by Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team

Cyman Triathlon (sprint)
750 m Swim, 22.5 km Bike, 5 km Run
Bondurant, Iowa
September 21, 2014

After the Hy-Vee triathlon I was pretty pumped to go out and give Cyman all I had and try for a new PR. My body conspired against me in the week leading up to the race and on the Saturday before the race I was not sure I'd even be up to racing.

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We had three athletes on the Specialized Alias for 2014. They got together and decided to let you know about their experiences. Each has a different story, from their first reactions to the conclusions they drew after a season in the saddle.

Kyle chose this bike for them because the Alias is a road bike that fits closer to a tri bike, so you have the super efficient forward time trial position but on a bike with drop bars like a road bike has. While most people add aerobars to an old road bike, Specialized has added road bars to a tri bike. The Specialized Alias handles like a road bike, but treats the rider to a TT position!

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by Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team

Hy-Vee Triathlon
750 m Swim, 20 km Bike, 5 km Run
Des Moines, Iowa
August 31, 2014

I was apprehensive all week about doing another Olympic race after I imploded on the run at Bluff Creek. I came up with a nutrition plan, I worked with my trainer to improve my strength, and had a few solid workouts in the last three weeks. I also contacted the race officials to see if it was possible to move me from heat 22 (second to last) to something earlier as I was worried the heat and humidity on the run like it has in my other races. I am still getting a handle on doing triathlons with MS since heat causes a flare up of symptoms. The last couple of weeks with the stressors of all things related to my kids starting back to school I have struggled with nearly constant flare-ups in my hands and feet. The race director decided to move me to heat 12 which is a para-athlete heat so they could keep an eye on me.

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by Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team

Bluff Creek Olympic
1500 m Swim, 40 km Bike, 10 km Run
Don Williams Park, Boone County, Iowa
August 10, 2014

Bluff Creek Triathlon at Don Williams Park north of Ogden has been one of my favorite races for a while now. I have done the course twice as a sprint and once as an "almost Olympic." The swim was cut short in 2011 due to water temps being very cold, as the race used to be in May. This is also a very similar course to the one Iowa Games Triathlon used to run in the same park which I did several times before they moved it to Easter Lake.

This was the first Olympic-distance race that I have done in a couple of years for a variety of reasons, so I have to say I was more nervous than usual going into this one. Continue reading →

by Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team

The Iowa Games Triathlon was a late addition to my race list for 2014. I knew I was doing Midnight Madness (road race in Ames) the night before, but decided to go for it. I generally don’t prefer to do sprint triathlons because I like the training challenges related to doing longer Olympic distance races.

This year my perspective has been a little different, since I was not able to race much the last two seasons due to injury. After racing Copper Creek, even though I did not have a goal and had all my “firsts” noted in my last blog, I was not feeling very good about where things were for me this season. In the midst of some emotions last week, my husband reminded me that I do not have to prove anything to anyone, but I felt like I needed to prove something to myself. Copper Creek was my “yeah, I remember how to do this” race, but I still needed to find my way to stronger workouts and a better head space.

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