FEATURES
Marathon or Ironman? Which is Harder...
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Saturday, 16 September 2017 23:10
By Susan Lacke (triathlete.com)
A team of researchers settles the debate once and for all.
Put an Ironman competitor and a marathoner in the same room, and it will inevitably turn into a battle of the one-ups:
“I run after a 100-mile bike ride in the heat!” the Ironman triathlete boasts.
“Shuffling doesn’t count!” the marathoner retorts. “I actually run!”
And so it goes. Though there’s really no way to quantify which race is actually harder (suffering, after all, is individual), an international team of researchers has compared the training load of the two events to see if one has more impact than the other.
“It is a study based on the typical friends’ conversation comparing ‘what’s tougher?’ says lead researcher Jonathan Esteve-Llano, “Dr. Cejuela, Dr. Cardona, Dr. Moreno-Perez [other authors of the study] and I are also professional coaches. That’s why most of our research is like this, trying to solve our daily questions, searching for our needs, with the scope of improving our training programs.”...
Getting Pissed & Stripping Wallpaper...
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Thursday, 14 September 2017 09:10
By Erin Klegstad (sweetsweatife.com)
Here’s a look at what’s been up this summer. Well, mostly what’s been up since IRONMAN Canada. Because we all know that peak training doesn’t leave much time for anything besides swim bike run eat recover sleep repeat, right?
Feeling
Better and more settled. Not gonna lie, the post-race blues were legit. More so than after any other race. I cried a LOT – and then looked at the 35-39F AG race results and got pissed. I honestly don’t know that I’ll ever feel good about IRONMAN Canada – and that’s ok – but rather than dwell on it, I’m choosing to look at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to really recover physically andmentally (five IMs in two years… yikes), to strengthen + sharpen my mental game (lots of books to read!), replenish the well, to swim bike run when I feel like it, and to focus on things outside of triathlon. Five weeks out, I’m feeling immensely lighter and better – and am hungry for redemption. This journey isn’t over yet! ...
RBM's "Gift to You"...
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Tuesday, 12 September 2017 19:10
By Ruth Brennan Morrey (ruthbrennanmorrey.com)
Iconic. Legendary. Epic. World’s Best. Bucket List. Triathlon Mecca.
The above adjectives largely contributed to the intrigue that landed me in the beautiful Bavarian countryside of Roth, Germany for the full distance Challenge Roth race on July 9th, 2017. Historical race photographs well captured the crowd blanketed energy, picturesque villages and countryside, and the scope of the enthusiasm among pro athletes, age groupers and spectators alike. Within this quaint German rural town—a village of 24,000 residents—two hundred thousand dedicated course spectators halted all life responsibilities to invite athletes into their homes and show up on bridges, hills, villages, to rally alongside the athletes. Perhaps more staggering were the 7000 (!) volunteers—young and old—who would line the notoriously fast course to lend a hand to the day’s success. Imagining crowds lined five deep up Solar Hill—Tour de France style—while bashing long green and red noise making balloons together had this athlete’s blood pumping well before the gun would bang.
My mind had been exclusively training on this course for the previous 6 months and had been in my heart for a year in the making. During the 2016 race, from my computer screen, I witnessed exceptional, thorough, non-gender biased live race coverage. Strict drafting penalties and the manner in which Challenge Family treated its professional athletes would be a new and humbling experience. It was a clear observation even from across the Atlantic, that Challenge Family took incredible pride in this race. That alone excited me....
The Six Week Sprint...
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Monday, 11 September 2017 23:10
By Nathan Ansbaugh (nathanansbaugh.blogspot.com - July 18, 2017)
Yesterday, Every Man Jack teammate and great friend, Sean Cooley, and I took off around 8AM to kick off the transition between what has felt like a constant sprint over the past six weeks into both a figurative and literal marathon that is about to ensue over the next two months with Superior Man and Ironman Wisconsin looming in the distance. About 2 hours and 18 miles into the hot, muggy, and generally demoralizing back half of our 22 mile run yesterday, I couldn't help but think, "Oh man, I forgot how much Ironman racing hurts." Between the past six weeks of bizarre schedules at work with every 3rd day spending 28 hours in the hospital with 30min to an hour of sleep on those nights, transitioning to becoming a chief resident in the emergency department, racing four times including two days ago at the Minnesota State Championship at the Heart of the Lakes Tri, and then giving ourselves rhabdo on the run yesterday, I have been in need of a day off. Thus, as previously promised, I figured I'd sit down and reflect a bit on the racing over these past weeks.
August Athletes of the Month...
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Wednesday, 30 August 2017 23:10
Today we reveal Minnesota's ATHLETES OF THE MONTH for August. To be eligible, athletes must have turned in at least TWO outstanding performances. The AOM's are presented by Excelsior Running in Apple Valley, and MTN.
ROOKIE OF THE MONTH - JAKE BRAAM, 26, Elysian (photo below)
- A clear winner, the lanky Braam raced three times in August. The placed 2nd at Waseca and Green Lake, and 8th against a strong field which included several of our region's fastest collegians at Maple Grove.
JUNIOR OF THE MONTH - TAYLOR LUNDQUIST, 17, Maple Grove (photo L)
- Like Braam, Lundquist was a slam dunk selection. A prolific racer, she was the outright women's winner at Big Lake Sprint and Young Life Sprint. She set a junior CR at Brewhouse Sprint, where she placed 6th. She finished the month with a 3rd place (1st junior) overall women's finish at Lakes Country.
Mankato teen CARTER DEICHMAN also received serious consideration in this category....
