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Fun & Fast Times...
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Saturday, 31 August 2019 23:10
HOPKINS ROYAL TRIATHLON - Saturday morning at Shady Oak Lake. Cloudy, mild temps (low 60s), negligible wind, flat lake. Add the new transition layout and you have ideal conditions for a triathlon, the kind that result in fast times and a spate of rewritten age group records.
ANDY ZABEL, arguably the frontrunner for the 2019 Most Improved (male) award, was the clear favorite to take the men's overall title.
The women's gold medal race was less predictable, though. 2017 champion ANDREA MYERS, who had excelled on this course in each of the previous three years, had experience on her side. Here stiffest challenge on Saturday would come from rising rookie star CARYN HERRICK.
Zabel and Herrick were later registrants, thus they were among the last starters in the event's time-trial format. Myers was an early starter, which allowed her to appear to gap most of the field, women and men alike, from the get-go. We've seen this before. Andrea finishing well ahead of her rivals, then having to wait to see if others would overtake her in the final results.
Myers husband SCOTT was the first athlete to cross the finish line. ERIC ROESNER and KEVIN GREIMEL were in next. Then Andrea crossed the finish line. Ultimately, Scott would have the 5th fastest time of the day, Eric would place 7th, and Kevin, a two-time Top Fiver here, would finish 8th.
Andrea's time on Saturday was 1:11:27, a personal best on this course, a performance she could be proud of. But would it be good enough for the win? ...
"Body Follows Mind...."
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Friday, 30 August 2019 23:10
By Hanna Grinaker (thefitspace.com)
In the face of uncertainty, lack of control, or on the brink of being late, hungry, tired, or unwell, my brain tips towards anxiety. For the longest time (read: 30 years), I didn’t know that’s what it was. There was about a 3 week stint in my sophomore year of college where I dealt with insomnia so bad I didn’t sleep for 3 nights in a row, and had the constant feeling of tightness in my chest like you sometimes get after running up a flight of stairs. At that time, it was so evidently clear to me that anxiety was driving these symptoms, that I began associating anxiety with physical manifestations only.
I was wrong.
The realization that my anxiety surfaced in different ways was an aha moment for me, and one that literally occurred last week. Ruminating thoughts, imagining worse case scenario, over-scheduling, and rushing through projects, conversations and even workouts only to get to the next thing never occurred to me as a symptom of something that might be off in my brain. I chalked those types of thought patterns up to having a type A personality, or the result of being someone that just has a lot of crap to get done within a window of finite time. The latter might be partly true but the anxiety is what made those reactions even more pronounced.
Having the awareness that I can change my reaction to situations has given me power. Even if, I haven’t mastered the reaction part yet. ...
Hopkins Stuff...
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Wednesday, 28 August 2019 23:10
HOPKINS ROYAL TRIATHLON - DOOBIE KURUS' vision for his Hopkins Royal Triathlon is not simply to produce a first-class sustainable event, but to use his event to promote all of Minnesota's triathlons (and duathlons, and now, Open Water Swim Challenges). In other words, he wants ALL of Minnesota's races to thrive, not just his own, which is truly a model for "thrive-liness."
The HoRT ALWAYs fills early, and has been nominated for Race of the Year in each of it's first five years, winning twice and never placing lower than 3rd in the polling.
Kurus' event is "open-armed," not just to paricipants, with special love for newbies and recreational athletes, but to all of the directors of Minnesota's tris and dus. They are encouraged to set up tents and tables on-site and promote their races. There is no charge for this. And the more races that accept Doobie's invitation, the happier he is...
Runaway Win Caps Blankenheim's Season...
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Tuesday, 27 August 2019 23:10
By Mike Aulie (brainerddispatch.com / cool photo by Steve Kohls)
BAXTER -- Josh Blankenheim of Duluth improved on his second-place finish of last year to post the fastest time in the Lakes Country Triathlon and Baxter’s Jacquelyn Bacigalupi repeated as the top female finisher Sunday, Aug. 25, at Kiwanis Park in Baxter....
Ted's Back!
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Monday, 26 August 2019 23:10
MAPLE GROVE OLYMPIC - Capping his 2018 season with two major wins and a 2nd, TED TREISE was anxious to launch his 2019 season, his first year as a professional.
But injuries resulted in DNFs and DNSs, and rehab dominated the four months that comprise the heart of the tri season.
He returned to action last Saturday at Maple Grove Olympic, where he would face 2019 Green Lake Olympic winner KAELEB ROYSTER (IU), and a gaggle of up-and-coming collegiate triathletes.
A loss would be understandable.
But Ted didn't lose. In fact, he threw down the fastest bike split of the day in front of his signature fast run, which built a satisfying 2:14 margin of victory over Royster, the talented Hawkeye.
Ted's time was sweet: 1:56:55.
Treise shared the Top Step with repeat champion BECKY YOUNGBERG, whose time --2:06:06--had been bettered by only one other women's clocking in the 10-year history of this event. That time was 2:05:01, set by Becky in 2018....
