American Zofingen Duathlon Short Course - DuathlonStandard

Wasn't too sure what to wear, but decided I would want arm warmers for the bike, and didn't want to try to put them on wet in T1, so I wore them for the run which proved to be a little hot, but not bad. Wore a short sleeve cycling jersey instead of tri jersey because I wanted my shoulders covered for the ride.

Heavy rain at the start, so the trails were wet but hadn't gotten too sloppy yet. Was wearing my new Saucony Peregrine trail shoes which was a good choice because I felt like the grip was very solid even in the mud.

Really enjoyed this run because I really love running in the rain, plus running through the woods with the rain hitting the leaves was very pretty.

Pace was good and I finished feeling ready for the bike.

Not much. Good run.

No official splits, and I hit stop instead of lap on my garmin so no accurate splits. Felt warm, and even though it was upper 50's I thought it might be cool on the bike, so I decided to put on a cycling vest. Contemplated light tights, but figured it would be too hard to put them on wet, and my legs should be warm enough anyway. Probably took about 2 minutes total.

Nothing

The first part of the road exiting transition is not paved, so with all the rain it was pretty muddy and there is a short but steep down hill which made for some excitement to start the bike.

First climb is very steep and fairly long. I climbed it well, and passed one woman who I knew was doing the race for the first time. I told her not to worry because this was the hardest part of the course. After you get to the top there is a steep and winding descent. It was raining and I am already a chicken descending so I took it pretty slow, riding the brakes, and maybe hitting 30 MPH. So, naturally the woman I had passed flew by me and I was never able to catch her.

The climb up to Minnewaska was long and uneventful, and the rain had stopped, but it was still sort of misting and foggy. Heading back down the other side of the mountain it was very foggy, so I was overly cautious on that descent as well, and got passed by 2 more people.

The rest of the ride went very well including the last hard climb. On the access road coming back into transition I was going a little to fast when I hit the mud which had gotten even muddier and I thought I was going to crash but I managed to keep it upright. Then, trying to climb back up the little hill to transition my wheel was spinning so a little more excitement.

Be less cautious on the descents.

Got to my rack and although I don't use a HR monitor, I could tell my HR was out of control. Probably a combination of the last long climb and the dicey conditions in the last couple hundred yards in the mud. Took an extra few moments to gather myself. Again, no official splits and I had totally messed up my Garmin, but I will estimate somewhere around 2 minutes. I was in no rush.

Nothing

I knew this would be difficult because my bike training has been inadequate, but this was a little harder than expected. Found out quickly that I wouldn't be running much on the steeper climbs, so I decided to "power walk" up the hills and try to run down the hills and use my extra weight to my advantage. The first downhill was actually a little hard because my heart rate and breathing still felt out of control so I was just at a slow jog.

Caught up to one of the people who had passed me on the bike during the hard climb between mile 2 and 3, and we walked together and had a nice chat. Found out after the race that he is friends with the orthodontist that I refer to.

By the time I got to the long downhill around mile 3 I was feeling pretty good and I was able to cruise down the hill at a pretty good pace, putting some space between me and my new friend.

Around mile 4 you get close to the start/finish line and I could smell the hamburgers. Glad I had only a mile to go because I was hungry. Must have been tough for the long course folks to first smell them and then run right by the food and by all the short and middle course people who were already eating and drinking beer.

With all the rain and runners the course had gotten worse for the second run. Almost lost a shoe in the mud a couple of times, and there was one steep muddy downhill where I felt like I was skating instead of running.



Train more on the bike over the Winter.

Changed into drier clothes. Drank some beer, and ate chili and burgers. The beer is kegs from a local brewery, and the food is from a local restaurant. Outstanding!!!!

I hoped to see JohnnyKay come in on the bike, but somehow I missed him. Sorry John! As I was heading to pack up my car, he passed me at the beginning of his second loop of the run. He looked good and strong and ended up finishing the long course in a very impressive 8:45




Don't train enough, and I am not very fast.


A fantastic event! Challenging and beautiful course, great volunteers, and by far the best post race food. Even the short course is challenging, but if I can do it, lots of people can. I am very lucky to live less than an hour aw away, and I will continue to do this race every year.