Desert Classic Duathlon - DuathlonStandard


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Phoenix, Arizona
United States
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 05m 35s
Overall Rank = 61/119
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 12/19
Pre-race routine:

Found out the night before friends visiting from Minnesota would have to get to the airport early to get home before a blizzard. Side trip to the airport at 5:30 AM added a little to the stress I was already experiencing from not racing in 10 years.
Hadn't done any any hill running and did very little biking on hills so I was wondering how I would do with the trail run/rolling hills. I had decent mileage for my level but I knew some of the hills would hurt.
Not too confident going in but told myself to just have fun and run my own race.
Event warmup:

Ran a little. Wondered why I was doing this to myself.
Run
  • 29m 30s
  • 3.5 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

Started out near back of group to avoid being trampled. Ran at my own pace (slow) and let most of the pack run off in the distance. HR was pretty high- about 175- but I felt good and tried to just go with it and hope I didn't blow up. Got a little muddy on the dirt service road. Felt like running with weights tied to my shoes for a while because of the clumps of mud sticking to me. Hills weren't too bad- just a gradual climb. Later on we started to get into some short descents/climbs typical of a trail run.
Felt pretty good the whole run despite my high HR.
What would you do differently?:

Get some more experience with hills. I was pretty much on target with my time and not too much slower than my flat canal runs I'm used too. Only been running consistently for about three months so I was happy.
Transition 1
  • 01m 43s
Comments:

Felt like it went well. Yankz type laces would shave off a little time which would have helped me place a little higher as I would find out later.
What would you do differently?:

Practice a little more and get new laces.
Bike
  • 1h 08m 19s
  • 21 miles
  • 18.44 mile/hr
Comments:

I was looking forward to the bike because this is where I can pass some of the people that left me on the trail. Felt really good coming off the run.
Hills weren't too bad - just a gradual climb in the beginning out of the park where I started passing some people.
The climb once we got back in the park seemed to go on a long time. Not steep but long. Passed quite a few on that section only to be passed by a few on the downhill.
HR was in the 170's the whole time which had me concerned but I still felt good. I did a race here in 2001 and went too hard and paid for it on the second run.
Saw a lot of people with flats and mechanical problems so I was relieved to finish with no issues. Found out on this web site that Elliot- the first BTer I've met- was one of them.

What would you do differently?:

Some more hill training. Be nicer to my wife so I can get a bike from this century with decent wheels to buy a little speed.
Transition 2
  • 01m 19s
Run
  • 24m 44s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt pretty good coming off the bike with just a little of that normal heavy leg feeling. Did well for the first half mile then reality slapped me along side the head as we started to get to some pretty short steep climbs. I can still see the first one that looked almost vertical- joked with one guy I passed about someone's sick sense of humor to put that one there. My legs were starting to feel the effort and I had to force myself to keep running and not walk. I passed a few guys that had passed me on the bike so that was motivation to keep going. Kept looking at the GPS to see how many miles I had left. The last mile was pretty tough and it took a lot to not stop and walk. Couldn't catch my breath. Shortly before the end I saw a guy with a little gray in his hair that I thought may be in my age group but had no age group marking. I tried to catch him at the end but he held me off by 2 seconds- he was in my age group- dang. The yankz laces would have helped me place at least one higher.
My wife said I looked like I was going to die- not too far from the truth. My youngest son had a look of concern on his face. My oldest son wanted to know when we were going home.

What would you do differently?:

Not much. I beat my overall goal time by 5 minutes and ran about 10 seconds faster per mile on the second run than the first run so I paced it really well. I was happy with my time/effort.
Post race
Warm down:

Gasped for air for five minutes. Convinced my younger son Dad was going to live and my older son that we would get home eventually. Walked/hobbled around.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of running prior to training for this race. This race was my motivation to run consistently. I just started three months ago so I can't complain too much.
I should also start to follow some sort of plan to get some consistency in my training.

Event comments:

Nice race and well organized. Just the right level of difficulty for me. Would do it again.




Last updated: 2011-02-21 12:00 AM
Running
00:29:30 | 03.5 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 0/119
Performance: Good
Course: First half mile on road and then on to dirt service road. Followed that for a while and it turned into the trail. Little mud at times but not as bad as I expected.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
T1
Time: 01:43
Overall: Good
Run with bike? Good
Jump on bike?
Getting up to speed and into shoes:
Biking
01:08:19 | 21 miles | 18.44 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 0/119
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Gradual climb in beginning as we left the park and some rolling hills later. Climb that went on for a while once back in the park then some more rollers. The chip and seal road in the park wasn't too bad but there were some parts after the climb before the turn around in the park that made me feel like I was riding a bucking bronco. Made getting up to speed a little interesting.
Road:  Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:19
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:44 | 03 miles | 08m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 0/119
Performance: Good
Course: Trail run with lots of ups and downs- typical stuff. Not too muddy.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4