Race Coverage

Ted's Season - Part V - Like a Hallmark Movie...

tedmichigan.png

 

By Ted Treise

Michigan and lead up to IM FL - I though Oceanside was a beautiful venue, but WOW. Michigan in the Traverse City area is just gorgeous - The lake, sandy beaches, birch forest & fresh air. It was like a hallmark movie in real life. Not to mention, I was just so exciting to be back at the races, seeing friends, putting on my HED disc and 80mm front. This is why I love triathlon. Racing with the best people possible on the fastest bikes mankind has ever made.

 

But how did the race go? Well the swim and bike went about the same as Oceanside and the run was a bit of shitshow given the furthest I went was about 9 miles at an 8 minute pace. I hobbled through it slipping under 1 hr 30 min for a run split which puts you in pretty much last for the pro field. My run was fine, whatever. But it was frustrating to be back so far on the bike and loose 10 min to the front after putting in a huge block without running....

Read more ...

Ted's Season - Part IV - Buffalo & My Stupid Ankle...

joeted.png

By Ted Treise

In Minnesota, the local tri season starts in June at the Buffalo triathlon. I raced it last year and had blast with the MN crew. This year leading into it though, I had a tight interior ankle issue. It was fine in the sense that I get a little limp going through my warm up, but in the main-set, things were grooving. After it would be a bit sore, but nothing some Advil vitamins couldn’t solve. As someone who trains 20+ hourrs a week, nothing is ever perfect. My shoulder is sore in the swim, feet hurt around hour 5 on the bike. Shit happens and I thought this is just one of those things that will go away with some dry needling at Odom. Andrew is a super healer and most things do.....

Read more ...

Ted's Season - Part III - Staying Out of the Camara Shot...

tedtrack.png

By Ted Treise

Clash Miami and Oceanside 70.3 - Clash Miami is the first race of the year taking place the second week of March. It takes place on the infield of the Miami Speedway. A giant tar oval with banks you can barely ride up they’re so steep and grandstands all around the facility. You drive under the track in a tunnel to the infield and park inside the pits NASCAR uses. The whole thign has a real race-y vibe. With the racing atmosphere comes one thing for sure and that’s HEAT. Track temps can get to 130+ degrees easy and it’s a true test to see how the winter training has gone.

Racing details aside of how I felt on the swim, holding xyz watts on the bike – I was super bummed with how this race went. In the leadup to the race, I’d swim with Sam Long just fine in Tucson but at the race, I got dropped by him and Lionel after the first turn then just found myself in no-mans land then struggled with being there for most the day. The lead group would come by on the 5 minute lap circuit and I needed to get out of the racing line, then slot back in. Again, frustrating when you want to BE THAT LEAD GROUP and they’re telling you to GTFO of the lead groups way.

At the post race party, the media team was there. While I was ordering a drink, one of them was next to me and said “hey are you ted?” me: “ah, yea..!” “you did a great job staying out of the camera shot!”… “Great.. thanks.” I said. Annnd that wraps up how Miami went....

Read more ...

Visible Fish, Chainsaw Starts & Thank Yous...

maggie_triumph.png

By Maggie Swanson

IRONMAN Kona race report –I just had the honor of competing at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, on October 14th. I qualified for Kona in September of 2022 at IRONMAN Madison in Wisconsin, and continued training for 2023. My first race this year was at IRONMAN Chattanooga 70.3 in May, and I tore my Achilles tendon on mile 10 of the run. It looked like my season and my dream of racing Kona was over!  ...

Read more ...

'Each Mile Seemed Longer Than the Last"....

terrismile.png

By Terri Jaksha

2023 Kona Ironman World Chamionship Race Report - The day started with a 3:15 alarm and 4:10 shuttle ride to the race site. I didn’t use personal needs bags (available at halfway points on bike & run), so I went to body marking to get race tattoos applied. Next stop was my bike on the pier to pump tires (with my electric pump) and add water bottles & computer. Then I waited an hour near porta potties, dropped morning bag, lined up with my age group (55 - 59) and watched the pro women take off. Lots of energy as we made our way into the water, treading water until our horn sounded at 6:50.

The swim was beautiful and felt wavy but fast. A few collisions, but nothing major. I finished with my fastest Ironman swim time ever… 1:18:22.

My first transition was 12:56. I spent a lot of time rinsing the salt water off and putting sunscreen on in prep for the hot bike. I skipped the aero helmet and went with a more vented option with new Roka shades. Glad I did!

It was a long run around the pier to grab my bike and head out. Saw Cari at the beginning.

We rode in town a few miles then headed out on the Queen K Hwy. I started off faster than expected (17.5 mph). But as the day heated up and climb to Hawi wore me down, my average slipped to 15.5 mph (still my fastest Ironman pace). I couldn’t get comfortable on the aero bars thanks to recent injuries - this caused extra sore & fatigued neck & shoulders.

I stayed on track with BASE salt, water, and nutrition (Maurten gels, apple sauce, and maple syrup). I grabbed water at each aid station, filling my front bottle and dumping the rest on me to cool down. Happy with my PR of 7:17:43! ...

Read more ...

Arigato & Ganbanhte...

japantim.png

By Tim Bontrager

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend the summer/fall of 2022 in Japan and do a few triathlons. I’ve got a pair of races that I think should be on every triathlete’s short list of “destination races”. If anyone has questions about scheduling a trip, or questions about racing in Japan please feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to assist. \

Lake Nojiriko Triathlon – Olympic Distance

Have you ever wanted to do switchbacks on a bike? What about on the run? Set in a national park in Lake Nojiri on the outskirts of Nagano, the Lake Nojiriko triathlon offers a challenging Olympic distance course with a small-town feel. Bring a road bike and get ready to do some punchy climbs and technical descents!  Signup: http://nojiriko-triathlon.com/, signup is only available in Japanese. I used Google Translate and was able to figure it out.

How to access: Fly into Tokyo. If you are planning on exploring the country while you’re there, I would ship your bike to the race using a takkyubin service (Sagawa will for sure take bikes, the other services might not). Then, you can take a train/bus to Nojiri, or you could train to Nagano and then rent a car for the rest of your time. Alternatively, you could rent a car in Tokyo and drive the 3.5 hours to Nojiri....

Read more ...

2024SwimOffSquare
2024ChisagoSquare
2024AppleMSSquare
TimberSquare2024
2024TrinonaSquare
2024GLT180
2024Apple180
2024GMClearwater180
Timber180-2024
Trinona180
2024HRT18-
2024Chisago180x300
MooseLT180x