Wrentham Duathlon - DuathlonOther

Need to spend more time on the bike...


Did my first duathlon of the season. I had to get up at 5 AM and drive 1.5 hours to get there - the entire way down I had that little voice inside me that kept telling me to turn around, go home, and go back to bed. Since it was 40 degrees and raining (and I had only put in 14 miles on my new bike), my "gut" did not sound that crazy on this occassion. In addition, I have never really ridden in the rain...

When I finally got there and got out off the car, I was shocked at how cold it was (yet another reason to turn around!). All this anxiety was festering in me. It had been there for at least a couple of days. Two days before I had contemplated pulling out because my new pedal system and shoes were too "slippery" and not as easy to dismount from as my old SPD style clips. At that point, I had a "heart-to-heart" with myself. Was I really that person who had lost 60 pounds? Had I really become a runner? Even after a season of sprints (and one olympic), could I really consider myself a triathlete? Maybe I was just a slightly skinnier version of the same scared and beaten-down couch potatoe?

No Way!

I went to my LBS and had the old SPD pedals put on. I am not the same. I will not be stopped. I will not quit! If there is an obstacle in my way, then I will remove it!

In the same spirit, I got my chip and bib and set up my TA.

The first leg was just as I anticipated. This was one of those runs where it just felt long even though the distance was only 3 miles. I kept pace with a better runner but for the first two miles but finally had to back off. I met another "master" runner who chuckled that we were dangerously close to an 8 minute split! About 100 meters to go and it started to drizzle...

My transition was slow (my hands were a little numb from the cold) but eventually I got on, clinched my teeth, and starting pedaling. The second turn out of the gate was somewhat steep and I was relieved that my wide turn did not bring me into oncoming traffic. Note-t0-self: this bike turns differently than my Giant did! I had been training on hills so I was not phased by the moderate hills of this course. Actually I was shocked at how easily this Felt climbs. I was actually passing people as if they were standing still. As a clydesdale, I am used to passing people on the way down but passing people on the way up is a new sensation! I rode hard but never really left the safety zone. It was wet and I was still learning the bike. I never left the easy wheel (the Felt has a double crankset). I think my knuckles were white but finishing this leg was very very sweet!

The final leg was uneventful. It was a mercifully quick 2 miler!

Stats were as follows:
1st leg: 24.49 11th in group/187th overall 8:16 split
2nd leg: 37:49 9th in group/139th overall 17.65 avg mph
3rd leg: 17.50 7th in group/176th overall 8:55 split

TOTAL TIME: 1:20:28 10th in group/163rd overall

Not bad...

I really am encouraged by the improvement in my age group as the race progressed, i.e. I finished 11th in the first leg, improved to 9th in the second leg, and finished 7th in my group for the final leg.

But the most encouraging thing about this race is that I did not back down. I pushed way outside of my comfort zone. Maybe I really have changed...