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Bassman Spring Duathlon - DuathlonStandard


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Tuckerton, New Jersey
United States
CityTri
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = 11/22
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4:10. Walked the dog, did a final once over to make sure I had everything and headed over to pick up my Dad who was coming to root me on! Took a peanut butter bagel with me and ate 1/2 on the way and drank most of a 22 oz gatorade. Started raining pretty hard as I walked out the door. Said to myself that can't be a good omen. Surprisingly I didn't feel nervous or anything. Just looking forward to getting the season started.
Event warmup:

Got to the event at 6:30. Was pretty cool and damp feeling. Went and signed in and got my race packet. Decided had time to wait for the bathroom (lines already getting long) and went and racked my bike. They had it set up my your bib number so no real decision on where to rack. After I was all set up and got my Dad settled in the picnic area. Met up with KathyG in the porty a potty line. Was good to finally meet a fellow BT'er! After the bathroom I went to transition and tried to soak it all in. After what seemed like forever the race director called us together for pre-race instructions. Midway through he mentioned to make sure your ankle chip was secured and DOH! Acting like a total noob I neglected to pick one up. Sprinted back to the registration area and picked up the chip. Felt better that there was a few of us who neglected this step. While there decided to hit the facilities one more time. AFter that ran back to the transition area and they were just explaining the the DU would start over at the start/finish line. When we got there the rep for the timing company informed us that he had no idea how the run course was set up right down to which way do we start running! Said great. Going to run 4.25 miles twice I don't really want to add more on top of it by starting out the wrong way. Finally a Tri official came over and explained the beginning portion of the course. With that I was now nervous.
Run
  • 35m 48s
  • 4.2 miles
  • 08m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

My goal on the 1st run was to stay easy and smooth and not raise my heartbeat and empty out my legs as there was still 29 miles on the bike and another 4.25 miles to come! Ended up running with 2 other guys for the 1st 3 miles which made it go by fast. Ended up letting a guy in my AG go even though I could've kept up with him on this 1st leg. Again didn't want to blow it all here.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Ran around 8:00 miles which was about my goal and felt great going into T1.
Transition 1
  • 01m 45s
Comments:

Went in, drank some gatorade and had a little bit of trouble getting my helmet snapped. Got it on the 3rd try. With that headed on out. It was a long walk/run through pretty thick sand so pretty slow going out to the bike start.
What would you do differently?:

2nd time I've had trouble with this helmet so time to get a new one. Run the bike out to the road to save time.
Bike
  • 1h 47m 50s
  • 29.3 miles
  • 16.30 mile/hr
Comments:

The reason why I tried to take it easy on the 1st run was to save my energy for the bike. Seemed to be going great as never fell below 18 mph the 1st 10 miles (other than slowing to go over a slippery bridge about 3 miles in). All of a sudden at around 10 miles I developed a serious cramp in my left calf. Tried to stretch it out and nothing would work. Had to keep my cadence fairly low in order to continue to ride so stayed in a higher gear that I like for most of the remaining 19 miles! At around 20 miles so a woman on the side of the road and she looked pretty banged up with blood and everything. There were 3 people and someone with a car already with her so kept going. Felt a little guilty even though not much more I could've done. Luckily I saw an ambulance about 1 minute later on its way. The rest of the ride was just trying to gut out as good a time as I could without cramping. I still managed to pass more people than passed me but lost any and all hope of winning my AG as lost sight of the one guy ahead of me.
What would you do differently?:

Don't know. The obvious answer is ride more! That's a definite. Have to figure out a better nutrition plan to prepare my muscles.
Transition 2
  • 03m 24s
Comments:

This was a bad one. When I went to dismount my calf went into an instant spasm. This caused me to walk the 100 yards or so to the transition area. When I got there as I went to rack my bike the whole F'in rack started to buckle and fall. I now have my bike in one hand and the rack in my other. 2 other guys who had finished the Tri already came over and helped move out all the bikes to other racks. This cost me a lot of time.
What would you do differently?:

Don't have the rack fall apart.
Run
  • 41m
  • 4.2 miles
  • 09m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off on my run and was feeling ok. Had a good rhythm going for the 1st half mile so figured I could pick it up a bit. Unfortunately my calf said nope and any time I tried to pick up my cadence it told me so. Pretty much ran the same pace the whole time. It actually felt much slower then my clocked time. Got real annoyed right before the 3 mile marker as someone took a shortcut through a trail and cut off a 1/2 mile or so. Why bother even coming out if you're just going to cheat the course.
What would you do differently?:

Be able to run faster. My mind and wind wanted to go, go, go but my leg said no. More time on the bike should help.
Post race
Warm down:

Got my medal and walked over to my Dad to make sure he was ok. I think he must've talked to everyone on the grounds! Grabbed a bagel and drank an extra gatorade I had. Waited around as I finished 2nd in my AG and didn't want to mis an opportunity to get an award!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Cramping and not enough T.I.T.S.! For the beginning of the season I'm still happy with the effort and it gives me some things to shoot for later in the year.

Event comments:

Was a little disappointed in the disorganized beginning to the Du but otherwise there were plenty of helpful volunteers around.




Last updated: 2008-01-18 12:00 AM
Running
00:35:48 | 04.2 miles | 08m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/22
Performance: Good
Course: Very flat with one 3/4 of a mile or so run through a sandy trail. A little confusing as it seemed like we were doing clover leafs and figure eights but between the signs and the volunteers it all made sense.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
T1
Time: 01:45
Overall: Average
Run with bike? Below average
Jump on bike? Average
Getting up to speed and into shoes: Good
Biking
01:47:50 | 29.3 miles | 16.30 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/22
Performance: Below average
Wind: Headwind
Course: Flat with decent space to ride on. Some big potholes you had to watch out for. The bridge about 3 miles in was slippery as a few folks fell on it.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 03:24
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike
Racking bike Bad
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:41:00 | 04.2 miles | 09m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/22
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2008-04-28 7:54 AM

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Master
1639
100050010025
Robbinsville NJ
Subject: Bassman Spring Duathlon


2008-04-28 9:54 AM
in reply to: #1365744

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Master
2235
200010010025
Pacific Northwest
Subject: RE: Bassman Spring Duathlon
Sorry to hear about the cramping--that sucks, but you did good to pace yourself and finish.  Now, the rack falling...that is super annoying!!  They always strike me as pretty close to falling at most races.  You did great, and congrats for 2nd place AG!!  Now on to the next event!!  Yay!
2008-04-28 9:58 AM
in reply to: #1365744

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Master
1817
1000500100100100
Lafayette, IN
Subject: RE: Bassman Spring Duathlon

Sounds like you had a rough day!  Way to tough it out and get to the finish line.

2008-04-28 12:56 PM
in reply to: #1365744

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Champion
7163
500020001002525
Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!
Subject: RE: Bassman Spring Duathlon
Nice job on the hardware especially with all the cramping you had to put up with on the course.
2008-04-28 2:06 PM
in reply to: #1365744

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Master
1639
100050010025
Robbinsville NJ
Subject: RE: Bassman Spring Duathlon
Thanks everyone. I knew the distances were a little aggressive given my level of on the road training up to this point but wanted to test myself to see where I'm at.
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