SIMRT News - November 05, 2007

Notes from the Peleton

 

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BILLETS from the Bike..........  

2007 World Duathlon Championships
Richmond Virginia

Sunday, October 21st marked the day of the first Duathlon Long Distance World Championships on United States’ soil.  It was a spectacular day and a very well run event.  Four hundred and seventy-five athletes from 25 countries qualified in their home countries to race the Long Distance Duathlon World Championships’ 9.2 mile run, 49 mile bike, and 4.6 run course through the streets of Richmond Virginia.   

Since 1993, I have had a goal to finish in the top 10 of the World Duathlon Championships.  My only prior WC attempt was in 2003, when I qualified for Team USA in the 45-49 age group, traveled to Switzerland, and finished 28th.  Since 2003 I have run 3,500 miles and ridden 23,000 miles in hopes of the Top 10 finish. 

The WC race course was scenic but very difficult.  I was able to do one recon of the run course and one recon of the ride course prior to the race but due to heavy traffic it was impossible to ride the course at race day speeds.  The number of turns, bridges, cross walks, lane changes, etc was daunting.  We racers knew this was a technical course favoring criterium racers over roadies.

The first run was 9.2 miles; some on a dirt path, then on a road, then over a James River bridge (the Mayo), then city streets to the River walkway and back to the transition area.  We did this 4.6 mile loop twice on the first run.  There were only two minor hills to deal with so the run was pretty straight forward.  I entered the transition area in 11th place in my age group. The bike course was not “big guy friendly” and I am considered a “big guy”. The course was four laps of 12 miles.  Each lap contained three long bridge crossings (with expansion joints that punctured a dozen racers’ tires) and city streets with 30 turns of 90 degrees or more.  This meant 120 total turns in 48 miles. 

The temperature increased to 75 degrees during the ride segment making hydration a key to finishing the race without cramps. I completed the bike segment in 2 hours and 15 minutes, re-entering the transition area in 7th place in my age group.  Overall, my bike leg averaged 20.9 mph and was 72nd out of 475 competitors. 

The second run was one circuit of the previous run course.  It was, as they all are, very painful.  It took half of my energy reserves to physically propel myself forward; the other half to concentrate on relaxing, fending off cramps, seeking secure foot placement on the cobblestones, etc. I completed the second run in 34:43 (7:27 pace) which was 10th in my age group and 106th overall.

I crossed the finish line in 8th place in my age group and 90th overall and I am pleased with both results.  A top 10 finish amongst this level of committed athletes is very rewarding.  Victory, or medaling would be nice but most of the competitors at these World Championships considered qualifying for this event to be the victory and representing their country to be the primary award.  There was very little “coulda, woulda, shoulda” post race talk and excuses by the partcipants.  Instead, there were a whole lot of sincere and genuine congratulations being shared amongst teammates and competitors alike.  It was a beautiful moment, and for me, the icing on this cake was that Sara, and son Charlie, were there to share the experience. 

At the starting line, I dedicated this World Championship race to my wonderful wife Sara for all the tolerance and support she has given me over the past 15 years of my racing and training.  It may sound corny to some, but I truly feel like a world champion everyday by being married to her. 

Finally, this race was different in another way, too.  I prayed three times during this race; and none of those prayers were to go faster!  They were all prayers of thanksgiving for possessing the ability, skills, circumstances and support (family, friends, SIMRT teammates, and business associates) to be able to compete at this level.

And, now on to a new chapter…..I wonder what it will be…..

 

Duathlon National Championships 2007 

Wow, what a day.  The weather was perfect; 59 degrees for the first run (5.1 miles), 63 degrees for the bike (38 miles) and 69 degrees for the 2nd run (5.1 miles).

I aged up to the 50-54 group this year.  For fifteen years it has been a goal of mine to medal in the Nationals Championships.  I figured this year would be my best chance.  Interestingly, my age group is an anomaly because it is a big bubble of athletes moving through the Duathlon age group ranks.  It has been one of the largest groups for the 15 years I have been racing.  I know most of the top 20 guys.  At this year’s National Championships 300 racers participated and the 50-54 group was the largest with 28 guys racing for the top three medals.  Also, bringing out the top racers were the six slots still available for Team USA/World Championships in Richmond, VA on 10/21.  Since I qualified for Team USA in July I at the Kansas Qualifier, I was here to race for a medal. 

I knew I didn’t have a chance for the gold medal.  Curt Eggers is a multi-National Champion. He is in a league of his own.  It doesn’t hurt that he is married to a duathlete (and she is also a coach) so Curt gets a lot of grace in his training regiment.  So, when you combine his natural ability with ample training…he is untouchable.  I hoped for a 2nd or 3rd place which I knew would be a challenge given the quality of the competitors and the toughness of the course. 

Both the run and ride courses were very, very hilly.  The first hill was just ½ mile into the first run - a 1 mile long hill with 8-22% grades; followed by more hills.  The ride course had four significant hills requiring 39x25 out-of-the saddle work.  It was all I could do to keep the bike from falling over on these tough pitches.  I saw a couple racers running their bikes up these hills.  Suffice it to say, the course was friendlier to the 5’8” 140 lbs guys than the 6’1”, 180 lbs guys.

The preliminary results showed me as the 50-54 3rd place/bronze medal winner.  I was 7:00ish minutes out of 1st (Eggers) and just 20 seconds out of 2nd place (Henderson). It wasn’t a perfect race…but then there never is a perfect race.  All racers make mistakes or think they could have gone faster in one of the disciplines….this must be what keeps us coming back.  I met my goal to medal in the National Championships.  Now, it is on to the World Championships on October 21st where my dream goal has always been to get a top 10 finish.

Charlie

2007 ABR WORLD TIME TRIAL CHAMPIONS 50+

Fantastic result this weekend by the Scheller's team of 50+ the guys who once more dominated the championships with a convincing win!

This year was a particularly rewarding win especially for the 2 newcomers to the event Charlie Scott (left) and Preston Conrad (center left), who joined the seasoned veterans of the event Frank La Rondie (canter right) and Terry Martin (right).

The team set a blistering time for the conditions which had the younger teams of riders in awe of their accomplished performance.

They firmly put down their success to their camaraderie and communicative teamwork and our congratulations go out to them, their win is richly deserved...well done team!.

 

Old Billets

2007 MS150 RIDE RAISES OVER $12,000

Wow! what a weekend of riding, it was so nice to see everyone once again at the "festival" fund raising ride. Thanks for participating in this event and helping raise money to find a cure. Schellers was the 4th highest fund raising team!!!

**Remember next year that $500 raised, you get a MS150 jersey!

MS150 Bluegrass

Once again our Team riders, Mechanics, Support crew are vital resource at the ride and "Team Schellers" family once again contributed to a fantastic and very worthy event.


Skip's MS150 Ride Notes
Thanks to all the SIMRT teammates who participated in the MS 150 this weekend, both on and off the bike.  Once again it was a very well organized bike tour and very enjoyable in which to participate.  The route as always is a pleasure to ride as our photographs can attest.  The customary welcoming feel of everyone you meet with the free food and drink makes for a satisfying experience.
Once again Scheller's made a very big impact and contributions to the ride.  The honorary members of the Scheller's team, the Bush Family once again were excellent riding companions for the return trip.

This was a terrific event, and everyone's participation is appreciated.

Skip

 

 

SIMRT HAS DINNER WITH LANCE ARMSTRONGPhoto of Lance Armstrong and Charlie Scott taken by David Jaynes at IU Cancer Center Fund raiser May 30th 2006 Indianapolis !!

Lance Armstrong generously poses with Charlie Scott in full SIMRT Dinner Colors to support local racing

Charlie's newsletter

This week my race report isn't actually a race report because I did not race; however I think you will like it just the same. 

 Last weekend was the Indy 500 weekend in Indianapolis.  As such, there was a lot going on in town. One of the really cool things about this year's Indy 500 was not only did Estridge have a car in the race, but Lance Armstrong was the pace car driver!  In addition to driving the pace car, since Lance was treated in Indianapolis at Indiana University Medical Center for his testicular cancer, he made it a point to help the IU Medical Center with a fund raiser while he was in town.  (If you have read his book you know he thinks very highly of the staff at IU Medical Center.)

 The black tie fundraiser was scheduled for the night before the Indy 500, at the Indianapolis Colts’ practice complex.  The featured speaker, of course, was Lance.  The organizers announced a need for two hundred cyclists to serve as the welcoming committee.  These cyclists were asked to attend in full race kits, with bikes.  The cyclists were instructed to line both sides of the red carpet and receive the arriving attendees by ringing bells, cheering, etc.  The local cycling teams learned of this fundraiser, and Lance's attendance, via chat rooms and emails.  This sounded like a fun thing to do, and many of my riding pals said they would attend, so I decided I would be one of reception line cyclists, too.

 However, my plans changed a few days before the event when HH Gregg extended me an invitation to the actual fund raising dinner.  The invitation was for four people.  Obviously, I was going to take my wife Sara.  It then took me about 30 seconds to decide that teammate Frank LaRondie and his wonderful wife Elizabeth should be our guests.  Frank was one of my top picks because he has inspired (that's a nice word for it!) me, in more ways than he will ever know, to become a better cyclist.  That is another story, though, so back to the Lance story.  

 Since this was a black tie dinner, I thought it would be interesting if I wore a Scheller’s Indiana Masters team jersey as my tuxedo shirt.  My first hope was that I could get a picture with Lance in order to promote our sponsors and our team.  As a back-up plan, I figured at least some of the 200 cyclists along the red carpet would get a kick out of the jersey/tux combo.   And they did!  I received much more attention than most of the real VIP’s.  After the cyclist receiving line, we entered the reception tent for cocktails and then went into the dining area.  The only thing that would have made this night more special would have been if Lance had walked down the red carpet to the cheers of the many local cyclists who gave their time to help make this event special.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen; the organizers very quietly ushered Lance in a back door of the facility.

 Our group was seated for dinner and the food was great.  After dinner, the program kicked off with Dr. Larry Einhorn, who was Lance's doctor during his cancer treatment at the IU Medical Center.  Dr. Einhorn spoke for 1/2 hour about Lance's successes, but more importantly he spoke about the wonderful progress made in testicular cancer research and care in the last few years.  Several other IU medical personnel were also acknowledged, especially the all-important nurses who provide the majority of the personal care for cancer patients and their families.  After Dr. Einhorn finished speaking, Lance addressed the audience.  The vast majority of his remarks were about the need for more cancer research and the delivery of testicular cancer treatment around the world.  He told us that through efforts like Dr. Einhorn's, IU Medical Center's and countless other doctors and hospitals, the testicular cancer cure rate has improved from just 5% to nearly 95% in the past 10 years.  WOW!  Many give credit for this astounding progress to IU Medical Center and Lance for bringing focus to this type of cancer.  I thought that it was interesting that the Indianapolis 500, known as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing", picked "The Greatest Testicles in Racing AND Cancer Fund Raising" to drive the pace car.  I probably should have kept this thought to myself, right?

 Lance was followed by Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500, and Jeff Saturday, center for the Colts.  Everyone who spoke at the event was a great public speaker.  I was especially impressed that Tony George, who must have had 1,000 places to be the night before the Indy 500, spent three hours at this cancer fundraiser.  After the speakers were finished, there were a couple of award presentations and some ad-libbed, humorous stories.  I was very impressed with how sharp Lance was at thinking on his feet.  He was really, really good. 

 It then became obvious to me that as soon as the on-stage events wrapped up, Lance was leaving.  As the activities on the stage neared completion, I asked Frank to grab his digital camera and follow me.  I was hopeful that I could ask Lance for a picture with me to support local racing.  As he headed directly from the stage to the exit, I moved close enough to ask him if he would "allow a photograph to support local racing and team sponsors."  Lance looked at my team jersey, held his hand up as if it were a "stop" sign, and signaled for me to get back.  He then turned to an older gentleman, who I believe was associated with IU Medical Center, and asked him to move in close for a photograph.  Lance then turned in my direction, looking past the first couple rows of people, and said, "Now, you, quickly!"  I walked up and said, “Thank you very much!" I saw "flash" (from a professional photographer) and another "flash" (from Frank).  Lance took one more look at my jersey then turned quickly and headed out the door.  All said, it was very kind of Lance to allow the photograph.  I was lucky as dozens of other people brought books, jerseys, and other memorabilia for Lance to autograph, but he only stopped for two quick photographs before heading out to other Indy 500 events.

 There is probably a lesson in this story about being prepared, being motivated, and being in the right place at the right time.  Kind of like bicycle racing, and everything else in life, don't you think?

 Side note:  Our team has two pictures to choose from for our usage.  I tried to open my coat as much as I could without looking obvious.  Due to his angle, Frank's pictures shows the entire "Scheller’s" name and logo, while the professional photograph is better composed and of higher resolution (no offense to Frank).

Charlie Scott

   
 

 



 


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