Race Preview: MinneMan Sprint Triathlon

Event: 2010 MinneMan Sprint Triathlon

Date: Saturday, July 3

Location: Lake George Regional Park, Oak Grove, MN

Previous Results: 84th out of 393; 9th out of 25 in the 45-49 AG

Last year, it was this race that finally solved the answer of my swim anxiety moment that I had been dealing with during the 2009 season. Thinking it was the constricting feel of my wet suit, I went into MinneMan with the goal of racing just in my DeSoto speed suit. 100-yards out into the swim...BAM!...the shortness of breath and anxiety hit like a ton of bricks. It was the speedsuit that was too tight across the chest.

I held onto a lifeguards float for a few minutes to compose myself and eventually finished the swim and the triathlon....but my time and placement suffered greatly. Thus, I put this event back on my map for 2010 so I can see what I can really do in what will again be a very stacked 45-49 age group category.

This event is a 0.3 Mile Swim, 13 Mile Bike, 3 Mile Run. My goals:

Swim: 09:14
T1: 2:35 (it is a super long transition from water to bike)
Bike: 35:27 (22.0 MPH). I recall I didn't care for the residential feel of the bike course
T2: 1:30
Run: 20:15 (6:45 per mile pace)
Total: 01:09:01

I'm just starting to run again as my left lower calf/upper Achilles acute injury seems to have transitioned into acute shin splints. It's pure pain right now. As I'll be one weekend out from Cornman....my A-Race for 2010...it will be crucial that I leave MinneMan confident of my running ability and without injury. I still may opt of of MinneMan if I don't think I can run without pain. I need to be ready for Cornman, which is the Midwest Special Qualifier for the USAT Age Group National Championship.

In the News

For those offroad people who were wondering about the XTERRA Pipestem Creek event that I had to pass on, read pro Erin Kummer's race report.

And for those who may have missed it, the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently ran a story on me as part of their "How I Got This Body" series.