Apostle Islands Inline Marathon

[sxevegan]

Originally Posted by Dieselgeek

Well I completed my first marathon under my goal time, and managed to finish first in my age group. I enjoyed the race, and am looking forward to many races to come. I do have a shin splint on my left leg, so need to nurse that before skating anytime soon. I finished in 1:44, and my goal is to get around the 1:30 mark. Not sure what I'll need to do, but open for ideas!

Great job hitting your goal!

You'll want to stretch out your shins like bnumerick said.

Sometimes my shins (and back) will lock up when I use certain wheels. The problem goes away instantly with other wheels. If you have some other local skaters, try to swap around wheels to find some that work for you.

[speedysktr]

Originally Posted by bnumerick

...The fastest way to drop time is going to by doing interval training which you can do in a relatively short amount of time.

+1

Another way to work your shins is to hang your foot off a stair or block and lower your toes and raise them back up and hold them. Keep just your heel on the tread.

[K2Sk8er]

My race was actually pretty awesome! I had no time goals for this one so I took it a little easy; finished in 1:37.25 and placed 2nd in my age group and 5th overall open fitness/rec women... I was actually shocked when they called my name at the awards ceremony - I thought I dogged it!!! On to Napa!!

I skated on the 85A Mayhems and they felt pretty smooth. That course is butter. Loved it. Will be back next year!

[bnumerick]

Originally Posted by K2Sk8er

I was actually shocked when they called my name at the awards ceremony - I thought I dogged it!!! On to Napa!!

Haha your face was priceless when they called your name.

[sxevegan]

This was my first time at this event. I heard great things about the course, but it was even better than I expected.

The entire area is beautiful. There are lots of bed and breakfast style places to stay in Bayfield, and other people were raving about some rentals right on the island. With bike rentals, motor scooter rentals, kayak rentals, shopping, etc. there is plenty to keep your spouse and/or family busy. My wife and I stayed in an awesome cabin just south of bayfield. The trip was really fun.

The course itself is super smooth. It is 3 loops consisting of mostly right hand turns. Only one right hand turn is sharp enough to be sketchy, and that was about 50m from the finish line. The course wasn't hilly, but it wasn't flat. It would gradually climb, and then gradually descend. For most of the course you are skating through a heavily wooded area but part of it is by the water and reminded me of the view you get at Duluth.

I forgot to put a memory card in my helmet camera, so I didn't get any race video. Sorry. Here is a quick recap.

There were a few breakaways on the first lap. About 6 miles in, a break of about 4 guys got away with Steve Messinger up there driving the pace. The pack pulled it back and near the end of the first lap, bnumerick (Bill) attacked and got away solo. He put about a 30 second gap on the group pretty quickly. We would occassionally surge and get Bill back down to about 20 seconds, but then it would slow down and sometimes grow up towards a minute.

Being patient is one of the hardest parts of racing. I knew that if Alex and I went up front we could chase hard and pull quite a bit of time back on Bill, but it would cost us a lot of energy and our chances at the final sprint. With a great sprinter like David Sarmiento in the race, you need to save as much energy as possible. We let the rest of the pack do as much as possible. When the gap would really open up, Alex would put in a good effort to bring it back. If we weren't outnumbered, it would have been a little different I guess, but with 4 Adams Inline guys, a ton of Twin Cam guys, and a few Hoigards guys in the group, I was content with waiting to see what would happen.

I picked a spot on the course that was flat with tailwind where I would make my move. It was with 3 miles left in the race. I figured there would be enough time left that two or 3 guys working really hard could pull Bill back.

The tailwind section was a mile long. I looked down after a half mile and saw a lot of shadows behind me, so I started swinging my arms to give it another kick and after the mile section I pulled off. Alex pulled through, and when i looked back we had about 8 guys. It was more than I wanted, but I did all I could and couldn't drop anyone else. Since the group was smaller now, everyone was a little more willing to work; both to catch Bill, and to keep the chasing guys away.

When we caught Bill, (edit) Brent Bovitz (/edit) counter attacked and got about a 10 second gap. The rest of the pack played cat and mouse for a while, and eventually Paul Dyrud got up front and HAMMERED it down the final hill. David Sarmiento was sitting in 2nd, Andy Kostka (Paul's teamate) was 3rd, and I was 4th.

Alex initiated the sprint up the left side and I saw David's eyes lock on him. I decided to go up the right side was David was looking away. We caught Ron before the final turn. I had the inside line, and I had it in my head that I wasn't going to give David an inch more than I had to. David has told me before that I'm too nice, so I wasn't going to be nicer than I need to (I would never make anyone crash or anything, but I wasn't going to give him the best line).

As I was approaching the turn, I saw the motorcycle slow down and hit his brakes. I had to slow down and lose some momentum to prvent myself from crashing. I thought for sure somebody would come around me, but nobody did. I guess they all had to slow down too.

I couldn't figure out why the motorcycle was going so slow until I made the corner and noticed the lead car was stopped right before the finish line. 3 young boys were finishing the kids race the same time we were about to finish our race. They went across the line holding hands, and one boy dropped his water bottle. He fell while trying to pick it up, so the car had to stop to avoid hitting him.

I took the left side of the motorcycle and David went to the right. We had a pretty narrow lane to finish on, but I was able to edge out David and Andy. The timing company gave the 3 of us the same time, so it was pretty close.

The finish was nobody's fault really. It especially wasn't the boys'. They were just having a good time finishing. It was just bad timing. I don't think the lead car really needed to be there. We already had a motorcycle, so the car was a little overkill.

I was really impressed with how well the Minnesota skaters were racing. The Twin Cam team quadroupled in size and each member was skating as strong as I've ever seen them. I guess a mild winter allowed them to skate outside more often than normal. Same for the Hoigards team. They already had great skaters, but adding Paul really gave that team some extra steam. It's pretty obvious that the twin cities folks are putting in a lot of hard training.

It would have been an interesting race if Mike Anderson and Ty Fidler wouldn't have had to cancel at the last minute.

[sxevegan]

As far as wheels go, I was on Atom Matrix IQ with the green hubs. The surface is so smooth there and these wheels felt great. My second choice would have been F0 matter g13s, which is what Alex used.

I saw a lot of other skaters on the green hub matrix wheels. It was hard to tell who had the IQ version and who didn't.

Sarmiento was on the Atom One wheel with black hubs. I saw a few on MPC Road Wars as well, and some on Mayhems.

[gopherfan]

Great race Rob! FYI, I think the Twincam skater you were referencing was Brent Bovitz. Here are the results

I was watching for you and Alex to make a break, but was at the very back of what looks to have been a 22 skater chase pack when it happened. I feel pretty lucky to get back up and finish 8th. Skating the course in perfect weather confirmed how much I love the pavement.

EDIT: the results are convoluted since there were three different starts by divisions, but the results do not have accurate divisions for all the skaters (many skated open and started with the open/masters start but are listed as vets).

[K2Sk8er]

Originally Posted by bnumerick

Haha your face was priceless when they called your name.

Hahaha! I bet! hahaha!!!

[K2Sk8er]

Originally Posted by sxevegan

Sarmiento was on the Atom One wheel with black hubs. I saw a few on MPC Road Wars as well, and some on Mayhems.

I skated the Mayhems. They felt pretty good on that course. This was my first time and I agree with you; it was overall a really great experience. The hotel we stayed at had an amazing view of the lake... I didn't want to leave!

[bnumerick]

Originally Posted by sxevegan

I was really impressed with how well the Minnesota skaters were racing. The Twin Cam team quadroupled in size and each member was skating as strong as I've ever seen them. I guess a mild winter allowed them to skate outside more often than normal. Same for the Hoigards team. They already had great skaters, but adding Paul really gave that team some extra steam. It's pretty obvious that the twin cities folks are putting in a lot of hard training.

It would have been an interesting race if Mike Anderson and Ty Fidler wouldn't have had to cancel at the last minute.

Great recap of the race!

All of the teams from Minnesota are definitely skating strong. I had some idea what to expect out of everyone because of the Metrodome a few months back so that helped me know I was going to have to be really aggressive or just sit in the group and wait for the final sprint. Generally not much of the type that likes to just hang out though so I opted to take my chances by trying to push things a bit since I was feeling pretty good (I did 2 smaller breaks on the first lap before the 3rd one when I got away).

I had a ton of fun at the race. It was a great group to compete with.

Was a bit of a bummer that both Ty and Steffen had last minute issues come up. We were really looking forward to the 3 of us skating together up there but sometimes life has different ideas. Hopefully that will happen in Chicago.

[Sk8Orama]

Originally Posted by Dieselgeek

Well I completed my first marathon under my goal time, and managed to finish first in my age group. I enjoyed the race, and am looking forward to many races to come. I do have a shin splint on my left leg, so need to nurse that before skating anytime soon. !

Majority of shin splints come from excessive toe movement inside your boot. Ever notice indoors when the floor is slick your shins hurt? That's because you're grabbing inside your boots constantly to hold on. Same with outdoors, usually some sort of course change say a slight hill causes your body position to change, thus causing your toes to adjust back and forth a few times and then your shins are ON FIRE! As soon as you relax your toes, the pain goes away. Get a boot that forces a relaxed toe position and shin probs will probably also go away!

[Sk8Orama]

Originally Posted by sxevegan

This was my first time at this event. I heard great things about the course, but it was even better than I expected.
.

Great job Rob you guys looked very smooth and tireless out there. I noticed you had a camera on, how was the footage? Congrats again!

[sxevegan]

Originally Posted by Sk8Orama

Great job Rob you guys looked very smooth and tireless out there. I noticed you had a camera on, how was the footage? Congrats again!

About a minute before the start I turned the camera on and realized it didn't have a memory card in it. Doh! I pulled it off so I wouldn't have the extra weight attached to my helmet.

[SkateMO]

Congrats Rob! Sounds like it was a fantastic race.

I have to say that for two days straight, I didn't want to get on Facebook or read Inline Planet because I was so depressed that I wasn't there. I couldn't read anything about the race because it was so disappointing (for me personally). Of all the races this year, this was the race I was most looking forward to. I really love the course and there's a lot of opportunity to really race (in my opinion)...because there's a lot of open skating, so there's a lot of opportunities to attack.

In my opinion though, Apostle has to change their finish. Not to get on a negative rant, but it's such an awesome course and I think the finish line is not in the right spot. Going around that final turn is dangerous (especially in a large pack) and there's just not enough room to really sprint it out at the end.

[Alyosha]

Originally Posted by SkateMO

In my opinion though, Apostle has to change their finish. Not to get on a negative rant, but it's such an awesome course and I think the finish line is not in the right spot. Going around that final turn is dangerous (especially in a large pack) and there's just not enough room to really sprint it out at the end.

I agree; and this after they changed the direction of the race to avoid having the finish line in the middle of a downhill with a 90 degree turn at the bottom. That was super dicey the first year, the whole race really, with big, fast moving pace lines trying to take that corner. I'm not sure where else they put it, though, as that section of road is the only part that can be completely shut down. Mary (the race organizer) is usually attentive to comments on Inline Planet. They may consider changes if its brought up.

[ramarfori]

Just a quick correction to Rob's story. The Twincam skater that make a break with 2 miles left in the race was Brent Bovitz and not myself. He is a very strong skater and I knew it was going to be extremely close if he was going to be able to pull it off or not.

I felt really strong at the end of the race and wish I could have made a proactive move instead of reacting to one, but with my teammate out there, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. I couldn't risk dragging the pack up to him. Ultimately, the lead pack surged and caught him but just barely.

Overall, I know it's early in the season, but I think the Apostle Island marathon will be the race of the year. The great weather, smooth course, and flat terrain made for a fast race, close to 5 minutes faster than Baxter. I'm already looking forward to it for next year.

[Dieselgeek]

Originally Posted by bnumerick

One way to get rid of shin splints is to exercise the front part of the shin. You can do this by pointing your foot down and pulling back towards you from the ankle. I have a little "machine" that I've used in the past where I strap my foot to a board that pivots and adjustable resistance knobs to help with that. Also when I ran cross country they used to tell us to run backwards to get rid of shin splints.

As far improving your time. Probably some of the best advice I can give is that you don't need to spend hours and hours skating distances to be good at marathons. My first year back into racing I never skated a full marathon in training until the week before I raced. The fastest way to drop time is going to by doing interval training which you can do in a relatively short amount of time.

Thanks for the advice! I skate an 8 mile trail, so interval training should be the easiest for me. I have never experienced shin splints before, and it may be due to the fact I played hockey the majority of my life, and I also skate flat trails... So I never encounter hills, or inclines.

Originally Posted by sxevegan

Great job hitting your goal!

You'll want to stretch out your shins like bnumerick said.

Sometimes my shins (and back) will lock up when I use certain wheels. The problem goes away instantly with other wheels. If you have some other local skaters, try to swap around wheels to find some that work for you.

I skated on 100mm xfirm Road Wars

Originally Posted by speedysktr

+1

Another way to work your shins is to hang your foot off a stair or block and lower your toes and raise them back up and hold them. Keep just your heel on the tread.

Thanks. I had been having navicular pain on my right foot prior to the race, so expected that issue post race, not shin splints!

Originally Posted by Sk8Orama

Majority of shin splints come from excessive toe movement inside your boot. Ever notice indoors when the floor is slick your shins hurt? That's because you're grabbing inside your boots constantly to hold on. Same with outdoors, usually some sort of course change say a slight hill causes your body position to change, thus causing your toes to adjust back and forth a few times and then your shins are ON FIRE! As soon as you relax your toes, the pain goes away. Get a boot that forces a relaxed toe position and shin probs will probably also go away!

I'm skating in Bont Jets Semi-custom to my foot.. I will say my right foot I can feel the toes, the left I can't, which is also the foot/leg I had the shin splints with...

[bjvircks]

So K2Sk8r... what hotel did you stay at? Ours in Ashland had a nice view also... with folks sitting out on the lawn watching the beautiful colors of the sunset Friday night. You may have skated some of the race with my wife Dawn... in a shimmery powder blue top, black bottom skinsuit.


While the AIIM course was very good... it seemed a bit rougher than last year. Did anyone else think that? On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 is absolutely perfect) I think I'd rate it a 2 over the whole course.

[K2Sk8er]

We were at the Winfield. It was gorgeous! I don't recall skating w/ anyone wearing that outfit but who knows. I posted a blog w/ my recap of the experience, the web address is under my signature. I had a blast and thought the course was wonderful.

[SmileySk8s]

After reading your reviews of this race, and now having Duluth behind me, I can't wait to try this race for the first time.
Where to stay??