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When Bronze is as Shiny as Gold...

Monday, 18 July 2016 23:10

HEART OF THE LAKES - Yesterday we posted Nathan Ansbaugh's Life Time - Tri Minneapolis race report. We did this as a prelude to today's coverage of Heart of the Lakes, which has long been been billed as "Minnesota's favorite triathlon," a claim that is hard to dispute.

At Minneapolis, Nathan was headed for a podium finish with less than a mile to go. That's when the wheels came off. Instead of a 3rd behind Payne and Cooley, he placed 17th in the "Premier Division" and 37th overall.

At HOLT, though, Nathan Ansbaugh demonstrated what it means to "get back on the horse." While Matt and Sean went off the front, Nathan once again moved into sole possession of 3rd place. This time he kept the hammer on the floor, and it stayed there. The result was a redemptive podium finish, with a 1:02 margin over 4th-placing Josh Blankenheim.

As at Lake Nokomis, Payne and Cooley went 1-2. The win was the 46th of Pain Train's multisport career, and his 3rd consecutive at HOLT....

"...I Put it All Out There...BUT"....

Sunday, 17 July 2016 23:10

By Nathan Ansbaugh (nathanansbaugh.blogspot.com)

Life Time Tri - Minneapolis Race Report - Last year, my 8th place finish at Lifetime Minneapolis followed by a near miss of the podium at Lifetime Maple Grove finishing in 4th left me feeling both a bit frustrated and hopeful for the 2016 season. In particular, I set my sights toward this year's Lifetime Minneapolis with the goal of sneaking my way into a win or at least a podium spot. With the likes of Matt Payne, Kris Spoth, Sean Cooley, and a handful of other top notch athletes, I knew this would mean a couple things: 1) amongst the competition for the podium spots, I needed to have a gap out of the water, 2) I needed to try to keep the bike under an hour on this fairly technical course, and 3) I had to run sub-sixes and likely negative split. As the off-season and spring progressed, this seemed to be coming around. That said, I have always struggled with earlier season racing and peaked late summer, and this season has been no different so far with Gear West Du ending with Matt Payne...

More Minnesota Results...

Sunday, 17 July 2016 05:10

HEART OF THE LAKES - Matt Payne hasn't lost to a fellow Minnesota amateur since, we're not making this up, 2012. The Pain Train kept his streak alive this morning at HOLT, though Sean Cooley gave him a knock-down-drag-out race. Exciting stuff.

In a similar duel, super rookie Hanna Grinaker managed to overtake 2015 champ Christina Roberts for the win. Other stars included Kristina Swenson, 19, who won the sprint by blowing away her own junior CR, and rookie Maggie Weiss (pronounced "Weese"), who placed 3rd overall in the women's race. DKT's course record time in the sprint was insane! Words and pics will post on Tuesday. RESULTS

MORE STUFF ON PAGE 2....

Redemption Races & Antsy Tapers...

Saturday, 16 July 2016 23:10

By Erin Sontowski (bikesandcatsrightmeow.blogspot.com)

Life Time Tri - Minneapolis - My race report is a little late, but we all know how life gets in the way sometimes. Plus, I am tapering this week to get ready for Ironman 70.3 in Racine, so I haven't been as focused as I usually am anyways. Believe everything they say about taper weeks, it's all true. I am irritable, antsy, and I want to eat all the food. I can't believe I married a guy who is so calm during the shit storm that is tapering. Reason #3,999,997 why I love him.

Anyways, let's get back to the Lifetime Tri this last Saturday. Which for the record, I had to convince my coach to let me sign up for. After the trainwreck that was Liberty, I knew I needed a confidence booster...