Mark Michaelis: My Sports

Completing a half Ironman - TROIKA

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 16:35:31 GMT

Yesterday I competed in a TROIKA, a half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). My goal was to finish and finish I did. Wahoooo!!!

Summary:

Swimming is tons easier with a wet suit.
Flat tires don't magically fix themselves when you pump them up. You must fix the flat or change the tire. Duh!
Energy bars are too chewy to eat while biking. I imagine that energy goo would be a lot better.
The race is significantly harder without any support from folks you know, cheering you on, collecting your gear, providing encouragement, pushing you not to take it easy, etc. Along the way were chalk writings on the pavement along with spectators spurring contestants on and I am sure having someone you know cheering for you makes a huge difference.
My goal was to finish and at the end of the bike section I was confident I could do this. As a result, I felt fine about walking a significant part of the run. Next time (if there is such a thing) I need a goal that will motivate me to try harder.
Don't use your equipment for the first time on race day. (Another Duh :) )

A full description of my race can be found here.

Upcoming Running Events and Adventure Races

Thu, 04 Mar 2004 05:53:41 GMT

Well, the rest of my Adventure Team is slacking off in helping to choose adventure races for this year. However, as part of my training I have at least three individual runs planed.

Snake River Canyon Half Marathon (13.1 miles): Goal is an unlikely 8 min/mile.
Bloomsday (7.46 miles): Goal is 7 min./mile or under 50 min. total if I can find someone to carry me that fast. )
Troika Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run): Goal is to finish

Below is a list of URLs for Adventure Races. Let me know if you are interested in racing with me since my team seems to be a little on the disinterested side. I am looking for around a 36 hour race or a day race close to Spokane.

http://www.usara.com/calendar.htm
http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/asp/asomain.asp?Option=CalendarList&;Calendar=extrem&category=Adventure+Racing
http://www.oarevents.com/home.asp
http://www.4ar.info/
http://www.adventuresportsmagazine.com/calendar/index.html

Mountain Biking up Mica Peak

Tue, 23 Sep 2003 03:30:51 GMT

Three weekends ago now I rode up Mica Peak with Eric Brady. This is a great local climb and the downhill is fast as heck. I decided that a bicycle is probably the fastest mode of transportation with down the logging trail. It is awesome.

I confess that the trail is still too difficult for me to stay upright all the way up. It is too steep and the gravel and rocks are simply too loose in places. However, I think that it is possible to ride up it completely with enough practice and I hope to be able to do it some day. There are ton's of trails in this area and I haven't even begun to explore them. Next time we do this we hope to traverse down the Cedar forest side.

Below is a picture of the the peak from right near my house:

Traveling By Airplane With Your Bike

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 19:27:15 GMT

As an adventure racer I concur entirely with the fact that traveling is an expensive proposition just as this article describes. I have resorted to shipping my bike which generally costs less that $40 per time. Yuck!!!

Mt. Rainier Trip Writeup

Wed, 09 Jul 2003 10:50:43 GMT

Although we wrote up our Mt. Rainier trip shortly afterwards I never got around to posting the trip report onto my weblog.

In summary, we didn't make it to the top due to bad weather. However, it was a good climb overall.

24hr Odyssey Adventure Race Map

Mon, 28 Apr 2003 17:30:53 GMT

Here is the map we used for our race. Sorry, no scale, the entire distance in yellow including the parts where the course overlapped was 80+ miles.

24hr Odyssey Adventure Race - We Finished!!!

Wed, 16 Apr 2003 18:20:41 GMT

Well... we completed the race. Here are the high/low lights:

Unfortunately lost a team member to illness during the first two hours
By the first CP (check point) we were in dead last
We ended being the 6th team to complete the course
Only 15 teams finished
At race start they added 5 mile run, known as a prologue, just so that we the teams would be separated out and wouldn't follow each other.

For a full and humorus write-up by my team look here.

Here is the map we used for our race. Sorry, no scale, the entire distance in yellow including the parts where the course overlapped was 80+ miles.

Below are some sample pictures. Remaining pictures can be viewed here or in slideshow form here.

The Team (Including Support Crew)
(Tom Fox , Leslie Fox, Jim Fox, Andy Michaelis, Mark Michaelis, and George Koburov)

Packing for the Race (Note the I-want-a-dollar shirt)

Crossing a stream

Ever wondered whether you might be suited for adventure racing?

Sat, 12 Apr 2003 15:43:06 GMT

Backpacks, Bikes and Boats
Ever wondered whether you might be suited for adventure racing? Here's a short quiz to help you decide.

When I am severely sleep deprived, running a fever and nursing a sprained ankle, I like to:

A. Take two aspirin and call my doctor in the morning.
B. Take to my bed for several days' rest and recuperation.
C. Take a 30-mile cross-country mountain bike ride after dark, in the rain.

The answer, of course, is:
D. You wuss, the bike ride's just the warmup.

Multi-Day Races: Going All Out
So you're ready to suffer? "A 12-hour race by our standards is a short race," says Dawn Taylor-Mann, director of operations for Odyssey Adventure ...

Yikes... Look at those Contour Lines

Thu, 10 Apr 2003 03:51:08 GMT

One of my team mates for my upcoming adventure race recently informed of some scary information about the Big Island, the race location. See all those lines.... Yikes!

Odyssey One-Day Adventure Race - 4/12/2003

Fri, 28 Mar 2003 22:35:05 GMT

Two days ago I shipped my bike to Virginia for our first adventure race of the year.

There is not much info. on the race. The general description is as follows:

24 hours/ 85 miles PRO Class/ 60 miles Advenuture Class
The Odyssey One-Day Adventure Race is perfect for athletes looking for a very demanding 1-day race that encompasses all of the major disciplines found in the longer expedition-style competitions. The course provides lots of elevation gain and loss (with the emphasis on gain) and spectacular scenery among the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Living on the Edge

Mon, 17 Feb 2003 01:56:49 GMT

"If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space."

... Accept the Challenge!!!!

Ping-Pong Table Purchased

Mon, 30 Dec 2002 06:10:36 GMT

Folks who have known me for quite some time will know how much I enjoy a game of ping-pong. Well, since my family was coming to stay for Christmas Elisabeth and I decided to purchase a ping-pong table. We started out with the Ventura from Sears but upon opening up the box at my house we discovered that the table was cracked. Stink!! Anyway, we got permission to put it up and use it through Christmas as it was still playable. One really nice thing about this table was that it was really, really easy to assemble. Only 4 wing nuts and we were done.

While waiting the week for the Ventura to be replaced I came across a Stiga Quick Play 3000 Table Tennis Table table at Gart Sports and decided to purchase that one instead. The list price is $350 but we got is on sale for $191. Table seems okay but the setup took over an hour. Yuck! Not sure that it is any better than the Ventura but it was available immediately and at the very least, the table was thicker.

While buying the table I also purchased a couple Butterfly Derek May Table Tennis Paddles. They seem sufficient for the family to get some good games in without feeling that they are at a disadvantage.

Just Bought Studded Bike Tires

Mon, 11 Nov 2002 16:51:45 GMT

I just ordered some studded snow tires for my bike. Wahooo!! I have been saying all summer that I would ride through the winter and now that I have just spent $150 (yes, that's right) on studded bike tires I am stuck doing it. The tires I purchased were the Nokian (the make car tires too) HAKKAPELIITTA W240s. By the way, I ordered them from All Weather Sports. I was originally going to get the W160s (160 studs) but for $10 more per tire I decided to go with the 240s.