Race Coverage

Charm & Uber-Friendliness...

Thursday, 08 August 2013 01:10

By Julia Lyng

Race Report - Minnewaska Triathlon has become a family tradition of sorts. We love this race. It's full of small town charm. Where else would you find bikes that are "racked" lying sideways on the ground? The race director is a "hoot" as Jerry would say and always remembers us when we show up for our race packets. The volunteers and athletes are uber-friendly. And, it's the perfect distance and course for beginners. A 400-yard swim that runs parallel to the beach so you can touch bottom the whole way. An 11.1 mile bike that winds past the lake with it's beautiful homes and cottages and out to the countryside. Don't let the scenery fool you though. The bike course also has it's challenges including rumble strips, turns, and quite a few hills. Then a super flat and fast 2.5 mile run out and back along the lake....

Our family numbers were down this year. My husband, Bob, normally races but he opted to be chief cheerleader/photographer due to injury recovery and focusing on a fall marathon. Bob's son and niece have raced in the past too. This year it was just my daughters, Jane (16) and Kelly (13), and me. Kelly couldn't decide whether she wanted to defend our relay-team title and course record or tackle her first "big girl" triathlon as an Individual. So, we had not yet registered. Our plan was to head out of the Cities as soon as I could skip out of work, try to beat the I-94 traffic, register on-site Friday night, and preview the bike course.

Alas, our plans went awry. I got stuck at work longer than I hoped. We rushed to pack up the car. Traffic was horrible. The drive took an hour longer than it should have. We walked up to the registration table and realized I had left my checkbook at home - 120 miles away. We were directed to an ATM at the grocery store in town, withdrew the daily dollar limit, and scrounged up the rest from my purse to pay for our race fees. We were able to drive the bike course before the sun went down although were a little uncertain of the exact route. Then off to Grandma and Grandpa's to get some sleep.

We woke up bright and early and were some of the first to arrive at transition - racks were still being assembled. We started to unpack our gear and bikes from the car and...oh no...we couldn't find Kelly's front wheel. My heart sank when I realized that in our packing frenzy I must have left it at home, with my checkbook, 120 miles away. After weeks of debate, Kelly had decided to race as an Individual, and I left her wheel at home! Feeling horrible and dejected, we walked to the transition area short one wheel. What were the chances someone would have an extra?

I looked around for anyone with race wheels thinking they'd be the most likely to carry an extra. I received lots of sympathy and one smart-guy offered me a buck if I did the entire race popping a wheelie (OK, I deserved it) but no wheel. Then the Jake's Bike truck showed up and I thought maybe my luck was turning. But when I asked the Jake's guy he responded in shock, "You need a WHOLE wheel?" I spotted a group of volunteers and, in desperation, asked if any of them lived close and happened to have a road bike wheel they'd be willing to loan out for the morning. An amazingly nice and generous man not only had one but drove home to get it and upon his return announced, "I pumped it up for you too!" See what I mean about uber-friendly?

Good news is the search for a wheel left no time for pre-race jitters. We headed off to the swim start. Jane, was in the first wave, Kelly in the third, and I in the fourth. We all had decent swims - within 3 seconds of each other! Good T1's. Now on to our bikes. Being in the first wave of a small race meant Jane was alone for most of the bike. Unfortunately, with no one else in sight, she followed our "uncertain" route from the night before and took a wrong turn. She was eventually directed back on course but a comparison of bike computers told us her detour added about 0.7 miles. My wave was 9 minutes behind Jane's and 3 minutes behind Kelly's. I knew I wouldn't catch Jane but figured I'd catch Kelly, a novice biker, pretty quickly. I hit the halfway point though and Kelly was still nowhere in sight. At first I panicked, did she have mechanical problems or did she crash? No, I would have seen her. By golly, she must be pedaling her little heart out! Sure enough, somewhere around mile 8, I spotted her up ahead. As I passed her by, she returned my words of encouragement with little more than a nod. She was in her "determined" zone.

I raced on and entered T2 wondering how far I was ahead of Kelly. My daughters are faster runners than I. So, I headed into the run in basically a no-lose situation. Again, I knew I'd never catch Jane but if I could stay ahead of Kelly, that would mean I was having a good run and had a shot at winning and maybe even a course record. If she caught me and I could manage to hang with her, we could finish together, Mom and daughter. Or, if she caught and passed me, well, I'd be bursting with pride. Since the run is out-and-back, I was able to see Jane looking strong as ever and, at the turn-around, saw that Kelly was right on my heels! I did manage to stay ahead of her but not by much.

We stuck around for awards and door prizes. Though nowhere near the caliber of a Gear West drawing, there's always plenty to go around. Almost everyone wins something and the items are as charming as the town. Things like water bottles, gift cards to the local gas station, and tote bags. Last year I won a Coleman rain suit which garnered a few chuckles at the time but came in pretty handy at Mpls (Lifetime) Tri this year!

All-in-all we had a good race in spite of the rough start. And, though Jane would have had an even better finish if not for her bike detour, her disappointment was short-lived. More importantly, we had a lot of fun, learned some lessons, spent a beautiful morning with some really great people, and made some memories together! RESULTS