This was my fifth year racing at Trinona, but my first time tackling the international distance. Known for it’s intense cycle climb up Garvin Heights (1.15 miles with 540 feet of elevation gain at 9.2% grade), the Battle for the Bluff did not disappoint. It was a real kick in the shorts alright. But also a badge of honor to race up a hill that Greg LeMond trained on in preparation for the Tour de France.
Highlights
- Finding strength and confidence on a long swim that would’ve been filled with panic in years past, and cruising to a swim PR by more than five minutes.
- Conquering that monster hill and still averaging 19mph+ across the bike course, even after being slowed to 8mph or less during the mile-long climb.
- Discovering pure joy while riding a new bicycle in its first race, and feeling like I could legitimately hang.
- Winning the mental battle on the run.
- Setting a overall distance PR by more than ten minutes.
Results
|
Trinona – International Distance – June 9, 2019 |
||||
|
Split |
Split Pace |
Age Group Rank |
Overall Rank |
|
|
Swim (0.93 miles) |
00:28:29 |
01:55/100m |
5/14 |
43/155 |
|
T1 |
00:02:00 |
– |
4/14 |
32/155 |
|
Bike (24.85 miles) |
01:17:52 |
19.15 mi/hr |
5/14 |
41/155 |
|
T2 |
00:01:49 |
– |
10/14 |
60/155 |
|
Run (6.2 miles) |
00:44:55 |
07:15 min/mi |
3/14 |
26/155 |
|
Total |
02:35:03 |
– |
5/14 |
32/155 |
Good to see you back and blogging again. I wondered about your marathon but didn’t see your post until now. Doing Lifetime MPLS this weekend? I’ve gotten the bug to go long again. Won’t be this season, but I signed up for a new 70.3 in Des Moines next year and thinking about another marathon. Maple Grove Triathlon is the regional championship this season if you are looking for a good opportunity to get back to nationals (although I think that would qualify you for 2020 and I don’t think they announced who’s the host city is yet. Hope to see you at Nokomis Saturday. Have a great season!
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This will be the first time in three years I’m not doing the MPLS Tri. I was kinda bummed when LifeTime took a step away from USAT last year and also just didn’t feel like spending the money on it this year. It has long been one of my favorite events though — well organized and beautiful course! Good luck tomorrow! I’ll be watching for your blog recap.
Great to hear you’ve caught the bug again this year! I heard about Des Moines being a new event, but didn’t realize until yesterday that it’s the 2020 North American Championship race. I know Ironman events are super well organized, but being a championship race, I can only imagine what the atmosphere might be like. Now I’m thinking about it myself!
I’ll be making a trip to Nationals again this year. Trinona was the Minnesota State Championship race, so I just squeaked in with the 5th place age group finish. I’m also already signed-up for Maple Grove, so hopefully I’ll see you there!
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Well, if you are thinking about Des Moines, better decide soon. Registration has been open 4 days and it is almost sold out.
Won’t be doing MG this year (scheduling conflict).
Good luck at Nationals. I believe it qualifies for Worlds in Edmonton…which is drivable. Ironman Des Moines qualifies for the World Championships…in New Zealand!
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