Tri and tri againRieke wins triathlon,

prepares for more

By JEN SEAVEY

Journal Sports Editor

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nicole Rieke turned away from the Life Time Fitness Triathlon race standings disappointed.

Her goal had been to finish in three hours or make the top ten at the triathlon July 17 at Lake Nakomis in Minneapolis; according to the results, she had done neither.

Rieke didn't find out until she got home and looked online that she had actually won the race.

"I was shocked. I started to cry -- I didn't know what to do," Rieke said. "The first thing I did was call my parents."

Although Rieke lives in Savage and is a senior personal trainer for Life Time Fitness, her parents, Randy and Lola, still live in New Ulm. So Rieke called her parents and told them that she not only made her goal and finished in 3:03.24, she also finished first.

"I smoked all the girls in my category," Rieke said. She finished three minutes ahead of the second-place finisher of the Athena category, which was for women age 16-29 with a body weight of 150 or more. "Weight is only one of several indicators of fitness.

"Women have specific issues with weight: how we think of it, how we gain it and how it comes off," she said. "You don't have to be thin to be fit."

Placing in the top 10 of the Athena category qualified Rieke for the Chicago Triathlon August 27-29. The Chicago Triathlon is a world qualifier for Team Clydesdales/Athena. But Rieke will not be competing in Chicago because she had already committed to two other triathlons that take place just before that.

"I was satisfied with the race time, even though I left the race not thinking I'd made it," she said. She had performed much better than last year, even though the race was longer -- 20 minutes longer.

"I was a lot stronger this year; my endurance was phenomenal," she said. She also changed her training to be lighter on the running and heavier on the weights. Last year, she developed shin splints just before the race. "I was ready for this race. All my hard work and dedication paid off."

The Life Time Fitness Triathlon will make Rieke ready for the slew of races on her schedule yet this summer.

In just 17 days, Rieke will be racing in a half-ironman competition, the Pigman Triathlon, at the Pleasant Creek Recreation Area near Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"After this weekend, with a long bike and a long run, I should be ready," Rieke said. "I've just gotta pace myself, because if I start out too fast, then I'll crash."

The competition includes a 1.2 mile (.93 Kilometer) swim, a 56 mile (40 K) bike ride, and a 14.2 mile (10 K) run.

After that, Rieke will be in the Tri-America Triathlon Series 6 Sunday, August 22 in St. Paul, and the St. Croix Valley Triathlon, International Course, Sunday, September 5 in Hudson, Wisc.