Post by mgorris on Sept 9, 2008 19:51:22 GMT -5
Thought of a number of titles for the subject line:
-Deja Vu
-Lightning strikes twice
-My wife is one tough mother
-Not Again
I ended up settling for Don't Quit because at the end of the day, that is what I experienced first hand on Sunday at Portage Lakes. I've read many inspiring rr's and I felt I'd share this story of what "never give up" looks like.
Lisa did the Portage Lakes Olympic Duathlon and I did the Olympic Triathlon this past Sunday. It is a bittersweet race as it is one of the few we do together but usually the last of the season. It is the season ending race on the HFP schedule and it always attracts a large field
Prior to the race and after looking at the participants list, I noticed Michelle Kitze was racing the Oly du. For those of you not familiar, Michelle is a multiple USAT All-American and wins just about every race she enters. She is wicked fast on the bike! I told Lisa that this would be a great test to see how she has progressed on the bike this year. With her nagging injury, her strength over Michelle, the run, would be diminished.
Before the race Lisa and I talked and I told her to go out and have fun but when she was passed on the bike by MK [it was going to happen at some point], try and see if she could keep her close.
I was able to watch run 1 since the Oly tri went off 30' after the du. Lisa looked strong, not her fastest run, but she came in as the first female in the Oly du and more importantly, about 1' ahead of Michelle. On the bike, Lisa really worked hard and by the end of the bike Lisa was down only one minute. Last year under the same circumstances I caught Lisa on my first loop as she was finishing her second. This year I biked almost 2.5' faster than last year yet I still was not able to catch up to Lisa by the end of my first loop ( :
On to the second run, as I was finishing up the bike, I saw Michelle on the road into the park but no sign of Lisa.....hmmmmmm. As I exited T2, I came around the turn and headed up for the first turn around and that is when I saw Lisa. Boy did she look strong! As she made the turn and headed out toward the final 2.5 miles I noticed Michelle coming up toward the turn around. Lisa was in the lead and she was now putting some serious distance between them.
At this point Lisa had no idea I was behind her. I tried my best to catch her but she was moving. I came through mile one in 6:40 but could still not close the gap. Up we went to the second run turn around and I just could not believe how strong she looked, my running legs were coming back to me now, pacing around a 6:30 mile, yet I was still having a tough time closing the gap.....and then it happened.
As I was nearing the second turn around, Lisa, a few yards ahead, went around the cone and ran over a painted arrow. The ground was slick from the rain and her feet went right out from under her. BAM, SMACK, Lisa hit the ground hard. Her face and head took the brunt of the fall. Within seconds I was next to her and she already had a golf ball sized bruise on her cheek, the entire left side of her face was swollen and she had lots of road rash on her hands/elbow/knee etc. She was a bit dazed, confused and after gathering her faculties decided she was done for the day. We were both very upset that this now happened to her TWICE in the same year, the last time at the Duathlon National Championships in Richmond. However, in Richmond, the crash happened on the bike so her helmet cushioned the fall.
She kept urging me to go on but I wanted no part of it. Ironically I had a dream the night before where we both DNF'd at the race while on the run....strange. After about 3-4 minutes of sitting/standing there she told me to get on with my race and to get moving. Reluctantly I left her, and as I left I told her she should be proud, she had the race won. After about 30" of running, I saw Michelle heading toward Lisa and the turn around cone. I decided at that point to quit, no way was I going to leave Lisa behind. I turned around to walk back to Lisa and to my amazement I saw Lisa headed toward me.......RUNNING. Something got into her and she was determined to finish.
WOW, I was in disbelief. I decided to take off and pace Lisa in the final mile. As I headed down to my turnaround and Lisa's finish, I heard the pitter patter of feet behind me. It couldn't be, could it? Sure enough, it WAS Lisa, all 5' 4" 110lbs of her, and not only was she running, she was passing me! As we neared the finish chute I looked at my watch as I went through mile 3, another 6:40 mile and Lisa was ahead of me so she ran it faster. She turned and made the final run for the finish chute and ended up finishing as first OA female.
Even with the fall she still had a solid second run. Oh yeah, I am proud to say she even out-split me for the first time ever in the 10k and more importantly, exhibited that "never give up spirit" that makes this sport so special.
Let's hope next year, the course gods are a bit more kind to my better half
-Deja Vu
-Lightning strikes twice
-My wife is one tough mother
-Not Again
I ended up settling for Don't Quit because at the end of the day, that is what I experienced first hand on Sunday at Portage Lakes. I've read many inspiring rr's and I felt I'd share this story of what "never give up" looks like.
Lisa did the Portage Lakes Olympic Duathlon and I did the Olympic Triathlon this past Sunday. It is a bittersweet race as it is one of the few we do together but usually the last of the season. It is the season ending race on the HFP schedule and it always attracts a large field
Prior to the race and after looking at the participants list, I noticed Michelle Kitze was racing the Oly du. For those of you not familiar, Michelle is a multiple USAT All-American and wins just about every race she enters. She is wicked fast on the bike! I told Lisa that this would be a great test to see how she has progressed on the bike this year. With her nagging injury, her strength over Michelle, the run, would be diminished.
Before the race Lisa and I talked and I told her to go out and have fun but when she was passed on the bike by MK [it was going to happen at some point], try and see if she could keep her close.
I was able to watch run 1 since the Oly tri went off 30' after the du. Lisa looked strong, not her fastest run, but she came in as the first female in the Oly du and more importantly, about 1' ahead of Michelle. On the bike, Lisa really worked hard and by the end of the bike Lisa was down only one minute. Last year under the same circumstances I caught Lisa on my first loop as she was finishing her second. This year I biked almost 2.5' faster than last year yet I still was not able to catch up to Lisa by the end of my first loop ( :
On to the second run, as I was finishing up the bike, I saw Michelle on the road into the park but no sign of Lisa.....hmmmmmm. As I exited T2, I came around the turn and headed up for the first turn around and that is when I saw Lisa. Boy did she look strong! As she made the turn and headed out toward the final 2.5 miles I noticed Michelle coming up toward the turn around. Lisa was in the lead and she was now putting some serious distance between them.
At this point Lisa had no idea I was behind her. I tried my best to catch her but she was moving. I came through mile one in 6:40 but could still not close the gap. Up we went to the second run turn around and I just could not believe how strong she looked, my running legs were coming back to me now, pacing around a 6:30 mile, yet I was still having a tough time closing the gap.....and then it happened.
As I was nearing the second turn around, Lisa, a few yards ahead, went around the cone and ran over a painted arrow. The ground was slick from the rain and her feet went right out from under her. BAM, SMACK, Lisa hit the ground hard. Her face and head took the brunt of the fall. Within seconds I was next to her and she already had a golf ball sized bruise on her cheek, the entire left side of her face was swollen and she had lots of road rash on her hands/elbow/knee etc. She was a bit dazed, confused and after gathering her faculties decided she was done for the day. We were both very upset that this now happened to her TWICE in the same year, the last time at the Duathlon National Championships in Richmond. However, in Richmond, the crash happened on the bike so her helmet cushioned the fall.
She kept urging me to go on but I wanted no part of it. Ironically I had a dream the night before where we both DNF'd at the race while on the run....strange. After about 3-4 minutes of sitting/standing there she told me to get on with my race and to get moving. Reluctantly I left her, and as I left I told her she should be proud, she had the race won. After about 30" of running, I saw Michelle heading toward Lisa and the turn around cone. I decided at that point to quit, no way was I going to leave Lisa behind. I turned around to walk back to Lisa and to my amazement I saw Lisa headed toward me.......RUNNING. Something got into her and she was determined to finish.
WOW, I was in disbelief. I decided to take off and pace Lisa in the final mile. As I headed down to my turnaround and Lisa's finish, I heard the pitter patter of feet behind me. It couldn't be, could it? Sure enough, it WAS Lisa, all 5' 4" 110lbs of her, and not only was she running, she was passing me! As we neared the finish chute I looked at my watch as I went through mile 3, another 6:40 mile and Lisa was ahead of me so she ran it faster. She turned and made the final run for the finish chute and ended up finishing as first OA female.
Even with the fall she still had a solid second run. Oh yeah, I am proud to say she even out-split me for the first time ever in the 10k and more importantly, exhibited that "never give up spirit" that makes this sport so special.
Let's hope next year, the course gods are a bit more kind to my better half
