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Acari Bowls, Manta Rays and Handfuls of Vaseline....
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Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:10
By David Koppel(davidkoppeltriathlon.blogspot.com)
Kelsie and I traveled to the IRONMAN World Championships on the Big Island of Hawaii on Tuesday, October 8th, 2019, with no kids! The race was on Saturday, so it gave me three full days to get all ready and acclimate a bit with the heat I’d be racing in. We also enjoyed some touristy stuff in the days leading up, as I didn’t want to make every single minute about my race. Kelsie sacrificed plenty for me to be able to qualify for Kona and we both wanted to have a relaxing trip in paradise. If you want to just hear about the vacation, read the days leading up to the race and the days following!
The cliff notes version of the race is: Swim went as expected even with choppy conditions, bike was slow and legs were not feeling strong, and run was a mess for 2 hours until I pulled it together a bit for the last 14 miles. Slowest and hardest Ironman by 70 minutes, but an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.
Since this is a long post, I’ll start by thanking my wife, Kelsie, for her unconditional support with training and racing across the US. She didn’t hesitate when we found out I had a slot to Kona and said I had to take it! My in-laws were also...
Treadmill Versus Outdoor Running....
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Friday, 27 December 2019 23:10
By Bethany Mavis (triathlete.com)
Think treadmill running is just a climate-controlled version of road running? Wrong. It’s a completely different beast. But treat it right, and it can become your best friend.
Running on the treadmill is not typically an athlete’s first choice—you got into triathlon to enjoy the outdoors, not stare at a wall. But a treadmill is a godsend for keeping your training on track when you’re facing adverse weather conditions or have a limited workout window. Just make sure you don’t expect a treadmill run to be the equivalent of a road run, says Richard Diaz, endurance sports coach and founder of California-based Diaz Human Performance. An important distinction between running inside and outside is that treadmill running is “rate independent—the treadmill is going to do what it’s going to do, and you’re just trying to keep up with it,” he says. “When you’re outside, you’re not going anywhere unless you push or pull yourself through space.” ...
"Life Outside Triathlon Exists..."
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Saturday, 21 December 2019 23:10
By Erin Weiler (sweetsweatlife.com)
TCM Race Report - Racing’s taken a backseat this year – more on the season of travel and fun later – but I knew I had to do something. So after my hammie (mostly) healed and I was home long enough to string together some consistent weeks of training, I signed up for my second ever 26.2: Twin Cities Marathon.
Not gonna lie, it was weird dialing back the swim and bike volume and keeping the run volume the same as an ironman build. And there was fomo as Nick hopped on his bike for seven-hour Sundays. But like anything, I adjusted and found the time back in my week pretty fantastic. Life outside of triathlon exists, and it’s been pretty fun to find it again (don’t worry, I still love triathlon! It’s just been refreshing to step back for a bit).
Anyway, my build was a bit shorter than coach and I would have liked – my longest run was 17 miles – but unlike the past couple years of training, I thoroughly enjoyed almost every training mile. Sure, there were weeks I didn’t wanna run...
Navigating "Food Indulgence" Season....
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Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:10
By Lauren Mitchell (usatriathlon.org)
The holidays are right around the corner, which means parties are springing up almost every weekend. Thanksgiving – the most notorious holiday for food indulgence – is upon us. It’s hard to navigate the holidays, with hundreds of food decisions every day, and stay on track with our health and training goals. How do we pick food without feeling guilty or “bad about ourselves” when we are wanting a special dish or dessert?
Rather than engaging in conversation with our friends and family, what we are going to put on our plate becomes the highlight of the meal. Let’s get back to the notion that the holidays are more about spending time with one another rather than the over-indulgence of food. Here are 5 tips to navigate the holidays the right way:
Tip #1: Plan and prepare
Understanding there will always be a special event around the corner will take away the excuse for potential over-indulgence – treating these events as normal occurrences will prevent over-indulging. This takes planning and preparation, and a keen eye on controlling your blood sugar throughout the day for an evening event. Do your best by preparing foods with carbohydrate, protein and fat until the event, and then choose wisely during. Allow yourself to have a “miss” or two.
2019 Team Minnesota: Men...
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Tuesday, 17 December 2019 23:10
MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS - As with the women's list, the men's Team Minnesota roster did not resemble those of past seasons. Missing from the 2018 team were WADE CRUSER and MATT PAYNE, who took the year off, TED TREISE, who turned pro, and KEVIN O'CONNOR and SAM HAUCK, whose racing volume was insufficient. This left plenty of room for other athletes to, as they say, "step up."
As with the women, high/low ranking numbers are included parenthetically.
1. PATRICK PARISH, 34, Minneapolis (1-1) - Five wins, including a National title, and thre MMHs made Patrick the clear choice for the Top Spot here. He was not beaten by a fellow Minnesotan in 2019.
2. JOSH MORK, 36, Lino Lakes (2-2) - Two of his three wins were at the half IM distance, both breakout performances. Nipping Andy Zabel for the Most Improved honor, Josh rose from an 11th-place ranking in 2018 to 2nd this year.
3. JOSH BLANKENHEIM, 39, Duluth (3-3) - Winner of three of the six regional triathlons he entered in 2019, plus podiums at Heart of the Lakes and Lake Minnetonka made Josh a slam-dunk TOY nominee, and a Top 4 Team Minnesota selection.
4. SEAN COOLEY, 33, St. Paul (4-5)- On the strength of his win at Buffalo Olympic and his POY-nominated victory at High Cliff Half IM (4:07:34), Sean was able to claim the final TOY nomination and a spot in the Top 4 of Team MInnesota....
