I love races that I can sleep in my own bed and eat a leisurely breakfast before heading to the race site. This duathlon is the first in a series of three which are all very close to where we live. As an added bonus, there is $ for the overall winners, and Sheels gift cards for the top 3 in each age group. In 2013 I won the first two, and came in second for the final race to Jen Paul which was the only race of the series that she competed in. For 2014, she's apparently decided to race all 3. Ugh!
Pre-race:
I was up at 5am, had my normal pre-race breakfast, then checked on the chickens before I left. Our Rhode Island Red has been laying soft eggs, which is not good. She had one yesterday, and I found another one this morning. From my online searches, it seems she's not getting enough calcium. And, fellow racer Sara Swanson confirmed it (totally jealous that she has chickens and GOATS!).
When transition opened at 6:30am I was already there. The race doesn't start until 8am, but it's amazing how fast the time goes by. I'm so bad about warming up. I'd much rather talk to friends that I don't see very often then to head out for a warm up. I did manage to get in a few miles on the bike and maybe a mile run.
Run #1 (2.35 miles @ 7:19/mile):
The race starts with a downhill, then flat, then back up the hill. I felt I held pretty steady the entire run. A few women that started out ahead of me I reeled back in by the end. Maxed my HR at the end at 194. Didn't know it could go above 190! I came into T1 as second woman with Jen WAY ahead of me (she averaged 6:28/mile...did I mention she's a runner?).
T1 (0:28):
Good enough for not practicing, but it's really not that complicated anyway.
Bike (18.09 miles @ 21.96mph):
Felt like I had a good effort. Nothing special though. Norm Power numbers for the halves were 192 for both (last year was 184avg). At least I was consistent. Crappy part of the bike was seeing Ian on the ground after being hit by an SUV on the way back to the park. Wasn't pretty. Felt nauseous the rest of the bike thinking about it. Best part though was almost catching Jen Paul.
T2 (0:28):
Good dismount for only practicing once, which was yesterday when finishing up my first outdoor ride of the year. Need to practice getting in my shoes with sweaty feet. But, LOVE my Zoot Kiawe shoes!
Run #2 (3.42 miles @ 7:16/mile):
Jen left T2 just ahead of my and I knew I had no chance of catching her. I was also pretty sure Joanna was behind me and wasn't going to catch me. Still, I ran hard. Not AGN hard, but hard. Start and end to the run is hilly, but flat in the middle. I prefer flat courses...this was not one.
Overall (1:32:29):
I had hoped to break 1:30 (was 1:31:51 last year). Run #1 was 41" faster, bike was 1' faster, but I'm pretty sure (and other's are pretty sure as well) that Run #2 was longer than last year. My second run time was almost 2.5min slower this year.
I'm happy with where I am with my fitness. Really looking forward to adding in a swim to the races. Three weeks until my first triathlon of the season!
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| Women's Overall Podium Joanna Hall (3rd), Jen Paul (1st), and me (2nd) |
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| Men's Overall Podium Tim Doyle (3rd), Daniel Bretscher aka my awesome coach (1st), and Jeff Paul (2nd) |
