Home
Hot Messes, Unreasonable Expectations, Recognizing Patterns...
-
Sunday, 21 October 2018 23:10
By Hanna Grinaker
It was my boyfriend, Sean, who introduced me to the sport of triathlon. I never had any intention of trying out a sport where equipment was involved. I had only ever been a runner. I remember walking into our condo back in the fall of 2015 to discover a new tri bike propped up against our couch in the living room. When I found a brand new tri-kit in my closet a week after the bike showed up, I realized I was really going to do this.
After my first successful triathlon experience, I was on a vengeance. I signed up for every triathlon Sean did, entering each race in a blissful state of ignorance. Will I be able to unclip my bike shoes from the pedals today? Get my wetsuit off? Run the race without smashing into a cone on the side of the road and find myself splayed all over the pavement? (Yes, I did do this…in my second triathlon).
My point in all this is that my first year in triathlon was a little bit of a hot mess. But gosh, was it fun. No expectations, no pressure, no idea that I could and would do the thing I set out to do that day....
Why Heather? Why Arianna? Why Jan?
-
Friday, 19 October 2018 23:20
MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS - While most of the MMH recipients were difficult to determine, one was a slam dunk: ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.
HEATHER TAYLOR was the clear choice.
Not only did her resume include a win (CyMan), she also managed to break 2:20 at Olympic distance, which is a big deal for newcomers. And she did that twice.
Additionally, she outraced several regional elites at Maple Grove Olympic.
There could be a spot for her on Team Minnesota as early as next season.
Here are Heather's 2018 highlights:
- 1st @ CyMan Sprint (IA)
- 2nd @ St. Paul Sprint
- 4th @ High Cliff Olympic - 2:13:32
- 5th @ Maple Grove Olympic - 2:16:09
Determining the recipient of JUNIOR OF THE YEAR required much thought and debate. A strong case was made for MACY IYER, 14, who blew away the teen records at Cinco Du Mayo Sprint, which she won!, and YWCA Women's Tri. A similarly strong case coulld be made for 2017 JOY TAYLOR LUNDQUIST, 19, whose record-setting effort at Timberman Sprint was arguably the junior performance of the year....
Erin's Five Favorite Running Routes in Minneapolis ....
-
Friday, 19 October 2018 23:10
By Erin Klegstad (sweetsweatlife.com)
I’ve been lucky enough to run in some pretty beautiful places – Whistler, BC; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; along the California coast; the Bahamas; and Kona, Hawaii....
Coffee Catch-up - Summer 2018....
-
Thursday, 18 October 2018 23:10
By Erin Klegstad (sweetsweatlife.cm)
And just like that, it’s OCTOBER(!). Since we really didn’t get spring this year – remember that blizzard on April 15 when two feet of snow fell?! – summer felt so short, but the good news: it was crammed with fantastic – from yard work to cruiser rides to dinners al fresco to weekend trips.
it’s been a while since I’ve done a life update, so I’m stealing this coffee date catch-up from a few other blogs. My favorite coffee lately: iced oat milk lattes at our neighborhood coffee shop, Angry Catfish. Anyone else love oat milk? What’s your go-to coffee drink? Grab it, and let’s cheers and chat! Here’s what’s been up and on my mind…
1 – the AG Kona allocation system
Bummed is an understatement about my AG only having one Kona spot at IMMT. I was crushed – and then I was, and still am, angry. So I looked into it a little more to figure out why there was only one spot in my AG (35-39) when every race has had two spots since they dropped from 50 spots to 40. Turns out, I’m not the only one curious about the AG KQ allocation. Russell Cox has been analyzing AG races and the allocation for a while, and the Live Fiesty ladies have been asking questions, too. ...
"...It's Never Goodbye."....
-
Wednesday, 17 October 2018 23:10
By Simone Lundquist (sisterswhotriblog.com)
Sometimes I like to think that someday I’m going to have a future where my triathlon season never ends. It’s the fantasy of waking up every single morning and getting to train and continue to compete as my job, but for right now it’s still a dream in the making. Every year I have to say, “See you later,” to a sport that I really love and something that brings me so much joy which seems to get harder every single year. All I want to do is keep improving and working harder, but it’s always nice to know that there’s another year and another season. Although it seems far away until the next competition, there is always something to work on in the off season, and there is always something that keeps you motivated throughout the year. One thing that I know for sure is that it’s never goodbye.
Triathlons basically take up my entire summer as our family tries to fit in at least 10 in a year. It’s my only focus and priority for the summer, but as the school year comes along I have to balance a start to a cross country season and an end to a triathlon season. I don’t get to have the entire focus that I usually get in the beginning of the year for my last races, but I still try to fit in time to train for them between practice and school. With the business of the school year I had not thought much about my last race going into the weekend. There was a little bit of worry in my head because I did not get as much time for biking and swimming as I would have liked, and I also did not mentally prepare like I usually get to in the summer. I also thought of these disadvantages as advantages because even though I had not biked in a while maybe that meant my legs would feel fresh, and even though I didn’t focus on the race the day before maybe that meant I wouldn’t stress as much. With everything spinning through my mind I tried not to worry or stress so I just pushed all of my thoughts aside....
