FEATURES
The Art of the DNS...
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Wednesday, 01 March 2017 23:10
Four ways to know that sleeping in on race day might be the best race plan of all.
By Meredith Atwood (triathlete.com)
Heading into Ironman Louisville in 2015, I was extremely positive and hoping to redeem myself from the horrific race (albeit a finish) that was my Ironman Lake Placid a few months earlier. I was feeling hopeful, and ready to race. Then I went on a bike ride about 12 weeks prior to race day and I crashed, landing on the same hip that already dealt with labreal tear issues—the result of the crash? I couldn’t lift my leg to get onto my bike. Small detail. (“Well, get on the other side!” Not that easy. Couldn’t really stand on it single-legged either. Quite a quandary.) Still, I pushed on and I was about 50% better. With less than four weeks until race day, I had finally pushed my riding mileage up to what would be somewhat of an acceptable “Hail Mary” ride distance pre-Ironman, and *WHAM*—my car was...
Goin' Halvsies...Updated...
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Tuesday, 28 February 2017 23:10
Recently, a guy asked us to list the Top 10 fastest half Ironman times by amateur Minnesota men and women in the last three years. We were happy to oblige...
Sub-2:15s...
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Monday, 27 February 2017 23:10
Yesterday we talked about the amateur Minnesota men who had distnguished themselves with sub-2-hour Olympic distance performances in the last two seasons. We discussed some of the reasons why there were significantly more sub-2s in 2015 than 2016.
Today we're looking at the amateur Minnesota women who posted sub-2:15 times at Olympic distance. As with the men, 2015 was a faster year than 2016. And as with the men, the tougher conditions at Omaha Nationals was partly to blame. Also, having Worlds close to home in 2015 had a major effect for the women.
What needs to be mentioned here is that, while fast Olympic times weren't as numerous last season, Minnesota's amateur women totally rocked at sprint--check out the Lake Waconia results!--and half IM. We'll be posting about that in the near future.
Sub-2s....
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Sunday, 26 February 2017 23:10
Minnesota's elite amateur men didn't rock in Olympic distance races in 2016 like they had in the previous half dozen years. Let's take a look at that.
As a rule of thumb, sub two hour times define elite amateur performances at this distance, which breaks down as follows: 1500m swim, 37-42K bike, 10K run.
How wide was the disparity in recent years? In 2015, Minnesota male amateurs receorded 21 sub-2-hour performances, with Bennett Isabella (photo L) leading the way with four. In 2016, only nine such efforts were turned in, with Sean Cooley (photo below R) posting one-third of those.
What explains the disparity? Two explanations come to mind. First, several of our state's fastest guys--sub-2 guys--were injured or, for other reasons, did not race in 2016. At the top of this list was Isabella, followed by Devon Palmer, Brian Sames, Nick Nygaard and Larry Hosch.
Second, Nationals was contested in Omaha. Its courses were more challenging than those of the previous five years (Milwaukee and Burlington), and its weather was...
Become a Faster Runner (Without Running)...
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Saturday, 25 February 2017 23:10
By Mark Eller (triathlete.com)
Endurance athletes are a hardworking lot, so the promise of “free speed” often strikes us as empty, and maybe even a touch offensive. However, once you get us talking about improvements we have made in training, gear or diets, we are usually eager to share the discoveries that have helped improve our performances. That’s the goal with this article—to share some well-documented techniques that could help you get faster on the run specifically, beyond the obvious (and undeniably effective) advice to run more miles and train harder.
Wear Lighter Shoes
Researchers have established that reducing the shoe weight by 100 grams typically yields about a 1 percent increase in performance. That’s a pretty big gain that could be...
