Badger State Games

Herb Gayle’s Badger State report. June 27. 2010. Location: Hilbert, Wisconsin

The first half of the marathon was quite pleasant as 15 skaters in the lead pack rolled down the long hill. At mile 5, Andy Uttke hit a tar snake and went down hard. The pack slowed down a bit, but we noticed that Andy U. was not getting up. Someone in the pack suggested, I believe it was Jack Wussler, that Mike Anderson chase down the pace car and get for help for an injured skater. At mile 7 we told the volunteers that a skater fell and it looks serious. I saw Andy Uttke and Margaret after the race and they were heading to the hospital. Best wishes Andy for a speedy recovery.

I can’t remember the last time I felt so good in an inline marathon and the pace was fast, but also easy because gravity was on our side. Big guys with more poundage get that extra roll and I was able to move to the front and take a pull. I stayed at the front for awhile because it was like being on a roller coaster. The course had rolling hills and flat sections, then at mile 10 we reached the new pavement, Mike decided to picked up the tempo to test the lead pack. I was somewhere in the middle of the pack and noticed a few skaters starting to struggle with the faster tempo, I quickly moved up to third position behind my Hoigaard’s team-mate Andy Kostka.

Mike Anderson moved to another gear and our trio dropped the rest of the pack, however I could see Cale Carvell slightly in my draft, but I knew he was struggling and when Mike moved to another gear, Cale was off the back. At mile 12 the trio reached a slick section of the course with wet mud on the road thanks to a farmer that drove his tractor onto the road and left behind a mess. I hope he did not leave cow chips on the road too.(smile) A big thank you to Matt Robinson and his crew for removing most of the mud with a broom and also alerting all the skaters at the start line what to expect before the turn around.

Mike Anderson was the first to reach the turn around, followed by Andy K. and I. We were careful going around the pylon and slowed right down on this slippery section.

Mike took a break and drank some water and eat a power gel, so I decided to pull and keep the pace at a recovery tempo, Gary Blank joined our group and it was now a quartet. We kept checking to see how far the chase pack was behind us. Andy took a pull that was faster than my tempo, but not as crazy as the pace Mike likes to drive the train. Gary’s turn came up again at the front and it was slower than mine and I was loving the relaxed paced because we knew the big hill was coming up in a few miles. Mike decided to jump from the back and immediately go into high gear. Andy and I were right behind him…we dropped Gary and then Mike clicked into over drive and dropped Andy and I. The Hoigaard boys were now a duet and feeling the effects of top end speed for such a long time.

Andy and I looked at each and had to slow down, but Mike kept his pace in a very relaxed skating style and left us in the dust. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Gary Blank hunted us down and blew by the duet. As Gary passed us, he said: “Mike is not going to slow down” and he was on fire and determined to catch Mike. I guess Gary does not know that Mike Anderson does not like to carry excess baggage to the finish line. Mike is basically a one man band in some marathons. I was trying to strike up a deal with Mike Anderson before he took off and left us to the mercy of chase pack wolves. Andy and I would have been satisfied with 2rd and 3rd respectively behind Mike. We did not know Gary Blank had other plans for the results.

The rain held off and the temperature was just right. I need to work on hill training and slim down so the hill is not so painful. This year the race organizers were so kind let us do the hill once and they did not add extra miles to the course. 26 miles with a very long hill was more than plenty for all the skaters. Hooray!

The end.

Herb
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End notes.

Great job Mike Anderson, congrats on your win…thanks for waiting until mile 14 before really putting the hammer down.

Andy K., we have to keep an eye on Gary Blank from Team Rainbo. I can’t believe how Gary came back after our trio dropped him. Mike took off, then Gary hunted us down and went after Mike. The big ski hill was the killer for me…sorry I could not help you to reel in Gary…he killed us on the big hill to the finish line.

Top four overall were:

Mike Anderson 1st (Bont), Gary Blank 2rd (Team Rainbo), Andy Kostka 3rd (Team Hoigaard’s),
Herb Gayle 4th (Team Hoigaard’s).

The chase pack came in one minute behind yours truly. Dave Swan 5th, Jack Wussler 6th
and Cale Carvell 7th.

The long steep (ski) hill really separated everyone; skaters were crawling to the finish line one at a time.

The next skater was Peter Jennik 9th and John Sherwin 10th (Team Rainbo)

Apostle Island Marathon

As evidence that this was not the usual Rainbo trip to a race I present this evidence; over the 800 mile plus trip I changed seats in the car twice; blasphemy I know, totally unheard of in the team van. Worse yet, we made stops, twice in one town, namely Phillips, Wisconsin.

First at the Fred Smith museum of concrete art were we tried to enlist a good tall skater to lead us out on fliers. Second to eat a fabulous meal at the Crystal Café; yes we stopped to eat, unthinkable. I had the Fish Fry and the beer battered fish was the lightest most delicious I’ve had since I was on the Tamiami (“tammy-ammy,” it rhymes) Trail on the West Coast of Florida. Nothing was as it should be.

To add insult to injury we were forced to walk all the way across the parking lot to get from the hotel to dinner were the Prime Rib at the Steak Pit looked every bit as good as the Walleye. How was I supposed to decide? As far as accommodations, I’m putting in a complaint with the manager of the Super 8 in Washburn because the queen size beds were so comfortable I had no excuse not to just go to sleep and not wake up until the on-time wake up call. In the morning the roads were clear of traffic, the parking ample and the ferry boats were so on time there could be no one but myself to blame if I didn’t have the perfect race. Something was terribly wrong; I needed an excuse in a hurry.

The heat and 35 mph winds of the day before were gone and from what I could tell the road surface was smooth as glass. Nothing there. The coffee shop on the island opened early and Jim got my order right. Nothing there. It was a bit chilly out but the rec center was open and the couches were comfortable. Nothing there. This was shaping up to be one of the worse races in resent memory.

I started grasping at straws for how I was going to blow the race. Maybe I’d leave my chip strapped onto my bag and only notice it at the starting line. Nah, nobody would believe that; would they Jim? Jim (aka the dog killer). Maybe I could change my registration to another much tougher category and complain about that all the way home. Wait a minute; I was already signed up in Pro/Advanced Veteran; that was it! There’s no way I’m competitive with the studs in the Pro Vet category. OK, I could relax, I had my excuse all lined up.

The start went off without a hitch, as Herb Gale wasn’t there they only had to sing the “Star Spangled Banner,” none of that “Oh Canada” stuff. And it was time to go. With the start/finish line on a slight down hill with a 90 degree left hand turn about 200 yards up the road only the leaders got a true jump off the start. The pace was sane and sensible until the first step after the turn. Then all hell broke loose and if you weren’t quick on the turn you had to hit the after burners as the big dogs were booking. As it was Ken Huss, a Duluth skater named Tim and I burned a fella out at the front of our small group as we encouraged him to close the gap. I saw immediately when the gap started to widen but I didn’t have it to jump out and quicken the pace. So we let the group ahead go and settled down into a smooth but fast pace. The left hand turns came and the head winds picked up and the road started it’s little undulations and the legs started to tell lies, all about how they might not make it and hey, back off a bit and the like. About this time we caught up to Chris Wright and she was having none of it once she was rested and we kept a good pace.

A funny thing happened on the way through the finishing area, first time through I was pulling while Iris was snapping our photo. Second time through I was in the same position and Ken went on a flier saying “no way buddy, this photo op’s mine.” I let him have it. Good thing I did to for as we were closing in on half way through the third lap of three the lead pack from Rec/Fitness catches us. No way this is a Rec/Fitness group, this is 30 of the guys from the A group in Duluth. They are leaving a few gaps in the line and I jump in. A big draft is a beautiful thing. Ken didn’t have the legs to make the transition but Tim and Chris did. The pace was fast and there was a bit too much position jockeying three miles out but we were flying and I was smiling. Of course now I’m thinking the excuse is custom made. “Oh I would have been two minutes faster had I signed up in the right category.”

If there is one thing Rainbo skaters have over others skaters, even those of us who neglect to practice, we climb and we turn. The largest of the small climbs on the course is just before the turn to the finish and it was there that I moved up on 30% of those in front of me. And I took the turn tight and that downhill finish will make a champion of anyone. WOW! It sure is sweet kicking downhill. The times were fast and the smiles broad. This is really one not to miss. Now why was I looking for excuses?

On the way back we tricked Jan into being in charge of the music instead of driving then we just kept telling him to turn it down. Worked like a charm. We ate our lunches like men this time, in the car, on the move and I didn’t almost get killed until I was on the final block to my house, when a car blew a stop sign a second before I drove through. Timing, it’s everything in life. So close that gap, you may not get another chance.