Natural Bridge Caverns Duathlon - T-REX Course - DuathlonStandard


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San Antonio, Texas
United States
Redemption Race Productions
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 26m 20s
Overall Rank = 26/42
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/3
Pre-race routine:

Woke up early, grabbed a banana, cup of coffee, and ate a spoon of peanut butter. Loaded the bike and hit the road. Arrived at the race site soon afterwards and beat the rush to body marking and check in.
Event warmup:

Light jogging around the parking lot and dropped some weight as I finished my coffee and banana. Met up with Dwight (TXWildcat) and shot the breeze for a minute before we headed down into the cave.
Run
  • 52m 53s
  • 5 miles
  • 10m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off in the belly of natural bridge caverns. This was a really cool way to start a race as we were jogging through underground caverns I thought about native americans that might have done the same thing, or the first explorers that found the cavern. Passing by cave formations that took centuries to create was amazing. Although it was pretty warm and extremely humid inside the cavern. There were sections where for safety and cave preservation you were required to walk, but all in all an extremely cool experience.

It only took a little while, I believe they said about 400 meters before we were above ground. It was kind of funny to hear everyone's Garmins all catching satellite signal as we cleared the cave. We ran alon a lighted sidewalk for a way before finally venturing off onto the course. The course was run on "maintained" caliche roads. I did not enjoy this part at all as it was kind of a mix between a road run and a trail run. Not as unpredictable as a trail run as far as footing goes. However, not nearly as stable as a road course. Add to that the fact that the race started and the first 30 minutes or so of the race was in the dark or poor lighting and it made me a very cautious runner.

Because they were running 4 different races at the same time there were different turnaround points, mine being the farthest out. It was strangely serene and peaceful and after the intial shakeout of the run it was quiet. The natural music of the foot falls, and breathing soon fell into place and I found a good zone albeit slower than I wanted to go.

As I was nearing the run turn around point Dwight was running towards me, and we exchanged encouragement and a high five as we passed. He informed the that "he didn't walk". This was in reference to the nasty uphill section right after the turnaround. Before the race the RD told us that we'd run down a steep section then hit the turnaround water station and then walk back up the hill. He then went on to say "some of you are thinking I'm not gonna walk up that hill, but trust me you'll walk". So the gauntlet had been thrown down.

I made the final turn on the road and saw the steep section of road in front of me. Navigating down it to the turnaround was quite a task and a bone jarring experience to say the least. Hit the water station and headed back. There was a bit of confusion on some runner's parts as a sign for the mountain bike racers was in the middle of the road about 200 meters before our turnaround and some of the racers mistook it for the turn, until I informed them otherwise. I am wondering if anyone made this mistake and shortened their time.

So I head back toward the hill and, I too, did not walk. I ran/jogged all the way up the quad searing elevation change and put a few other folks on the course in my rear view mirror in doing so. Kept on plodding along the rest of the course passed rather uneventfully for me, just keeping a steady pace and picking off a few runners here and there. Was happy to see the end coming at me and tried to switch mindsets for biking.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. Still trying to judge my efforts over longer races as far as pacing goes. My garmin was telling me I was right on a 9:30 pace which is what I was shooting for. Race timing says I had a 10:30 but there were those walk only sections inside the tunnel.

It was a time trial start and judging by my time and others performance I seeded myself just about right. I didn't get passed and passed probably 8 - 10 people who may have seeded themselves a little too high. They probably train in flatter areas.
Transition 1
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

I had a stiff back so I took it easy through transition. No need to hurt myself to save a few seconds in transition that I could end up loosing on the bike course if I'm hurt.
Bike
  • 1h 14m 59s
  • 22.75 miles
  • 18.20 mile/hr
Comments:

I must admit I was a little bummed when they said they had scratched the descent and subsequent climb on Krueger Canyon road. I really thought I would see quite a few folks walking their bikes up that initial ascent.

However, after observing some of my fellow competitors bike handling it was absolutely the best call for that day as the wet conditions would have made for a very precarious descent.

This was an interesting course because all race distances shared 60% of the same course. Even the "cavebear" short course racers were out on the road with us. I saw everything from $2K bikes with aero helmets and deep v wheels to mountain bikes with platform pedals and knobby tires.

I felt like I was making some pretty good time. As a BOP to tail end MOP runner this is usually where I end up picking off a lot of competitors, because I am relatively fast on the bike compared with the speed of runners, or swimmers for that matter, that I usually end up finishing with.

Course was pretty well marked and in good condition. Traffic was light and all was going well. Caught a hellacious case of hot foot on my right foot about 15 miles in but other than that no great discomfort except for the last major climb as we turned for home. It was pretty steep and happened immediately after taking a left turn so you couldn't build up any momentum which is always a problem for us 200+ pounders. Caught a good gear and perservered on up to the summit.

Now as we were entering the park about a half mile from T2, there was one more climb. Nothing too difficult just enough to really put you into spin mode, but I guess it was just the straw that broke the camel's back fro some because as I rounded the turn and started up the hill I saw two or three people walking their bikes up the hill. This little climb was nothing compared to the one we'd finished earlier. But like I said I guess a few folks had relaxed when they made the turn back into the park and running into this hill might have broken their resolve a little. It just suprised me to see so many on foot that close to the finish of the bike.

Credit to them though they just kept keeping on. Whatever it takes.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really I love time spent in the saddle.
Transition 2
  • 02m 10s
Comments:

Back was stiff after spending over an hour mostly in aero. Racked the bike and slowly bent over to put shoes on. Started the jog out of transition. Saw a girl who started to run and said "whoa" and kind of stuck out her arms for balance. I assumed it was her first time to run straight off the bike. We laughed and I said "feels a lot different to run straight off the bike doesn't it..." She agreed and we were off again.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I hadn't trained very hard the previous two weeks because I had tweaked up my back. I gave it as much as I felt comfortable giveing it. I do these races for fun, and so I am happy with respectable times.
Run
  • 15m 3s
  • 2 miles
  • 07m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

Came off the bike feeling plenty energized. I was a little disappointed with my earlier run. Legs recovered quickly from the bike so I decided to push it on the last run.

Saw Dwight out on the course. He was headed in and I was on the way out, one more high five and push it on out. As I said before the course always had plenty of "targets" since the run and bike all shared the same course with people of various distances.

Offered encouragement to those who seemed to not be enjoying their last run and continued to put down a pretty good pace. I was much more confident running on this surface in the daylight than I was in the morning where I couldn't see.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This was my last race of this season. It has been a phenomenal and addictive season. I am already planning out next season and plan to go farther chasing my IM goal.
Post race
Warm down:

Finshed up and checked the timing trialer. Redemption racing always does such a great job. If you haven't run one of their races I reccomend them. Had a delicious sausage wrap, some grapes, and a few other munchies. Dwight pointed me in the right direction to get some coffee. We talked about next year and what we do etc.

Found out that I had placed in my age group, which suprisingly was extremely sparse. But I'll leave that part out when people spot my award of course.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Injury? Lack of training? End of the season malaise? I still had a good time and still am doing more as a result of my participation in racing than I would had I not.

Event comments:

As I said before this is a good race organization. Redemption racing. They mainly do sprint distance events, but I do believe next year they are venturing into an Olympic distance race.




Last updated: 2012-07-23 12:00 AM
Running
00:52:53 | 05 miles | 10m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/3
Overall: 32/42
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back course. Starts out underground and runs through the Natural bridge caverns. Breaks out and onto a 5 mile course over maintained caliche roads. Really steep hill section at the turnaround point.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
T1
Time: 01:16
Overall: Good
Run with bike? Average
Jump on bike? Below average
Getting up to speed and into shoes: Good
Biking
01:14:59 | 22.75 miles | 18.20 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/3
Overall: 24/42
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Large loop course with a little out and back for those of us on the longer course. Was to have a killer climb, but that got scratched due to damp conditions. Still a lot of good challenging climbs to be had. Mostly chip seal country roads.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:10
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:15:03 | 02 miles | 07m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/3
Overall: 26/42
Performance: Good
Course: Same course as the morning run, except now better lit by the daylight. Out to a one mile water station and back home.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5