Apple Duathlon - DuathlonStandard

This year instead of the elite wave I entered the AG wave in order to be eligible for qualification for the World Short Course Duathlon Championships to be held in Italy in September. So, I lined up in front and took the lead right off the bat. One guy decided to push the hill early so we let him go. Another guy and myself ran together for much of the race. Whenever I tried to pass him he wouldn't let me, so I said "fine" and just settled into the pace I wanted. At the 2 mile marker he said "I'm getting too old for this stuff". His body marking said he was only 43 so I gave him crap by telling him I was 47 and I'm not too old for this stuff. Headwind was a bitch during the middle of the loop.

Nuttin

Decided not to clip the shoes on the pedals. I want to practice running mount some more on the new bike before I start doing it in races.

Pretty much hammered the whole time. Wind was an absolute bitch the majority of the time. Almost got blown over sideways at one point so really had to hold on to the aerobars tight.

The second run leg is always tough on this course because there's a hill right at the start and its hard to get your running legs back until after you've crested the hill. I gradually picked up the pace but then hit the stretch of headwinds after the second turn. Just before the 2 mile marker I started getting a knot in my right hamstring. I wasn't sure if I had pulled a muscle or was just getting a cramp. In 3 decades of racing I never had any problem like that so I was kind of freaking out thinking "oh shit there goes my season". If I was on a training run I would have stopped to try to stretch it out but I didn't want to give up any time so I kept the legs turning. It didn't get any worse so I figured it wasn't a pull so managed to finish it off.

No warm down. Paid to have my hamstring massaged at the booth they had set up. Spent a lot of time post-race talking with Ben (benihana) and then we went inside for the award ceremony.


Cramp on second run leg.


Apple is always a well run race, with lots of door prizes. Dave actually won the Quintana Roo carbon bike frame in the Gear West prize giveaway. My bike split was nearly 2 minutes faster than last year while most of the top 15 had splits fairly similar to last year. So, the new bike and more bike experience is paying off. Because I took 2nd in my AG I need to decide whether or not to take the slot for the World Duathlon Championships. Luckily we didn't need to make a decision on race day, so we have some time to think about it.