(St. Paul, MN - August 23, 2009) Seventeen months after his devastating motorcycle accident, St. Paul's Jeremy Sartain is back in the Winners Circle. It was a perfect day a Lake Phalen, mild with light breezes, the water sky blue. And it was a perfect performance by Sartain, who did not simply win the 4th edition of the St. Paul Olympic Triathlon, his amazing 1:51:35 lowered Brett Lovaas' course record by 1:52. Via e-mail, Jeremy (pictured) described his race:
"I’ve had amazingly consistent training the past month, a bit of bad luck at Pigman Half, and finally some fantastic past few nights of sleep after dealing with some fairly significant work woes. All in all, I was set up perfectly for a race in my very own back yard (I live less than a mile away from Phalen). Add to this the fact that Suzie Danner, graduate of the Massage Therapy and Personal Trainer programs at St. Paul College was doing her fist tri (the sprint distance) and I was set up for an eventful day. Suzie has lost over 150 pounds in the past year and a half. She demonstrated today what the human body is capable of and her finish is much more impressive than my result.
"My swim was terrific, evidence of some recent breakthrough workouts with Duane Dobko. I swam on Brendon’s feet and stayed relaxed and focused. My transition was smooth but not fast, but my legs were loving the bike. I had loads of power and simply flowed through the course attacking the hard parts and getting back up to speed very quickly after any climbs. The bike course is deceivingly tough but I know those roads well. I passed everyone within 2 miles and began to build up from there. I wanted to get as much time as possible before the run. The run was beyond my wildest dreams. The course is accurate – I run it a couple of times a week at least with a Garmin. I had the fastest run split and dropped below the 6 minute mile pace (5:45 to be precise) which I can only thank the work of Dr. Josh Sandell and his staff at Spine and Sports whom I’ve been working with the past month to get full range of motion and rid the remaining scar tissue in my leg and pelvis. Although I broke the old course record set by Brett Lovas, I do recall that Brett set that in terrible cold and rainy conditions. It would have been fun to have Brett there today though!
"The bottom line is that today was a huge mental hurdle that I overcame. I won the Tri America version of this race in 2005 – my second tri ever and first win. Today, on the same course, I had my first win since my accident. Today will certainly serve as a launching pad into next season and as a huge confidence booster for Ironman Wisconsin on September 13th. Thanks to everyone who cheered me on. You’re encouragement was not only heard but also digested."
"My swim was terrific, evidence of some recent breakthrough workouts with Duane Dobko. I swam on Brendon’s feet and stayed relaxed and focused. My transition was smooth but not fast, but my legs were loving the bike. I had loads of power and simply flowed through the course attacking the hard parts and getting back up to speed very quickly after any climbs. The bike course is deceivingly tough but I know those roads well. I passed everyone within 2 miles and began to build up from there. I wanted to get as much time as possible before the run. The run was beyond my wildest dreams. The course is accurate – I run it a couple of times a week at least with a Garmin. I had the fastest run split and dropped below the 6 minute mile pace (5:45 to be precise) which I can only thank the work of Dr. Josh Sandell and his staff at Spine and Sports whom I’ve been working with the past month to get full range of motion and rid the remaining scar tissue in my leg and pelvis. Although I broke the old course record set by Brett Lovas, I do recall that Brett set that in terrible cold and rainy conditions. It would have been fun to have Brett there today though!
"The bottom line is that today was a huge mental hurdle that I overcame. I won the Tri America version of this race in 2005 – my second tri ever and first win. Today, on the same course, I had my first win since my accident. Today will certainly serve as a launching pad into next season and as a huge confidence booster for Ironman Wisconsin on September 13th. Thanks to everyone who cheered me on. You’re encouragement was not only heard but also digested."
2009 St. Paul Triathlon Facts:
* Jeremy Sartain's course record win was the 11th of his career.
* White Bear Lake's Brendon O'Flanagan finished 2nd in the Olympic race with a sub-2 hour time (1:58:20).
* Catherine Lee of Minneapolis lowered the women's sprint course record by 4:01. Her time was 1:04:29. good for 9th overall.
* This year's races drew 1013 entrants.
* The women's Olympic race was won by Madison, Wisconsin's Lauren Birkel. Her time was 2:14:15. nudging runner-up Karla Bock, also of Madison, by 13 seconds. Birkel is currently leading her state's Fleet Feet Aquathon Series and won the Capital View Sprint Triathlon earlier this season. She also has strong half IM credentials (PR - 4:49). Bock has been one of Wisconsin's most successful multisportswomen for more than a decade.
* St. Paul's Katherine Schlaefer was 3rd in the Olympic race, just 30 seconds behind Bock. A relative newcomer to the sport, she has been very impressive in her last three outings: 3rd @ Waseca 1/3 IM, 11th @ Turtleman and 3rd here at St. Paul.
* The men's sprint was won by Red Wing's Jesse Nelson. It was Nelson's fifth victory of the season. St. Paul's Anton Pshon finished 2nd and Lino Lakes' Dereck Podratz took 3rd.
