MN Tri News Coverage

I just thought to check Minnesota Tri News regarding my 2nd place finish at Square Lake Sprint Triathlon last month. Turns out, there's an article about it that mentions me:

Bits from the article:

Only 13-seconds separated the top two men, and the positions would likely have been reversed if the run course were a half-mile longer.

YEP! I would have had him in the run was a bit longer! #Truth

Last year's runner-up and this year's pre-race favorite, SEAN PICKLE, 19, enjoyed a two-minute lead out of the water and after the bike, but four-time Square Lake Sprint podium finisher STEVE STENZEL picked up some seconds coming out of T2 and proceeded to take 30-seconds-per mile bites out of Pickle's lead, but he needed a little more real estate to overtake the two-time Junior of the Year nominee.

But there's a mistake later on while talking about the women's race. It says:

Like Stenzel, she lost ground on the bike portion...

"Like Stenzel?" I had the fastest bike split of the day! I lost NO ground on the bike portion!! I GAINED ground! :)

Anyway, always fun to see my name on MN Tri News!

In case you missed it, here's my Square Lake Sprint Triathlon race report where I thought I might have been the winner for a good 20 minutes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Goldy's Run Results in Run MN

I forgot to post this MONTHS AGO. I always say it's fun finding my name in the results of "Run Minnesota" magazine. That happens if I'm fast enough and/or if the race is small enough. Well, I got my name in there once in the summer 2019 issue:

It was for my top-10 finish at Goldy's Run 10 Mile in April:

3rd in my age group. SIX of the top 12 were in my 5 year age group!

That was a fun race. If you want to see more, here's my race report, a few photos from a friend, some official photos, and more photos (with a good/bad one of me finishing).

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Double Appearance in "RunMinnesota" Magazine

Our Spring issue of "Run Minnesota" from the Minnesota Distance Running Association came in the mail recently:

I always like seeing if my name is in the back under the race results. First I was listed in my age group from O'Gara's Irish Run 8:

And then I had my birthday and ran a race the next weekend. I pushed the boys in the Lake Johanna 4 Miler, and notice now I'm a year older:

Back with a training update Monday.

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A Few "Steve Stenzel's" in Run Minnesota

Our "Fall" issue of "Run Minnesota" came in the mail recently:

I always joke (but kinda mean it) that when I see my name in the back of "Run Minnesota" then the last few months haven't been that bad.

This first listing I missed until I flipped through the magazine for like the 3rd time! I was fast enough to make the OVERALL listings for the Raspberry Run 1 Mile:

And then later in the age group section. This is what I saw first.
It was a week or 2 before I realized I was in the overall listings too!

And then I made the age group listing for the 15K I did with the boys in tow:

FOUR of these guys are YWCA team members (and the top 3 of us were the overall top 3 for our team, so we were the ones that scored points): James, Dan, me, and Jordan! (That's age group places of 5th, 7th, 8th, and 10th.)

I guess the 35-39 age group is where it's at for the YWCA Endurance Sports team!

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My Wife is Famous! (Kare11 Slideshow of Marathon Finishers)

For the past number of years, Ben Garvin (a photojournalist for Kare11 News here in the Twin Cities) has published some awesome finish line photos from the TC Marathon. Here's his slideshow from just a few days ago.

My lovely wife was pictured as #18 on his list of 100 finishers!!

The funny thing is (and to credit what a good photographer can do) my wife and her running partner Haley decided to jump at the finish line. If you watch the finish line video, it's a pretty mis-timed FAIL by both of them, and it's rather sadly funny. But Ben managed to turn that fail into a great shot because he's been honing his skills for years. Oh, and if you watch the video from the "left" in the results, you're actually looking right over Ben's shoulder, and you can see him snap his photo in the foreground as my wife jumps in the distance.

Screenshot from the finish line video with Haley coming down,
my wife going up, and Ben snapping a photo in the foreground.

I Instagrammed the picture Ben took, and my sister-in-law Steph commented "It is just soo good. However she has had 18 years to practice." Good point, Steph! Ha!

Here are a few more of Ben's photos from this year:

Yeouch.










I get swept up in a good "ugly cry."






This is awesome. It would seem he was pushed in a running stroller for the race,
but then his "runner" helped him walk across the finish line himself. Love this!

Congrats finishers! Nice shots, Ben!

Here's my TC 10 Mile race report if you missed it.

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Just BARELY Fast Enough

We recently got the "Summer 2018" issue of "RunMinnesota:"

They had the "TC 1 Mile" results posted in the back. I was JUST barely fast enough to make the last line in the 35-39 age group:

Lots of familiar names above me: Brian B, Nathan C, and James B right in front of me.

My official time was 5:02.7, but they posted the "USATF official" time which was my gun time of 5:04.6. Here was my race report if you missed it. And then I was happy to get back down below 5:00 two weeks ago at the Raspberry Run 1 Mile.

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That Sweet "Hot Dash" Pic in "Midwest Events"

In my Hot Dash 5K race report from March, I shared a sweet photo from the starting line. Well, I just picked up the recent "Midwest Events" magazine...

... and I found that sweet photo featured in their "photo spread" on the inside:

Click here for a larger version of this pic.

Here's a close up of that pic in the magazine:

I still love that pic, and I love that I'm right near in the middle in my pink shorts. Too bad that race just sucked for me...

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"Steve in a Speedo" Featured in a Podcast

A few weeks ago, Coach Kris Swarthout stopped by to interview me for his "Be Better" podcast series.

The Instagram photo that Kris posted outside our house. Charlie's adorable.

HERE'S A LINK to the podcast that you should be able to play from any browser. I believe it's unedited (apart from the added music at the start) - it's just 40 minutes of us chatting about triathlons, family, living in a household with traditionally reversed gender roles, art, and parenthood. And the real reason why I like to wear bright shorts when racing. And how Kris used to stalk Henry (my oldest son) because he was an adorable baby.

I end up gently scolding Charlie a few times (who was in the background watching a DVD with headphones), but Kris left all that in. If you are inclined to think this is cute, jump forward to around the 19:20 mark where Charlie sits on my lap and takes over the interview for 2 minutes.

Thanks for the interview, Kris!

To subscribe or to listen to Kris' "Be Better" podcast on iTunes, CLICK HERE.

To listen to my interview (Episode 15) just off the internet, CLICK HERE. Oh, and (especially if you're a local) check out the previous episode (Episode 14) because Kris interviewed long time Gear West Bike and Tri owner Kevin O’Connor.

* Full disclosure: I haven't listened to most of my interview because I'm awkward and I don't want to hear that. I mainly skipped through it until I found Charlie's part and listen to that while smiling.

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Husband/Wife Team in "RunMinnesota"

We recently got out July/Aug issue of "Run Minnesota:"

I always like to see if I'm in a race that has results printed at the back of that magazine. Well, The Brian Kraft 5K results were back there, but I knew I wasn't fast enough to make the cut with that deep field. But I quickly saw my wife's name from the MDRA Mississippi 10 Miler (with more photos in this post):

With her training/race buddy right behind her!

It wasn't until a week later that I noticed that I *DID* make the cut in the Brian Kraft 5K race results. I wasn't in the "overall" results, but now that I'm in the first "old guy" age group that they publish, I made the cut there:

Look at 10th place in the "open" division above me... sheesh!!

(Remember, I was injured most of last year when I turned 35, so this feels like my first real year in the 35-39 age group.)

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Interview in "RunMinnesota"

We just got our March/April issue of "RunMinnesota" - the magazine published by the Minnesota Distance Running Association (MDRA). The cover shows some MDRA members taking a polar plunge:

And inside is a "Member Spotlight" interview about me!

Here are 2 closer up version that you can actually read. I SWEAR I'M NOT THIS SASSY IN REAL LIFE!! I must have been in "a mood" when I answered these questions...

This week is my spring break, but I'm home with a kindergartener with some bumps on his back (the Doc's not sure what it is, but he said to say home from school for a few days). But now that my Chipotle order has been published, I'm expecting one of you to deliver today...

p.s. I JUST signed up for O'Gara's 8K this weekend! My team scrounged up 4 other male runners, so with me as the 5th, we have a full team and can score points towards the year-long series. I'm NOT going to "race" it - I'll maybe go around 80-90%. I'm nervous running fast with my knee/quad issue. But I suppose I NEED to test it shortly, being it's nearly duathlon season. We'll see how I decide to run it. Back on Monday with a race report!

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Race Results (with the boys) in Run MN Magazine

It's a good month with I get Run Minnesota in the mail and can find my name in the back among the results. The May/June issue recently came, and it has rockstar runner Gloria Jansen on the cover:

I think Gloria and I last chatted before the Securian Run Half Marathon earlier this year.

Since I'm pointing out people I recognize in the magazine, here's multisport buddy Suzie in the Ironman shirt inside:

And here's gym buddy Casey inside the back page in an ad for the "Red White and Boom" Half Marathon:

In the shades.

Anyway, in the "race results" section of this Run Minnesota magazine is the results from the Lake Johanna 4 Mile that I ran with both boys in the stroller. Casey in that last photo was actually out at that race to cheer for Angie who finished RIGHT in front of me and the boys. My boys get no credit in the results:

Click here for my Lake Johanna 4 Mile race report if you missed it. Yes, I finished THAT CLOSE behind Angie, and yes she DID beat me even though we have the same time.

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This Weekend's (Non-Existent) Duathlon

A friend alerted me to a blurb about me regarding this weekend's Cinco Du Mayo Duathlon on Minnesota Tri News. The article is a preview of Cinco Du, and here's the small paragraph about me:

We know who won't win Cinco's Sprint. Two-time champ Stevie Stenzel, who probably hates to be called "Stevie," has a broken body part, thus his spring du season is over before it's starts. Too bad. We're going to miss his flamboyant bike pants. His plaid ones are cool. So are the one's with lightning bolts.

TOTALLY wish I was racing!! This was set up to be my "A-race" for 2016. But I plan on being out there to cheer and/or volunteer. I need to try to not be on my feet much, so we'll see what I can do. Hopefully (at the least) I'll have an album full of photos from some good racing.

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Radio Interview and TV Appearance

In my last post, I showed an icy photo of me after a 15 below long run on Sunday. An hour after I published that post, someone from WCCO Radio was in my dining room interviewing me about running in the cold. Around noon on Monday, this 47 second clip was heard on the radio:

Direct link: https://youtu.be/JM06I8j1ePY

Two things:

First: I like to run about every-other day, but not always "at least 10 miles" like Susie said.

And second: if you turn it up loud for the first 2 seconds, you hear Henry in the background talking to Susie saying "Can I show you a picture of my bird?" He had taken a photo of a bird he made with Legos, and he wanted to show her.

The story appeared on their website too, along with 3:00 of more casual audio. CHECK THAT OUT HERE. It starts with Henry interrupting us which she TOTALLY could have edited out, but I'm sure she left it in because she liked my boys. And it added to the "feel" of me being a part-time stay-at-home DILF.

Here's what the link to the article looks like on their Facebook page:

Note that first comment from a former U of M student of mine. Ha! Thanks Tyler!

The comments on their Facebook post had a lot of people sharing similar photos. And a bit of hate. People called me stupid. Someone said I had "deeper psychological issues." Someone said that my lungs would freeze and I would die and then called me an idiot. Someone else simply commented "idiot," and someone simply commented "dumb." Someone called me a "nerd" (which is true). I'm 100% positive anyone who was blatantly and pointlessly posting negative comments had never tried running below 40 or 50 degrees. (Probably never tried running PERIOD. Oooooh... burn.)

A friend told me this:

Perfect.

Then, later that night (Monday night), I appeared on the evening news. I Instagrammed this photo:

YES I TOOK A PHOTO OF THE TV SCREEN THAT SHOULD NOT SURPRISE ANY OF YOU.

Ian Leonard (the meteorologist) said I had the best twitter name, as one of the news anchors noted that I was wearing more than a Speedo in this pic. Kelcey (one of the anchors) mentioned that I had an entertaining blog. She must have seen a bit of it after I tweeted a pic to her of her running the TC Marathon this past Oct. She's speedy!

Four minutes after that was on the news, I got a text from my Mom that said my Grandma had just called her saying that she saw me on TV and that it was "pretty neat."

My 15 minutes of fame are now officially over.

I have some local race news and some FREE RACE ENTRIES that I'll be giving away soon, so stop back over the weekend or on Monday for that!

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