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The Stuff in Matt's Life...
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Thursday, 21 May 2015 00:10
By Matthew Payne (matthew-payne.blogspot.com)
And then there were 4...
First off, the big news... this tiny, hairy human now lives at my house...
His name is Riley Harrison Payne and he seems reasonably chill for being 0 years old.
Bling Bling
The 2014 multisport racing campaign garnered a genuine buttload of post-season hardware. USAT named me the 2014 Duathlete of the Year, and in what was a complete surprise to me, named me an honorable mention for Triathlete of the Year.
Closer to home, I took home 4(!) Minnesota Multisport Awards this time around: Triathlete of the Year, Duathlete of the Year, Long Distance Athlete of the Year and Performance of the Year. As is my style, I went a tiny bit too hard at the awards ceremony and most likely made a drunken ass of myself every time Jerry handed me the mic. Good times....
Apple Bites...
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Wednesday, 20 May 2015 00:10
APPLE PREVIEW - At 33 consecutive years, The Apple is Minnesota's oldest multisport event. It's also one of our state's most consistently excellent races, especially since 2000, when it hosted the USAT Duathlon National AG Championships.
Though it may be perceived by some as an "Elite" event, it is so much more than that. Mid and back-of-the-packers and recreational athletes are welcomed with open arms and lots of outstanding amenities. We, therefore, want to encourage every athlete who has ever avoided Apple because they had assumed that it caters only to the really fast guys and gals, to give the event a try. If you do, you'll see that Apple is a celebration of running and cycling and all those who appreciate those activities.
Still, it's fun for MTN to predict what will happen at the front of the pack, and who will prevail in the various AGs. For grinzies, here's our picks: ...
Triumphant Returns & Breakout Performances...
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Tuesday, 19 May 2015 00:10
ESPRIT De SHE - LAKEVILLE - Last Sunday's duathlon, the 4th annual we think, was won by 2013 Rookie of the Year runner-up OLIVIA BAGNALL by a 57 second margin over ANNE GRABOWSKI. KELLY HELTEMES (3rd) and LAURA SWARTZ (4th) finished less than 10 seconds after Grabowski, who is a very nice person.
Though Bagnall, who occasionally kisses mooses (photo L), missed the entire 2014 multisport season--she was busy playing professional soccer in Sweden, which is home to thousands of kissable mooses--and only raced five times total, she has won three of those races, and placed 2nd and 4th in the other two. If she races often enough in 2015, her chances of making Team Minnesota are very good. In 2013, she missed a place by only two spots....
Another Du W for Parish & Fox...
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Sunday, 17 May 2015 06:10
Photo - Podium Posteriors (L-R): Lisa Lendway, Suzy Fox, Elaine Nelson.
23rd GEAR WEST DUATHLON - Not surprisingly, yesterday's race was conducted under cloudy skies with plenty of wind and dankiosity to go around. As usual, the cross country run courses were sloppy fun. On the bright side, the morning was warmish (low 60s) and snow flurries were nowhere to be found.
Also not surprising was the heated battle that unfolded between men's favorites Patrick Parish and Matt Payne. On Facebook, Patrick had this to say:
Gear West Duathlon: I thought I was in solid cycling form. Then Matthew Payne taught me that until I father a couple kids and start towing them up hills on a regular basis, I'm at a severe competitive disadvantage. Go figure. Well-done sir! At least the cross-country run was as wet and sloppy as advertised. Fun stuff! ...
Stuff About Embracing Pain...& Results....
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Sunday, 17 May 2015 00:10
BONUS STUFF: WEEKEND RESULTS
Gear West Duathlon - LINK
Land Between the Lakes Du - LINK
TRF Sandford Health Tri - LINK
LESPRIT De SHE - LAKEVILLE - L
Take your performance to the next level by learning to embrace discomfort.
By Mackenzie Lobby (triathlon.competitor.com)
Compared to the general populace, multisport buffs are as tough as they come. There’s even research to back up that contention. To gain an understanding of what accounts for that tenacity, a new study sought to examine the important link between pain and performance. Indeed, those who are able to push harder and longer are usually the ones who end up atop the podium on race day.
Published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers had a group of cyclists perform sprint interval tests on bikes, giving them either 1.5 grams of acetaminophen (pain reliever, aka generic Tylenol) or a placebo prior to exercise. They then monitored their power output and heart rate during each sprint, finding that when they took acetaminophen, the participants had a significantly greater mean power output....
