Run
Comments: I started farther up the pack than last year, to try to avoid the walk up the first hill. We did walk for a couple of paces, but overall, I was very happy with my placement. I passed a couple of people, but also got passsed by a couple of people, so I think I got my starting position just right. I kept a very fast pace because I didn't want to be too far behind on the bike segment since it included a singletrack section with no passing (more on that later). What would you do differently?: More interval training. Transition 1
Comments: I was very happy with this transition. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Bike
Comments: Took me a couple of minutes to recover from my run effort, so I didn't start off as strong on the bike as usual. I tried to keep the pace as high as I could, as there was about one mile of singletrack which the race director had designated as a no-passing zone. Last year I got stuck behind people who really struggled with the roots and turns and I was determined to try to keep them behind me. I was pretty happy with my placement upon entering the singletrack, but within the first couple of hundred feet, I caught up to two other athletes. They were keeping a decent pace in the straighter sections, but I definitely lost time following them in the twisty, rooted sections. C'est la vie. The rest of the bike was pretty uneventful. I leapfrogged with another rider a couple of times, but once we got onto the paved road, I had the advantage with the cyclocross bike as he was on a mountain bike. What would you do differently?: Train harder for the run so that I have a better position entering the singletrack. Transition 2
Comments: Always freaks me out when I'm waiting until the last moment to dismount and the volunteers are all shouting "slow down", "dismount here", etc, etc. I need to learn to block that out of my head and not second-guess myself. What would you do differently?: More complete mental focus. Run
Comments: I started out of transition very slowly and nearly crawled up the first hill. I couldn't bring my breathing under control and my legs felt very heavy. After I got onto the flat, I was able to catch my breath and pick up the pace a little. Still, I knew I wasn't keeping the pace I wanted, but I just couldn't get my legs to go any faster. I got a burst of encouragement from another runner; she passed me at a pretty good clip and I shouted encouragement to her. She mentioned that I was the one doing pretty good as she was on a relay and only had to do the run. I survived the rest of the run in pretty decent shape. I definitely didn't trip over the roots as much as I did last year, so I think my overall conditioning is improving. What would you do differently?: More bike to run bricks. Post race
Warm down: Walked up and down the road looking for my Mom, who had come to cheer me on. Some stretching. What limited your ability to perform faster: Poor run conditioning. I really need to work on running faster. Event comments: This has become my favorite race of the year. Even though it conflicts with a local cyclocross race, I anticipate doing this duathlon instead of the 'cross race for upcoming years. Very well organized and attended by some very competitive athletes. Before the race, I had figured that I wanted to complete the race in 1:11 or less. I knew that I would have to hustle to make it, but I figured I had a chance. I was a little disappointed that I didn't make my time goal, but I was pretty darn close. Also, I wasn't sure how to note this - there were five women in my age group; the first three were the overall top three women, so my first place in age group is really by default. (Did I mention that this race draws some serious athletes?!) Last updated: 2008-10-11 12:00 AM
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United States
Iron Butterfly Health Club
~45F / 0C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 46/126
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 1/5
Normal breakfast at about 7:15. Arrived at the event about 7:30 for 9:00 start. Set up transition, chatted with a couple other athletes. Hard time deciding what to wear. Went with shorts and tights, short-sleeve undershirt, short-sleeve jersey with arm warmers. Ear band and beanie cap. Full-fingererd gloves for run and bike. I thought I'd be overdressed for the run and slightly underdressed for the bike, but it turned out that I was only slightly overdressed for the second run. Thank goodness I had gone with the arm warmers instead of a full-sleeve jersey...as soon as I started the second run, the arm warmers were pulled down! My head and hands were a little too warm on the second run; I thought about pulling cap and gloves off and throwing them just off the course and coming back for them, but opted to leave them on as it wasn't intolerably hot. All-in-all, good clothing choices.
Went for 15 minute jog (~8:15); one hard effort. LOTS of stretching. One packet of Hammer Gel approx. 8:00; another at approx. 8:45.