features paved roads for the 1st mile (1st and 4th mile for OLY) and trail/grass for the remainder of the run. This unique run course features a foot bridge, a flight of stairs, and even 3 angry mother geese. Due to the many twists and turns of the course, it was hard to determine how far back the next racer might have been. Because of this limited visibility, Kathy tried to push the pace to maintain any distance between her and the next female. As a result, Kathy finished 7th overall and earned first place in the women’s sprint distance finishing more than 9 minutes ahead of the next female. Raquel was 4th overall, and the Olympic female winner, finishing more than 11 minutes ahead of the next female racer.

Overall, it was a great way to start the season with dual wins for Team OAM Now!

By Kaitlyn Patterson, Team OAM Now Multi-Sport

The elite men and women racers started together three minutes before the rest of the field. I was able to make a crucial break with part of the elite men’s field on the first climb and separate myself from the other female racers. I maintained this lead throughout the race and finished with a solo victory. I’ve been able to spend more time working on my bike handling skills this year and it has been fun to see it pay off in recent races.Four years since the inaugural event, this unique race on the coast of Lake Michigan has quickly become a staple in spring mountain bike racing. Arcadian Grit and Gravel is held in early May, just as the leaves are turning a brilliant green and the trillium are in full bloom. The course is a combination of gravel roads, two-tracks, a bit of pavement, and nine miles of single-track through the Arcadia Dunes Nature Preserve. The race starts in the tiny town of Arcadia, on two miles of pavement before hitting the dirt. There are two significant climbs in the first 10 miles of the longer race to help spread out the fields before the narrow single track sections.

Arcadia was a short trip for my family to come and enjoy the race and a beautiful day. My grandma was especially excited to be on the support crew!

Check out some of the race pics here.

By Erin Young, Team OAM Now Multi-sport Athlete

The Borgess Run For the Health of It is one of those events that I participate in each year. It is in my hometown of Kalamazoo and offers a distance for any runner, even a walk. With a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon, I wind up doing one of the events every year, always for a different reason. One year I was preparing for a 3 day stage race and did the marathon event the day after a 26 mile trail run to have a supported run as part of my training. Last year I was preparing for a 50 mile event and wanted to use the 5k as a speed workout. This year was much different since I had my first baby this February. I didn’t know what I could expect from my body after such a personally and physically altering experience, so I decided that the half marathon was a reasonable goal.

I thrive on goals and knew this event would nudge me to put on my running shoes even when I had excuses (mostly that I simply wanted to cuddle my little one). I heard all of the scary stories about how exhausted I would be when the baby arrived or how I wouldn’t have the time to run any longer. This was disappointing to hear since running is my social life. I don’t have coffee with my friends; I run with them. We don’t get dressed up and go out for dinner on weekends; we set our alarms for 6 AM, put on our headlamps to wake the quiet trails with our laughter. When my friends apologize for being “slow” on an off day, I remind them that any trail run with a friend is already a great day. So, when I grew too big to run the last 2 weeks of pregnancy, I missed the quiet mornings, and chats with my dear friends. I may have been in denial, but I believed that I would be back with my friends and running this half marathon on May 3.

My loyal running friends stuck with me through some difficult runs, sometimes walking the last mile or two home. Turns out this was good for all of us. We loved the slowing down and walking. We noticed a 6 foot beaver dam that we had run past at least 17 times this year. We laughed just as hard and enjoyed each other’s company. We are speeding up again. I am running longer and feeling fantastic about being a runner and a mom! Not only did I make it successfully and smiling through the half marathon, I ran to the event and back home again. No speed records, but this is a new type of personal record!

The Borgess run is a lot like a parade of all your running friends in Kalamazoo. If they weren’t running, they were cheering, manning an aide station or playing in a band roadside. Teammate and 2014 Kalamazoo marathon winner, Brian Reynolds, had a similar experience as he is somewhat of a Kalamazoo all-star and has been doing the Borgess since the inaugural marathon event. This year Brian went for the 10k event and won his age group and took 2nd overall. What is most impressive is that Brian ran 34:32… that is a 5:33 min/mile pace! I don’t know very many runners who can run just one mile at that speed! Brian adds, “The 10k was a C race for me to prep for the 25K event that I’m running next week. I felt good and had a good pace the first 2 miles then settled into my 25k pace the next 4 miles. The weather was really nice out today for a 10k run. The course is a fast course because it’s mostly flat for the first 4 miles and only a few rolling hills through Spring Valley Park.”

Team OAM Now multisport team members Mark Olson and Paul Raynes were also competing in the Borgess events. Mark ran a solid time of 1:38 in the half marathon. This 7:32 minute per mile pace is quite impressive for an athlete who spends more time helping other athletes than on his own training. Paul ran a 22:32 that landed him in a 3rd place podium spot for his age group. Nice work Team OAM Now runners!

By Roxane Kippen, Team OAM Now Triathlete

The Striders Classic is just that, a classic. It is an annual spring event that has been around for many years and is often used to test speed leading into early season A races, or to make a long run a bit more enjoyable by joining in the fun (or misery) with hundreds of other runners. Team OAM NOW triathletes Paul Raynes and Roxane Kippen raced the 5K while long-course triathlete Cheryl Sherwood and ultra-runner Erin Young took on the 10-miler.

The morning of April 11th was cool, but fairly calm, perfect for a running event. The sun was out and all were in good spirits awaiting the start. The 10 Mile Race began first, so Cheryl and Erin were off with the masses for their 10 mile social run. Five minutes later Paul and Roxane set out for their 22 minute 40 second 5K.

The 10-mile course was an out and back, but included about 7 miles of rolling gravel roads. Erin, after several weeks off from having a BABY, enjoyed the treat of running on gravel roads again. Being back in her running shoes and able to run with friends on a beautiful day brought her much happiness. Cheryl and Erin ran together for the entire 10 miles. Now that is team building!

The 5K course was mostly paved roads, with the exception of a short jaunt out on a gravel road to the turnaround point, before the return route to the finish. Roxane wanted to test her speed against her benchmark of 23:15 one month earlier at the Irish Jig 5K, and set out with an aggressive pace to see if she could hold it. Around mile 1, she could hear the quick footsteps of teammate Paul coming up from behind. From there, they exchanged positions a couple of times, with Paul leading the last mile and finishing just 2 seconds ahead of Roxane, which landed him on the podium with 2nd place in his age group. Roxane’s 30 second improvement from a month ago earned her the top podium spot in her age group.

Roxane attributes a time, just seconds away from her 10-year old PR (personal record) in the 5K, to an off-season focus on core strength.  Improving her core strength has been a key component in the gains Roxane has seen in her running efficiency and speed. To incorporate this into your routine, check out  some of Coach Mark Olson’s core training videos here.

Overall, the Striders Classic is a very well organized event. The finish line treats were excellent and included bagels, fruit, hot chocolate, and coffee. The results were displayed immediately on a flat screen next to the finish line and the awards were announced without delay. OAM NOW will surely take part in this race in future years. Thanks Striders for another great event!