Pharmie, Henry, and I Were On Triathlete Mag's Website!!

Or, "My 'Tutti Frutti' Shorts Have Been Published!"

Or, "Every Time I Interact with a Wassner Sister, I get on Triathlete Mag's Website."

So.... remember back in July how I made it onto Triathlete Magazine's website? Here's a quick recap:

I was hanging with pro triathletes Laurel and Rebeccah Wassner the night before the Mpls Tri....

.... and then photographer Paul Phillips needed me to help hold up their bikes for a photoshoot:

I THOUGHT I was going to be Photoshopped out, but I WASN'T. So a little bit of me appeared on the Triathlete Mag website:

My hand and Nick's hand on the Triathlete Mag website

CLICK HERE for a few more photos of that fun photoshoot and more on my brief time spent with the Wassner cuties twins.

Fast forward to a few days ago. ANOTHER Wassner sister (Sarah) was going to be writing an article about "triathlon couples." She got my name from Elvis on twitter. She sent Pharmie and I a few questions, and we sent the answers back later that same day. And on Thursday, our interview was online!!

CLICK HERE for the article!

We sent a number of photos to Sarah....

.... but she ended up going with the one from right before I did the LTF Mpls Tri last year:

So that means..... MY TUTTI FRUTTI SHORTS MADE IT ON TRIATHLETE MAGAZINE'S WEBSITE! Ha!

Here are the few interview questions that Sarah sent Pharmie and I to fill out. She turned the following questions into the article, so they ARE different. If you have a moment, you should read BOTH the interview below AND the article on the Triathlete Mag website. Here were our answers:

Name:
Steve Stenzel and Sarah Linder-Stenzel

Occupation:
Steve: College Professor and Photographer
Sarah: Pharmacist

Age:
Steve: 30
Sarah: 31

Where you live:
St. Paul, MN

Triathlon career highlights (PR, titles, etc):
Steve: 4:49 mile, 17:11 5K, 59:05 10 mile, and 2:15 Olympic distance triathlon.
Sarah: Being accepted to Team Evotri in 2010, finishing 2 Ironmans under the cut-off, racing 9 Half-Ironmans, and running 12 consecutive Medtronic Twin Cities Marathons (one while pregnant and one 16-weeks postpartum).

SIDE NOTE: Sarah didn't mention my wife's tri team in her article, so let me just take a moment to say that Evotri is an awesome team full of super people! Also, I forgot to mention helping to start a "Triathlon Club" at the College of Visual Arts! Dang, I could have given my school a little love. (Here's a link to the race reports from the first 4 triathletes to come out the CVA Tri Club!!)

Tell me how you met--was it through triathlon?
Steve: We met in high school, and then I found triathlon through my wife.
Sarah: Oddly enough, I found triathlons by watching the 2003 Life Time Fitness Triathlon on TV. I had run a few marathons by then, and felt that this would be a great new way to challenge myself.
Steve: I cheered Sarah on for a few years, and then with no pressure from her, thought it would be fun to try one of my own. She helped me learn how to swim one winter, and I did my first Oly tri that next summer.

When did you start racing or training together?
Sarah: We were on the Cross Country and Track team in High School together. Steve gave up running due to some nagging injuries, but he still ran with me sometimes in college. We did a couple of road races together before he rediscovered running, and that was the last time I was faster than him!
Steve: I asked Sarah NOT to race with me for my first triathlon. I did the 2006 Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, and I wanted to have someone cheering for me and supporting me from the sidelines, so that's what she did. It made me a lot calmer knowing she was right there for me just off the course. Our first triathlon together was the 2007 Chisago Lakes Half Iron. We were both training for Ironman Wisconsin that year, and the Chisago Half was a good stepping stone.

How often do you race together? And train together?
Steve: We race together a few times a year at road races and triathlons. Usually, Sarah will do a longer distance, and I'll do a shorter distance - I like the TC 10 Mile and she prefers the TC Marathon; I like the Liberty Oly and she likes the Liberty 70.3. Now with a 9 month old son, we've mastered the art of doing "baby intervals" where one of us will watch our son and use that as rest while the other does an interval.
Sarah: Steve has gotten progressively faster, so he can't swim, bike, or run with me anymore. But it's not uncommon for us to both go out for a workout at the same time, so we're out there "together" even though we're not side-by-side.

SIDE NOTE: I failed to mention all of the "Henry runs" we've done together in his BOB Stroller! Like the 40+ miles we logged together this past warm December. (And we went out for a quick 6+ miles on Thursday evening when he NEEDED a nap!)

How does triathlon make you closer?
Sarah: The fact that we both do tris makes us more understanding that the other person needs to get out and get in a workout. Once upon a time, Steve gave me the "you love running more than you love me" speech. But now we know that exercise and triathlon make us better spouses and better parents.
Steve: It's true... I DID once ask Sarah to choose running or me. But now that we're both "addicted" to endurance sports, we both understand that it's important (both for physical health and mental well-being) to get out and put in some miles.

What's the best triathlon-related experience you've shared together?
Sarah: This past June, Steve signed up for a triathlon on my due date. We knew there was a chance that he'd have to miss the race. And sure enough, I went into labor that morning. Second place goes to Ironman Wisconsin 2007.
Steve: ...................

TO READ MY FINAL "SASSY" ANSWER, you'll have to check out the article "Happily Ever After: Meet Four Triathlon Couples" on the Triathlete Magazine's website. I LOVE the way Sarah ended the article! :) (You shouldn't be surprised.)

Thanks for interviewing us, Sarah! And thanks for sending Sarah our way, Elvis!!

Links:
- Click here for more on when my fingers first appeared on Triathlete Mag's website.
- Click here to follow Sarah Wassner Flynn on Twitter.
- Click here to read our interview!

Thanks everyone! Happy weekend! We're off to Henry's 3rd swim lesson!