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Lose These Words Now! ...

Saturday, 07 September 2019 23:10

By Stef Hanson (Witsup.com)

5 words that should be eradicated from a triathlete's vernacular:

JUST

- “Hey what race did you do on the weekend?” “Oh I JUST did the sprint.”
- “Hey, how far did you ride on Sunday.” “Oh I JUST did an easy 140kms.”

Stop it. Give yourself more credit than that. I find the whole “I just did the half” comment falls out of people’s mouths a lot at races that have a half and a full distance on the same day. I guarantee, you are no lesser of an athlete for doing a half. In fact you’re smart. You get the best of both worlds. Finish by lunchtime/mid afternoon, have a shower, grab a drink – you’ve earned it, and cheer on your ridiculous friends who are still racing....

UMN Grad Student Tackles Triathlon....

Wednesday, 04 September 2019 23:10

By John Miller (mndaily.com)

At the University of Georgia, Rachel Zilinskas was a seven-time All-American long distance swimmer who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic trials. After tearing her rotator cuff her sophomore year, she knew that swimming would not last forever.

“At the end of my college career, I was just kind of tapped out in terms of what my shoulders could handle,” Zilinskas said.

Being a fierce competitor her whole life, the now-University of Minnesota graduate student gravitated toward a sport that she had been watching since an early age.

“My mom has done triathlons for a really long time,” Zilinskas said. "I knew it was something I was interested in getting into.”

When she first started training for a triathlon, it was more of a bucket list item that she wanted to check off. That was until she competed in her first race....

Gaby and Josh are Athletes of the Month...

Sunday, 01 September 2019 23:10

AUGUST 2019 ATHLETS OF THE MONTH - To be eligible, athletes must turn in at least two outstanding performances during the prior month, in this case, August 2019.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH - GABY BUNTEN, 27, North Oaks

Gaby excelled on the national and international stages in August. Here are her highlights:

- 5th overall woman @ USAT Sprint Nationals

- 5th overall woman @ USAT Olympic Nationals

- 11th overall woman / 2nd US @ Lausanne (CHE) World Age Group Championships.

HM - BECKY YOUNGBERG, 44, Eden Prairie (See "Female Master of the Month" for resume.)

"Body Follows Mind...."

Friday, 30 August 2019 23:10

By Hanna Grinaker (thefitspace.com)

In the face of uncertainty, lack of control, or on the brink of being late, hungry, tired, or unwell, my brain tips towards anxiety. For the longest time (read: 30 years), I didn’t know that’s what it was. There was about a 3 week stint in my sophomore year of college where I dealt with insomnia so bad I didn’t sleep for 3 nights in a row, and had the constant feeling of tightness in my chest like you sometimes get after running up a flight of stairs. At that time, it was so evidently clear to me that anxiety was driving these symptoms, that I began associating anxiety with physical manifestations only.

I was wrong.

The realization that my anxiety surfaced in different ways was an aha moment for me, and one that literally occurred last week. Ruminating thoughts, imagining worse case scenario, over-scheduling, and rushing through projects, conversations and even workouts only to get to the next thing never occurred to me as a symptom of something that might be off in my brain. I chalked those types of thought patterns up to having a type A personality, or the result of being someone that just has a lot of crap to get done within a window of finite time. The latter might be partly true but the anxiety is what made those reactions even more pronounced.

Having the awareness that I can change my reaction to situations has given me power. Even if, I haven’t mastered the reaction part yet. ...

July 2019 Athletes of the Month...

Saturday, 03 August 2019 23:10

We're sensing a pattern here. The male AOM in April/May was also the AOM in June.

Guess who MTN's July male AOM is?

Though a pair of Joshes--Mork and Blankenheim--had stellar July racing resumes, it was PATRICK PARISH's scorecard that rose, once again, to the top.

And the women's July Athlete of the Month, and Master of the Month, was the same AOM / MOM that earned those honors in June.

The other July recipients are also repeat winners.

Here are MTN's July 2019 Athletes of the Month:

MALE AOM: PATRICK PARISH, 34, Minneapolis

Highlights:

- 1st @ Minneapolis Olympic (1:55:05)

- 1st @ Heart of the Lakes

HM - Josh Mork, 36, Lino Lakes - 1st @ Chisago Lakes Half IM (4:09:57), 3rd @ Minneapolis Olympic (1:57:46), 3rd @ Heart of the Lakes

HM - Josh Blankenheim, 38, Duluth - 1st @ Timberman Olympic (1:56:42), 2nd @ Heart of the Lakes ...