On June 12-13, 2010 Skip went to DesMoines , Iowa to watch one of the first Blazers compete in the Hy-Vee Triathlon, with the World's richest purse for the pro athletes! It was a whole weekend of racing with kids races on Saturday, an amateur race on Sunday morning and the pro races on Sunday afternoon where the best athletes in the world would compete for part of the million dollar prize purse. Mother Nature had something to say about it though. Strong thunderstorms hounded Iowa all weekend forcing the cancellation of all kids races on Saturday. The same weather threatened on Sunday morning and the Olympic Distance triathlon for the amateur athletes was shortened to a “sprint” triathlon in order to get athletes off the course before a strong cell of storms rolled through around 8:30am. One would think that a whole year of the race director's team was swept away. However, they handled the situation as well as could be expected. There were lots of disappointed athletes but it seemed that most tried to make the best of a tough situation.

Luckily after a few hours of torrential downpour the rain moved out of town setting the stage for the elite races. The women's race blasted off at 12:30p and the men's race at 3:30p and consisted of a 1500 meter swim, 40 kilometer bike and a 10k run. By this time the skies were clear but the air had become warm and muggy making for tough conditions. Emma Snowsill of Australia and Tin Donn of England won their respective races and each took home $200,000 for their efforts. Native St. Louisian Sarah Haskins Korteum lead the main pack for much of the swim and bike portions before coming in to a 16th place finish.

Thanks so much to Sarah and her husband Nate for sharing their time with us. Looking back it is amazing that just a week before this race Sarah was racing a world cup race in Madrid, Spain (how many world class runners would race just a 10k two weeks in a row?) where she finished 5th and now sits 4th in the world cup ranking. Good luck to Sarah the rest of 2010.

Sarah is currently sponsored by: Toyota, Zipp, 1st Endurance, TRY Swimming and Fuji Bikes among many others

Fun Q&A with Sarah:

1. What drives you to compete?

a. I love challenging myself and finding improvements in my mental, physical or tactical skill sets that will help me achieve my goals.  I love the act of racing and going head to head with others.  Ultimately, I want to see improvements in some aspect of my races month to month, year to year.

2. Can you run a 10k faster than you can change a flat tire?

a. I would hope so!  However the greatest thing is I never have to o because Nate does all my bike mechanics work for me and if we are out on a ride and I get a flat, he will change it because I will take way too long.  Fortunately, I have not gotten a flat while riding alone.

3. After 2012, wil l you compete in an Ironman.

a. No planning on it----but, Nate has mentioned that if I ever competed in an Ironman, I will have to learn how to fix a flat in less than 3-4 minutes.  I can see myself competing in a 70.3 distance, but that is as far as I would like to go . I enjoy racing the shorter distances.

4. What cosmetics line do you endorse?

a. Mission Skin Care (athlete specific sunscreen, friction cream, lip balm, Moisturizer, etc.)

5. Is practice harder than racing?

a. At times training can be tougher than racing, especially when you are in the middle of a tough training block and physically drained.  During these times it can be mentally tough to get focused for tough consecutive training days.  Racing is extremely tough, but in a much different way.  When I get to the starting line, I am able to push much harder than any training session.

6. What's the worst you've ever felt after a workout and how long did it take to recover?

a. This is a tough question, because I have had many tough workouts.  I have to say the times I have felt the worst after a workout were because I was not properly fueled or recovered enough going into the workout.  Anytime I am training in temperatures above 100 degree heat index is the worst I have felt during a workout. 

7. What kind of supplements do you recommend for everyday athletes?

a. First Endurance:  Mulit -Vitamin, Opt ygen HP are great supplements and help keep you healthy and lower stress levels

8. Can you do a wheelie on your bike?

a. Probably not, but don't want to crash trying!

9. Can you out swim a shark?

a. Most definitely not (unless I was on a motor boat).  However, if a shark was on my tail, who knows how my adrenaline would make me go!

10. Do you think the NCAA should have triathlon as a competitive intercollegiate sport?

a. I think this would be great to see, but first cycling would have to become an intercollegiate sport as well.   If this happens, I feel triathlon would be right behind and probably the biggest setback is expenses (cycling requires costly gear).

11. What are your lasting memories being an athlete in Elementary school, middle school , High school, and college?

a. Elementary school:  Training for the end of the year track meet in sixth grade every Friday morning at “Run for Fun”.  Junior High (still was back in my day):  Attending my first out of town meet for swimming as I had qualified for regionals   High school:  Winning the 1997 State Cross Country title  College:  Our team winning the 2001 WAC XC Conference Champs in Hawaii

12. What are your ultimate triathlon goals?

a. Medalist at the 2012 London games, win a world championship, win the 70.3 world championship title

13. How long will your pro career last?

a. I plan on racing through 2013 and then would like to start a family.  Who knows after that?  I might get back into racing in my mid to late 30s and race non drafting domestic races.

14. Where's your favorite place for running and biking training?

a. Cycling:  roads without traffic and stop lights!  I love riding at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (as long as it is warm).  Running:  Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs

15. Will yo u ever race Mountain bikes?

a. NO!!  I am not too skilled on the MB

16. How many miles per week do you run?

a. Usually around 35 miles.  Most of my runs are quality since I get additional aerobic training with swimming and cycling.

17. From a pure enjoyment standpoint, if you could only swim, bik e or run which would it be?

a. Either swimming or running….but an exercise activity I will continue down the line will definitely be running b/c of the simplicity of it…just a pair of running shoes and out the door.

18. When you visit Saint Louis where do you bike and run?

a. Castlewood, Queeny Park, My parents storage and driveway (it is an .75 mile hill!).  I ride around High Ridge, Six Flags or out in Chesterfield.  In the winter I am usually on my trainer…I don't like riding when it is colder than 45 out!

19. What is your favorite swim set?

a. Back when I was a swim kid, we would do “obstacle courses” where we would swim a lap free, get out and do 15 pushups, swim back down backstroke, next lap underwater, get out and go off the diving board, then do wall push-ups, vertical kicking.. and repeat.  I was a fun way to break up swimming practice with some cross training.

20. Is there any good way, other than swimming in open water, to become more comfortab le swimming in open water?

a. You can practice in the pool with taking out all the lane ropes, swimming with 10-20 kids pushing off the wall at once and all going around a buoy at the other end of the pool .  You can also practice sighting techniques while swimming in the pool.  It is most important to be comfortable swimming with people close to right on top of you!

21. How much differently would you train if you were not racing draft-legal races

a. I would spend much more time on my TT bike, because I would probably be racing 70.3 races in addition to Olympic non drafting races.  I would also spend more time training at threshold instead of training for surges in the swim, bike and run.

22. After a grueling day of workouts, what's your favorite drink and how do you relax? ie .. coffee by a roaring fire in Winter..etc.

a. In the winter I love to drink hot tea or hot cocoa.  Dad turned me on to “natural cocoa”.  Ingredients:  1 scoop cocoa powder, water, 1 packet stavia ….microwave for 1:45 and ready!

b. In the summer a cold ice smoothie is a refreshing treat.  I relax by watching tv , movies, reading or napping!

23. If you were granted 1 athletic wish what would it be?

a. Tough question, but

i. achievement:  Olympic gold,

ii. attribute: ultimate sprint

24. What has been your favorite country to visit ; and in what country would you like to have a training home?

a. So far it has been New Zealand…the country is beautiful with a bit of everything: mountains, oceans, green pastures, forests…  The food is similar to the US and same language, so you don't have an issue communicating.  As for a training home—either Australia or New Zealand---that way I would have a warm place to train in the winter months in the Northern hemisphere.

25. How many sponsors are requesting your time? Is it a distraction from quality training?

a. It varies depending on the time of the year.  During race season, sponsors know that racing is the number one priority, but sometimes request photo shoots, or interviews, etc.  As long as I don't have to travel too far for a sponsor request, obligations and commitments are not too much of a distraction.  As an athlete, you definitely have to learn to balance your time between training, racing, and sponsor commitments.

26. The kids want to know how fast you were as a 12-13 yr. old in the mile. maybe swimming the 100 and 200 as well.

a. When I was in 6 th grade (12yrs), I set a goal at school to break the 6:00 mark in the mile run and ran 5:57.  When I was in 7 th grade (12-13), I think I swam around a 2:02 for the 200yd. free.  I was always a distance swimmer, so when I was 13, I probably started swimming the 200 and up. 

27. Do you record every workout religiously? And refer back to this log?

a. I was really religious about filling out an online program before I had my husband as my coach.  Now that Nate is coaching me, I give him feedback in person about all the workouts.  In addition, he is training with me during most of them…so I don't feel the obligation to post my workout…although I know it would be beneficial for me to be able to look back at my progress and training in the future.

28. Lastly, what will you and Nate be doing 10 yrs. from now?

a. Living in St. Louis with several children!  We both have thought about coaching; either triathlon , running or swimming.  Who knows, maybe I will be getting back into some longer distance racing  ( 70.3) after having children.