Race Coverage

"It Wasn't My Day"....

Saturday, 26 August 2017 23:10

By Erin Klegstad (sweetsweatlife.com)

The short of IRONMAN Canada: It wasn’t my day.

I gave everything I had and then some, but came up short of my goal (which was, no surprise, a Kona spot).

I know I should be proud – and I will be eventually – but when you have really high expectations of yourself, set big goals and train your ass off for months, to come up short… well, it hurts. A lot.

But what did I expect? My race was the outcome of the stories I told myself for much of the build: that I would have rather lazed in the hammock than slog through three 80-minute intervals during a long ride. I fought for so many of those intervals, my internal dialogue I have to do this rather than I get to do this. I lost the bike love. I focused too much on things out of my control, which took the joy out of the journey. And I let myself get in my head – the worst possible place you can be.

I never want to go into a race feeling like that again. And you can bet I never will.

Onward.

With that, a few race day details on my second slowest IM ever…

Fast and Furious...

Friday, 25 August 2017 23:10

By Christel Kippenhan (seecktri.wordpress.com)

“There’s a great fascination with ultras being harder than other races,
but the mile is every bit as difficult as 100 miles if you apply yourself to it.”
Rickey Gates, ultrarunner
as quoted in Outside Magazine

BREWHOUSE SPRINT RACE REPORT - I heard Kris Swarthout from Final K Sport Services once express a similar sentiment about sprint triathlons:
"Never say you are just doing a sprint triathlon. Sprint triathlons are fast and furious, you push yourself and go all out for the duration of the race."

I was a sprinter growing up, and I’m still a sprinter at heart. So, I love those fast and furious sprint triathlons, especially if they do not skimp on the swim distance. And the Brewhouse Sprint Triathlon does it just right.

Swim > 12:21; 1:31 / 100 yds; 4^th female; 1^st age group ....

Three-Time Race of the Year...

Wednesday, 23 August 2017 09:10

SUPERIOR MAN HALF IM - A three-time "Triathletes Choice Race of the Year" winner, Superior Man will celebrate its sixth birthday next Sunday. Let's share some SM Half IM history, then make a few predictions.

- Nine men have bettered 4:20, five of whom have gone faster than 4:15:

1. SEAN COOLEY - 4:04:21 (2016)(photo)

2. MATT PAYNE - 4:10:44 (2015)

3. MATT PAYNE - 4:10:47 (2016)

4. PATRICK PEACOCK, CAN - 4:14:21 - Masters Record (2016)

5. BEN LINDELL, WI - 4:14:47 (2016)

- Twelve women have broken 5-hours at SM, five of them have bettered 4:45:

1. NICOLE WALKER, CAN - 4:25:05 (2016)

2. KORTNEY HAAG - 4:36:34 (2016)

3. CHRISTINA ROBERTS - 4:40:34 (2016)

4. HANNAH GRINAKER - 4:41:32 (2016)

5. KORTNEY HAAG - 4:43:08 (2015) ...

Kids Rock in Detroit Lakes...

Sunday, 20 August 2017 23:10

YOUNG LIFE SPRINT - A pair of likely Junior of the Year nominees rocked at Saturday's Young Life Sprint in Detroit Lakes.

For the boys, 16-year-old CARTER DEICHMAN of Mankato (photo), placed 2nd overall just 34-seconds behind winner THOMAS LOEGERING of West Fargo. Loegering races frequently and successfully on the right side of the Red River, but this, we believe, was his first Minnesota win. His time --1:03:39--was 3:28 faster than his 2nd place clocking here in 2016.

For Deichman, it was his best overall placing in an adult tri, and it came on the heels of a 4th place finish (1st Junior) at North Mankato. His 2017 resume also includes AG wins at Falls Duathlon, Heart of the Lakes and Chisago Sprint.

Nice career trajectory, right?

Winning for the women was 17-year-old TAYLOR LUNDQUIST of Maple Grove. Not only did she win, probably in Junior record time (1:06:52), she placed 4th overall in a 230-finisher field. Taylor is the only Minnesota teen to have won more than one adult tri this...

Hurley Hammers...

Saturday, 19 August 2017 09:10

YOUNG LIFE TRIATHLON - OLYMPIC - We sure hope that Montana State runner KEEGHAN HURLEY decides to race in at least one more non-DL multisport event this season. (As part of USAT's Collegiate Recruitment Program, Hurley had competed in four DL races in Australia, where he acquired a new pet - Photo.) Why? Because then he'd be eligible for a Rookie of the Year nomination. And if he does race, and his result is similar to what he had done in his first two tris, he could actually win the award.

This guy is impressive!

So, here's what the 21-year-old from tiny Dent, MN, has done in his first two non-drafting races this season: He blew the doors off the competition, arguably the event's deepest men's field in the history of the event, at Hoot Lake, then turned in a Sean Cooley-esque effort yesterday at Young Life, his 1:58:43 was 9:06 faster than BRANDEN SCHEEL's runner-up clocking. Scheel is enjoying a breakout season, and was our pick to win.

Hurley was a late registrant.

Unsurprisingly, DAVID LEWIS filled out the men's podium.

Another late registrant, SARA CARLSON, won the women's Olympic race. Her margin of victory over runner-up JOELLEN KOHLMAN-PETRICK, who like Hurley, rocked socks at Hoot Lake, where she finished just twenty seconds out of first place, was 1:05. (FYI - Kohlman-Petrick won at Average Joe in June.)...

Flat Coke & Bloody Shoes....

Friday, 18 August 2017 19:10

By Sara Carlson (sarastrilife.blogspot.com)

Chisago Half IM Race Report - After finishing the Fargo Marathon in May, I struggled with finding my mojo for Triathlon training again. My brain seemed to tell me, “hey, you met your main goal for the year in qualifying for Boston (like 7 minutes faster than my marathon goal time with a 3:23!), take it easy. So, I had a few key sessions that I slept through or least placed a little lower on the priority list than I should have. I really enjoyed the simplicity of just training my run game over the winter and am looking forward to it again this winter. After a good long off-season, that is!

So, for this race, my husband and our youngest 2 kiddos made our way down to the cities on Saturday. We got my packet picked up, checked in to our hotel in Forest Lake and got out and enjoyed some good old-fashioned fun together. The kids had some fun in the pool, we took in a round of mini golf in Taylors Falls & then caught the tail end of a parade in Center City while we ate (@ the Pizza Pub-yummy!). I love it when we get the chance to take in some playtime on race weekend!

Toughman Chisago 70.3 race report: ...