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Sibling Rivalry...
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Monday, 05 March 2018 23:10
A dad asked us recently if two siblings had ever been nominated for the Junior of the Year award in the same season.
Good question.
Though there have always been families with multiple talented teen triathletes, there has never been a season where a pair of sisters or brothers were nominated for JOY. The closest we've come to that was in 2013, when Paige Danielson was almost nominated alongside her sister, Greta, who had won the award twice. Greta aged-up in 2014 paving the way for Paige to claim the award for herself.
Problems with nominating siblings are many. They tend to do the same races as their brothers or sisters, and one, typically the oldest, tends to win the battle for family bragging rights. If the siblings either chose different races or took turns in the Winners Circle, plus had outperformed other teens in the region, then it s conceivable that a pair of brothers or sisters could be nominated in the same year.
But that hasn't happened yet. Though it may happen soon, perhaps even this year.
Who are we talking about? The Lundquist sisters, Taylor, now 18, and Simone, now 16 (photo)....
Building the Sport....
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Saturday, 03 March 2018 23:10
To Train or Not to Train While Sick...
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Friday, 02 March 2018 23:10
By Mackenzie Madison (usatriathlon.org)
If you’re an athlete, becoming sick while training can be frustrating. Deciding whether to keep training or even to stop training is equally frustrating. Your decision should be based upon the benefits and risks of training during the illness and the severity of the illness. We are balancing compromises between detraining but hastening recovery, maintaining fitness but potentially prolonging the illness or disease.
In your favor, athletes are generally less susceptible to common viral illness, have better immune competency and recover quicker.(1, 2) Studies have shown that exercise at low to moderate intensities boosts the immune system activity, temporarily. Not in your favor, the immune system weakens following highly stressful training or racing. The perfect storm for crippling the immune system includes cumulative high-intensity and long-duration training to exhaustion, sleep deprivation, severe caloric restriction, strong psychological stress and having more than a single illness. Gremlins aside, just doing a longer race typically suppresses the immune system for up to 72 hours. ...
Kelly Claims 2nd Indoor Victory...
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Wednesday, 28 February 2018 23:10
YWCA INDOOR TRIATHLON #2 - The first event in the Y's four-race series was large, a sell-out, in fact. The second race, which was staged on February 18, was even more "sold out." The January event boasted 62 total finishers. Seventy-seven crossed the finish line at the Feb event. Very cool. Love the direction this attendance thing is taking.
The YWCA events feature three distances, a mini, a sprint and a long. Tops in their gender in the mini were tri coach / motorcycle enthusiast PHIL SCONZERT, who threw down a time of 28:03, giving him more than a four minute advantage over the winning time here in January. Runner-up ANDREW HOSALLA and PATRICK KOEGEL filled out the men's podium.
Leading the way for the women in the mini was KIRI FAUL. Beautiful name, huh! She placed 4th overall among the 23 entrant field. PAULA MACKEY and TANIA KOEGEL, who is probably related to the men's bronze medalist, grabbed the 2nd and 3rd spots....
Performance Hurdles...139...
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Tuesday, 27 February 2018 23:10
There appears to be certain "Performance Hurdles" that ambitious amateur triathletes need to clear if they hope to eventually be ranked among the best in their state or region. In long distance racing, amatuer men need to crack 10-hours, hopefully by a lot, if they hope to someday be competitive with their elite peers at 140.6. For 70.3, they need to dip under 4:30 before they really know they are on the right track.
At Olympic distance, these guys are going in the right direction when they clear the 2:05 hurdle. After that, they can focus on cracking the 2-hour mark, which really thins the herd.
Now, let's talk about women's Performance Hurdles. At IM distance, a sub-11 is a major hurdle. A sub-5 opens the door to becoming a competitive female amateur at 70.3.
And at Olympic distance the magic number seems to be 139. That is, once a woman has broken the 2:20 mark, she has demonstrated competitive aptitude, and can work her way to 2:15, then 2:10, which appears to be in the national class strata. Then a select few will dip under 2:10, which makes them competitive on the world stage. Minnesota's Olympic distance world class women include CATHY YNDESTAD (2:07 - PR), HEATHER LENDWAY (2:05:06 amateur PR), KORTNEY HAAG (2:09 personal best), and now GABY BUNTEN, whose 2:08 at a slightly short Minneapolis race translates, perhaps, to a sub-2:10....
