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Leanness and Meanness...
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Tuesday, 13 February 2024 00:10
Jason Larson Photo - Graniteman women's runner-up Bridget Tetmeyer.
GRANITEMAN OLYMPIC COVERAGE - PETER WIKMAN is looking lean and mean these days, and he's racing that way, too. The clear frontrunner for 2023 Most Improved (Male), Peter came into Saturday's Olympic-plus race as a Top Two pick alongside reemerging JOE ADRIAENS. Wikman had two 2nd-place performances under his belt this year, finishing behind established elites ERIC ENGEL (at Buffalo) and SEAN COOLEY (at Trinona). That Peter finished ahead of Adriaens at Buffalo made him the male to beat at Clearwater.
The men's race unfolded as expected, with Joe leading after the swim and Peter making up a chunk of the deficit on the bike. It was the run that determined the Gold/Silver outcome. Advantage: Wikman.
Peter was victorious here in 2021, his 2:11 a sweet result over a course with four miles of extra cycling. Last weekend he shaved almost two minutes off that effort, his 2:09:58 the fourth fastest men's time ever at the Clearwater Graniteman venue.
Adriaen's lock on 2nd place was not as secure as it may have original seemed. North Dakota transplant BRANDON LEE, 41, made up a ton of lost time after the swim by posting the fastest bike split, followed by a speedy run. In the end, only twelve seconds separated him from Adriaens. Lee's time--2:12:55--was a Clearwater Olympic Masters record...
Trinona Notables ...
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Saturday, 10 February 2024 00:10
TRINONA OLYMPIC COVERAGE - The last time an amateur triathlete broke two hours on Trinona's legendary course was 2012, that is until last Sunday when SEAN COOLEY proved that he is returning to the form that earned him the Minnesota Triathlete of the Year honor in 2017 and consecutive nominations in 2018, and 2019, the year the pandemic urged him to step away. Well, Sean's back, and that is a great thing. His time last weekend was 1:58:30, which necessitated his signature monster bike split. He now has two wins in three starts this season, his career victory total is at least 23.
Sean was not the only athlete to kick Olympic ass in the Winona hinterlands. PETER WIKMAN, arguably, if not unquestionably, the current frontrunner for Minnesota Most Improved, placed 2nd, matching his placing at Buffalo the previous weekend. Moreover his time--2:00:15--was a personal best at the Olympic distance.
Perhaps the finest performance of the day however was turned in by women's winner CARYN HERRICK, who was too busy racing with the faster men to concern herself with the competition in her own gender. Her winning 2:12:37 was, like her husband's (Peter Wikman), her finest..
Record Turn-out at SWIM-OFF...
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Friday, 09 February 2024 00:10
By Doobie Kurus
SWIM-OFF to Summer - It was a gorgeous day for a swim, with temperatures climbing into the upper 80s/lower 90s for the 4th annual SWIM-Off to Summer open water challenge that took place on Saturday, June 3 at Shady Oak Beach. This event attracted nearly 200 participants from 7 different states, and as far away as Texas, California, and Oregon. Although people could choose from 3 triathlon inspired distances, the majority (120) opted for the 1.2 mile swim. As in past years, people were asked to self identify as a "triathlete" or a "swimmer" while registrating to help us determine who "rules the open water!"
In the 1.2 mile distance, Christina Roberts was not only the top female, but the 3rd overall, and retained the title on behalf of Team Triathletes. She edged out (swimmers) Margaret Werba, who came in 2nd place, and Lauren Rose, of Fort Worth Texas, who came in 3rd. All 3 had sub-30 minute swim times. In the men's category, Team Swimmer, swept the podium, with Tyler Schultze, Seth Baetzold, and Zach McCarty coming in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively....
Ditching the Tech...
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Wednesday, 07 February 2024 00:10
By Gloria West
Do You Race? Analytically or Intuitively
The traditional approach to triathlon training and event performance is to use a number of devices, whether it is our GPS heart rate monitor, watts, zone levels or bike power counts.
During competition, racing thoughts, critical thoughts or too many thoughts can be too much of a distraction that actually slows us down.
Many athletes don’t recognize the valuable resource already within them. It never occurs to them there is also another option. They can tap into a different approach. Whether you call it an inner sense, gut feeling, hunch or intuition, it does not matter. Have you ever tried just going with your intuition or those gut feelings?
Hearing from one of our Chisago Lakes Triathlon participants, Ryan Richardson, made me reminisce how I used to approach the Ironman and marathons. I didn’t use these external devices as my “inner critic” would get loud if I wasn’t meeting a certain “number” on my Garmin. In fact, one of my best performances was at the 1988 Grandmas Marathon when I didn’t use a watch (that’s about all we had back then) nor did I look up at any mile markers....
Syvertson Crushes Course Record at Tinman XXXVIII...
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Monday, 05 February 2024 00:10
38th Morris Tinman Sprint & Olympic - Alexandria's swole BRIAN STORHAUG collected his second consecutive win at Tinman Sprint on May 6. The W was, according to our records, the 8th of Brian's impressive triathlon career. His clocking--59:32--was the second fastest in event history, eclipsed ony by his 2022 time of 57:33. Our guess is that weather conditions were more accomodating last season....
