SEEMS LIKE MAY WAS ONE BIG RACE DAY

THREE WEEKENDS IN A ROW OF RACING IN MAY…WHEW!  I’ll start with the most recent and work my way back to the beginning.  It was a great month for Strike Force Racing.

Colin Lue King on the Ironman Texas Run Course

IRONMAN TEXAS May 19, 2012

Colin Lue King swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 then ran 26.2 to earn a new personal record (taking off about 1 hour and 45 minutes from last year) on the IMTX course!  He received lots of encouragement from tons of team mates who were on the course as volunteers and spectators.  Except for some leg cramps, Colin had a great day!

SPA GIRL TRI San Antonio May 12, 2012

Coach G, Brandi and Misty all had a super race

Strike Force Racing was well represented at Spa Girl Triathlon in San Antonio.  It was a 400 meter swim with a lonnnnng 400 meter run up hill (then up steps) to transition, 10 mile hilly bike and 2.4 miles hilly run. Brandi Hatch came in 1st in her age group, Coach G came in 2nd place in her age group and Misty represented will with a top 10 spot in her age group.  Great finish line food…Mimosas were awesome.

Brandi Hatch, Misty Baugh and Coach Gena making fun of the “no running” sign that was on the path leading to the long transition run from swim to bike.

CB&I SPRINT TRIATHLON MAY 05, 2012

I don’t know which was more fun to track, the individual athletes or the relay teams!  Michelle and Stew Comrie both had impressive individual results earning top 10 spots in their age groups.  Greg Alvarez snagged a top 20.  Shannon Walker made her debut in the triathlon world with a 4th place finish in the Athenas! James Wygand, Andy Volsteedt and Kimber Juenke all had great races as well.

Kimber Juenke coming out of the water

Shannon Walker headed out to attack the run

Greg Alvarez ending his ride with his fastest bike split ever. Photo courtesy of George Roffe

On the relay side  things were pretty interesting.  We had two mixed relay teams and two all female really teams. On the mixed side, we had Cobra Kai Dojo starring Colin Lue King, Danny Grube and Courtney Grube who outraced the Enforcers made up of Nina Hancock, Heidi Hall and Michael Fortier by a mere 19 seconds!  Cobra Kai Dojo took 2nd place with the Enforcers in 3rd.  On the all female side, we had Sexy Strike Force Sistas starring Vanessa Gnatzig, Coach Gena Alvarez and Kari Gilley who outraced The Killer Bs of Brandie Watkins Ollervidez, Brandy Barrington and Brandi Hatch for 1st and 2nd place finishes.

I think this may just be the new Strike Force Racing Motto!

Cobra Kai Dojo 2nd place Mixed Relay

Sexy Strike Force Sistas 1st Place All Female Relay

Memorial Hermann Kemah Triathlon 2012

April 29th in Kemah was super windy, but that didn’t stop a couple of top notch Strike Force Racing athletes from blowing their way right on up to the podium! In the Olympic distance, Kelli McLaughlin earned her 2nd place finish with a 2:46:27 finish.  Nice job Kelli! Michael Fortier made his debut at this distance with a solid finish time of 3:02:17.

Kelli McLaughlin takes 2nd place in the Olympic distance AG 30-34

In the sprint distance, Heidi Hall used her 2nd place bike and 1st place run to earn 3rd in her age group.  She keeps the family active too.  Her daughter Jolynn had a top 10 bike split and her husband Edgardo Colon was 4th in the swim in his Division.  That’s some nice racing – family style!  James Wygand was also a contender in the sprint distance with a 6th place finish in the Clydesdale Division.

Triathlete family (from L) Heidi Hall, daughter JoLynn and husband Edgardo Colon

Ironman Texas 70.3 Galveston 04/01/12

As a Coach, I know within a real close time frame when athletes should hit the ground after their swim, when they are due to come in from the bike leg, how long the run should take and an overall time.  I know how the athletes that I work with have performed in training.  I know their mental ability.  I know if they are “focused” or just going through the motions.  Today, I knew pre-race that our team was ready to race.  I knew that every athlete had trained well.  I knew I’d be a happy Coach at the end of the day….and I was not disappointed! 

 The pic above is of the Strike Force Racing support crew for this race (L to R): Philo Hatch, Greg Alvarez, Coach Gena Alvarez, Philip Ollervidez, Misty Baugh.  The people that are there to give the athletes what they need on race day, whether it’s a pep talk, a last minute water bottle, a smile, encouragement or just whatever.  Every athlete needs a support crew!

The pic to the right is a happy Brandie with her debut 70.3 race a thing of the past.  Great racing Brandie!

The pic below is Andy…yes Andy, that’s a FINISHERs medal – and it’s well earned for completing your 1st 70.3!

 

So how’d we do…really?  You be the judge:

• Strike Force Dream Team (Danny Grube, Heidi Hall, Courtney Grube) 4:48:32
• Stewart Comrie 5:35:12, a 6:32 improvement from the same race last year (even with a hip injury!)
• Kari Gilley 5:37:35, a 16:23 improvement over a race the same distance about 5 months ago
• Nina Hancock 5:42:37, a 35:49 improvement over her last 70.3 race
• Colin LueKing 5:59:02, a 20:09 improvement from the same race last year
• Brandi Hatch 6:24:06, a 43:25 improvement over her last race at this distance
• Andy Volsteedt 6:27:51 debut race!
• Michelle Comrie 6:29:08, a 36:19 improvement from same race last year
• Brandie Watkins-Ollervidez 7:05:56 debut race!  

  

  STRIKE FORCE DREAM TEAM 1st place mixed relay, 2nd overall relay. Great job team!

 

Amazing Results at The Woodlands Marathon/Half Marathon

Brandie, Brandi, Vanessa, Misty, Michelle, Andy, Gena, Kimber, Andrew, Jennifer, Dee

Strike Force Racing had 3 athletes competing in the Marathon and 13 in the Half Marathon.  Nina Hancock made her marathon debut coming in 10th in her age group.  Amazing!  Andy Volsteedt knocked off a few minutes from his Houston Marathon (only 7 weeks ago) for a new marathon PR (personal record).  Danny Grube placed 5th in his age group (top 3% in his age group) with a new Half Marathon PR.  Heidi Hall was on the pace team for the 1:45:00 group and came in at 1:44:30, giving her the honor of also being top 3% in her age group. 

Other fantastic performances were from Brandi Hatch with a new PR and top 13% of her age group; Michael Fortier made his debut into distance running in the top 14% of his group with a 1:43:02 finish.  How about Brandie Watkins in the top 23%?  And that’s not all….we had two other PRs from Misty Baugh who knocked off 4 minutes and Kimber Juenke, who knocked off almost 8 minutes.  Gena is a super proud coach!

Every finisher from Strike Force Racing has a story, even if they didn’t PR.  Some coming back from surgery or injury and some who had “life” interrupt their training here and there….or for months.  As a coach, it’s my job to get athletes across the finish line.  On this race day, I made the decision to run with Dee Akers, who came back from surgery with only 7 weeks to train for the half marathon and have it “not be her worst”, and Vanessa Gnatzig, who took about 7 months off from training for personal reasons.  My former triathlon training partner (we will always be training buddies, just have different goals now) and my new (lets meet at 5 a.m.) training partner. It was the most fun I’ve had at a race in years!  I chatted, I laughed, I “coached”, I encouraged – most importantly, I smiled and I enjoyed every step. 

Everyone that made it to the start line finished.  Never a doubt in my mind   The “force” was with us!

New Team Tent!!

See us at the races and visit us on-line

Our new Team tent and banner arrived! We will be at a lot of races this year and now have a “home base” for team mates, friends and family. Look for us at the races and come by to say hi!

Chevron Houston Marathon/Half Marathon Results – IT’S NOT MY “A” RACE, BUT…..

Well, the theme of Chevron Houston Marathon runner Andy Volsteedt was “It’s not my “A” race, but I will do my best”.  Andy’s “A” race marathon is The Woodlands Marathon on March 3rd, where he will run with his brother-in-law Stew Comrie and they will battle it out for who is fastest – they are pretty darned close in training.  But in this race, Andy stepped up and sure showed the world that having a coach and team make a big difference.  Andy ran 4:21:45 this year, compared to 5:33:35 last year.  Yep…that a 1:11:++ personal record on this course for him!! Way to Go Andy!!!

To complete the “It’s not my “A” race, but…” sentence for Stew, who ran the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, it would go something like this “but….I will get a PR on this course and it will be noticeable”.  Yep…it was a noticeable 14 minutes and was right on with the pace calculator predictions! And to his wife Michelle, a PR on this course of about 10 minutes!  I guess it’s a “family” thing.

But wait, Brandi Hatch is only “family” by way of team mate.  She woke up feeling great on Sunday and decided that she would just go ahead and abolish her The Woodlands Half Marathon goal that was previously set at <2:00:00.  Yes, that’s right, Brandi went way faster than that goal, setting a new Half Marathon PR of almost 20 minutes by running a 1:56:18.  As her coach, I thought it only appropriate to set a new goal for March 3rd

It would be hard to give a “best race award” to any one person that raced because everyone with Strike Force Racing had a great day – whether it was a PR like these athletes, or finishing with a good solid time while nursing a nagging ache or pain (Misty), or being just fast enough to push forward with other goals by learning “I’ve still got it” (Simon).  For me, it was just about finishing without falling down!  I’m a much better coach than athlete…and that’s okay with me as long as I see these kind of results!   Some of the best coaches of all times weren’t the best athletes you know.

This weekend was a HUGE success for Strike Force Racing

 

Andy, Stew, Michelle, Misty, Gena, Greg, Brandi, Kari, Brandie

5i50 GALVESTON WAS AN AMAZING RACE! 

As a coach, I have to know my athlete’s abilities.  I have to know their mind set.  I have to know how they perform under pressure.  I have to know when to push them and how to push them.  I don’t make them great athletes…they do all the work.  I just help them learn that they are great athletes and to believe in themselves.  I think at the end of the race on Sunday, every athlete learned what they were made of and every single one of them impressed the hell out of me for different reasons!

5i50 Olympic distance results - 10 athletes qualified for the HyVee 5i50 National Championship to be held in Sept 2012 in Des Moines Iowa    

• Andy made his Olympic distance debut with a sub 3 hour finish.  This was also his first day to be “clipped in” on the bike.  Great race Andy!
• Brandi raced her way to a Championship slot after learning while on vacation earlier in the week that Coach wanted to her to get home and race!  She listened and had a GREAT day!
• Colin was solid top half of his age group and had a 19+ minute PR at this distance.  That’s a huge PR!
• Gena was on a mission the whole day – to keep a steady lactic threshold effort and keep her head in the race and a smile on her face, earning a Championship spot was icing on the cake.
• Greg not only landed in the top half of his large age group, he also had a PR at this distance! Greg ran faster at this race than his most recent sprint race that was half the distance. Super job Greg!
• Heidi earned top honors as the TOUGHEST TEAM ATHLETE for this race because she had the 2nd fastest bike split in her age group in spite of having a really bad crash.  And she went on to have a super run in spite of all the road rash.  Her 22+ minute PR at this distance also earned her Championship spot!
• Kari earned 3rd place in her Age Group and a paid Championship spot for her first Olympic distance finish!  She also had the 2nd fastest bike split in her Age Group.  Nice job Kari!
• Kelli also earned 3rd place in her Age Group on her Olympic distance debut and received a free paid entry to the Championship race.  This girl is lightning fast in all 3 sports, making her our fastest female of the day!
• Michelle wins the mental game today…she was very ill during the swim.  She could have given up, but instead she just kept focusing on getting out of the water and on to the next part.  While still sick on the bike, she managed to push through even though she could hold no fluids down.  Exiting the bike, she learned that her run gear had been strewn all down the transition area.  She had the mental fortitude to leave all the problems behind and end the race with a solid effort run, thereby earning herself a Championship slot as well!
• Mike chased team mates throughout the run to land a solid top half effort in one of the largest age groups of the day! He was literally only one minute behind Colin. Great effort today Flake!! Seeing you smile out there just reinforces that this is the sport for you!
• Misty earned herself a Championship spot after dealing with her own issues on the swim.  Once out of the water, it was up to her to conquer a bike course where she crashed only 6 months before.  She was a very determined athlete and achieved her “secret” goal that only she and her coach know.  Congrats on overcoming quite a few race day issues Misty – you earned that slot!
• Nina landed a 4th place finish in her Age Group with a paid slot to the Championship and also achieved a 8+ minute Olympic distance PR.  Nina was also our fastest female swimmer. Wow girl!!!! 
• Scott was nothing short of amazing as he blazed his way through the course on his Debut at this distance, earning him 6th place and a slot to the Championship.  He not only had the fastest finish time for our team (2:30:55), but was also the fastest runner in his Age Group! He’s the top “Lightning Bolt” with Strike Force Racing for the day!
• Stew was our fastest male swimmer of the day and followed that up with a tremendous effort on the bike and run to earn his Championship spot and a 8+ minute PR at this distance.  He was all business, all day.

 

Our top 2 finishers came in less than 90 seconds apart. Great job guys!

  In the Lone Star Sprint race, we had 3 competitors.

• Brandie had a solid performance landing her in the top half of her age group!  Brandie is our newest team member and was told by Coach only a week ago that she needed to race.  Way to go on such short notice Brandie!!!  You will be a major competitor…in a short time.
• JoLynn had the fastest bike split in her Age Group which helped her earn 3rd place and was literally hundredths of a second away from 2nd place!  Always impressive young one!
• Michael had a super race earning his fastest bike split to date and learned he can still power through the run at that bike effort!  Amazing things on the horizon for this guy!

 

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  Photo Courtesy of Tammie Manchester

  And in Fulshear, LESLIE earned OVERALL MASTERS FEMALE at Oktoberfest triathlon!  

Strike Force Racing has a FANTASTIC day at Memorial Hermann Houston Sprint/Olympic Races!

Courtney and Danny Grube both take 1st in their Age Group

Strike Force Racing turned up the heat and cranked out some fast times at the Memorial Hermann Houston Sprint and Olympic Races! We had two first place finishes and several Personal Records achieved. There was even a little bit of team mate rivalry. Every single athlete racing this day represented the team well by putting up their best effort and it showed.

16 Athletes Racing This Weekend!

Team Photo courtesy of Larry Flake

We have several athletes racing the Memorial Hermann Houston Sprint and Olympic Triathlon in Cypress this weekend. Good luck to everyone! Watch for pics to post next week!!

Sprint Distance Racers – Peter Bardenhagen, Misty Baugh, Michael Fortier, Kari Gilley, Vanessa Gnatzig, Bobby Gonzales, Courtney Grube, Danny Grube, Brandi Hatch, Andy Volsteedt

Olympic Distance Racers – Michelle Comrie, Stewart Comrie, Michael Flake, Heidi Hall, Nina Hancock, Colin Lue King

Coach Gena will be all over the course encouraging all athletes while Greg snaps photos for the website!!

The Grube’s were Fierce at Ironman Louisville

From Start...

Pictures can’t even do justice to the incredible races that both Courtney and Danny Grube had at Ironman Louisville this past Sunday. They both raced hard and it showed with their incredible IM personal records (PR)…on what is believed to be the toughest course to date for them.

Courtney’s day played out with a huge PR swim coming in at 1:13:48 (13 minutes faster than IMTX), and she continued pushing on the “mini mountain” bike course for 5:58:48 and then turned the heat up even more on the 3:56:43 (2+ minute PR) run. She finished 9th in her age group with a final time of 11:18:13…a PR of 7 1/2 minutes over IMTX that was only 3 months ago!  This girl has amazing talent!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danny started his day with a PR on the swim, then followed that up with a blazing fast 5:34:39 bike split (another PR) on what he commented was “IMTX course on steroids”, and then had a perfect run coming in at 3:47:16 (7.5 minute PR!) to end the day with his fastest ever Ironman time of 10:34:53.  Add to that an Ironman distance PR of almost 18 minutes and top 11% of his age group! WOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two amazing athletes walked away with their heads held high knowing that they left it all on the course.  They battled mental and physical challenges throughout the day….from start to finish. 

…..to Finish

Coach G was grinning ear to ear and beaming with pride as she walked behind the cutest couple ever after this incredible race.  What a dream team of athletes!