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Diane's Plans...

Monday, 16 March 2015 01:10

ED. We asked Diane Hankee to describe her off-season and share her tentative 2015 multisport racing schedule. Here's what she sent us:

By Diane Hankee

I always see so many great friends during the racing the season, and then once it ends, I wonder what they are up to. According to research, we should be resting and I follow that advice. My winter rest includes enjoying my kids participating in sports, hockey being one of them. I still “workout” with my favorite grey haired training partner, my husband! I wouldn’t consider my winter hibernation to be called training. I don’t use my power meter, heart rate, or gps, they are all turned off until February or March.

I work full time as a Civil Engineer and that includes attending a lot of City Council meetings for various clients. We have flex time which is the only way this schedule works. Never thought I’d be so involved in politics = the need to run. I maintain infrastructure by implementing pavement management programs for which funding is the biggest challenge. This is a dismal task with the high $ of construction and the Minnesota climate. I also work to improve surface water quality of our lakes and wetlands. I work with most government agencies including the State, County, Watersheds, DNR, MPCA, and MDH. If you don’t know these acronyms you are lucky J.

I look forward to seeing my fellow triathletes throughout the season. My preliminary 2015 race calendar: ...

Apple Du
USAT Du St Paul
Xterra Jamestown? I say this one every year.
Waconia
Heart of Lakes
Toughman Chisago Lakes
2015 ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships Zofingen Switzerland
TC 10 mile
Ironman Florida
2014 Highlights
USAT Du Long Course Championships in Cary NC – I am very glad I did this race. This was a challenging and scenic race course. The run had an incline that I could have walked faster. I was in first place until the previous World Champ chased me down. 17s is such a miniscule time to take 2^nd too. I travelled with some great people for this race.
Trinona – I really enjoyed this race, the bike climb is a must do. My family camped and we made it a mini vacation. It was my first time camping and racing, and it went well.
Best of the US, Capital City Tri – I didn’t realize it at the time, that I was at my peak for this race. I got left behind on the swim which resulted in biking alone, and I worked so hard on the bike. I got off course on the bike and realized it too late, and was DQ’ed. I had one of my best runs of the season.
USAT Du Championships in St Paul – I had a poor bike leg, due to miss managing my training and racing. I did have great runs PR’s at 5:42’s.
LTF Minneapolis – Ate an entire fish the night before, and didn’t feel good for this one. I know better but realize it may have been the perfect excuse for my over trained legs.
Chisago Lakes – I used this race to get in shape, and the run was much harder than it should have been. I am not a fan of running on County roads.
Pigman Long Course – It was my first time doing this race and I recommend trying it. I chased down a female competitor to last mile. These are my favorite races when we go back and forth. Only down fall was more County road running.
ITU World Championships in Edmonton Canada- “THIS IS GOING TO BE EPIC” was the event slogan. This race was defiantly defining in my love of this sport. It was so special to me because my sister, parents, aunts, and cousins were there. Diving off the block, and running into the finish shoot is something to experience. The entire event was a remarkable experience being there with Olympic athletes. I raced 3x in Canada and in one event I did a dismount at about 15 miles per hour and just about ended it all. The bike course featured hills and turns and I respected the speed, until my chain fell off in the last race.I will likely add a few local races to this.