My First Race - The Sutton MA Duathlon

OK, I'm home from my first event ever. It was a Duathlon in the town of Sutton Massachusetts, run in conjunction with the town's 300th anniversary. Since it's just a bit early to swim up here, and there were no pool facilities in the town, the event was layed out as a 3.1 Mile Run / 10 Mile Bike / 3.1 Mile Run. Here's a rundown of the day as I saw it from a newbie to the sport.

Arrived about 90 minutes before the start. I had pre-registered, so I picked up my goodie bag, which included a neat T-shirt, some Cliff bars, and some gel packs. Cool, I love free stuff! Err, with the $40 entry fee, I guess it can't technically be called "free" but in the spirit of the moment that's how I see it...FREE STUFF! I get my bike of the roof rack, pump up the tires, get it over to the transistion rack, and lay out my shoes and helmet. I talk to another guy who is racking his bike next to mine, he looks about my age. First thing he says is "Hi, how old are ya?" I reply that I'm 55 and in the 55-59 age group. He looks relieved since he is 54 and in the category below mine. I almost tell him that he has nothing to worry about even if he were a year older! I spend the next 30 minutes hemming and hawing about what to wear. The temp in in the high 40's maybe creeping to 50 or so by the time the race finishes. I have my 1-piece sleeveless tri-suit on, and I'd be plenty comfy on the run, but I'm thinking it might be cool on the bike, what with the speed and the wind that is blowing. It's maybe 5 mph, gusting to 10. I decide to wear a polypropylene long sleeve shirt under the tri-suit...it proves to be just the ticket.

Now I look around at the other arrivals. Why does everyone that gets out of a car look like he is 55-59 year old? Is this some sort of pre-race paranoia? I see guys that are probably 23 tops, but in my mind they are 56 and a threat! It's ludicrous! I tell myself, "Listen dummy, just do what you tell everyone on the BBS to do...run your own race, your only competition is yourself." I realize I'm being foolish and I settle down. 10 minutes to go before the start. I need to warm up. I jog around the parking lot and adjacent football field. I know it's not nearly enough, but I can't get myself to go out and run a mile or so. The 1/4 mile I end up doing will have to suffice. We line up...it's a small field, 75 competitors. They were expecting maybe 200, but it's the first year for this event and early in the season too, so I guess 75 will have to do.

The start whistle blows, I press my Forerunner GPS and we are off. Geez, I hate running! I would love someday to do a Triathlon that was swimming, biking, and either knitting, macrame, car waxing, bull fighting, Tae Kwon Do...ANYTHING but running! I'm sucking oxygen in the first 1/2 mile, but we hit a downhill and I start feeling better after mile 1 goes by. I need to warm up better. Of course there is no free lunch, so the downhill is immediately offset by an uphill, and a nasty pitch at that, one which makes SUV drivers put it in 4WD in the winter time. At 1.5 miles a nice lady and little boy are handing out water. I don't need it so politely refuse. The rest of the run goes well, and I come into the transition with a time split of 26:19 which is an 8:17 per mile pace. Post race review tells me I am in 54th place out of 75 entries, and it seems so as I have passed only one guy during the run.

T-1. I swap running shoes for bike shoes, put on my helmet and sunglasses and I'm off. My transition time is 1:13 as taken from the lap feature of my GPS.

I'm off! I like the bike leg! I start passing people in the first couple miles, this is my strong point. In 10 miles I will pass 14 people and gain ground on plenty more. It turns out to be an unusual course. HOLY MOTHER OF !!!!!!!!! Who put this hill here??? I am from a bike racing background, but this hill is incredible and I am on my 39x23 and standing out of the saddle to work my way up it, probably close to a 1/2 mile long. This would bring tears to Richard Virenque's eyes! More like Mont Ventoux or Alp d'Huez in the Tour de France! But I pass two guys near the top, and from the sounds of them when I go by, they are close to needing help from the nearest cardio-pulmonary rescue unit. I plunge down the other side. I am a fearless descender and I go by a woman on a mountain bike at a speed that must have been excruciatingly frightening to her. She is riding the brakes at perhaps 15 mph and my GPS reads 51. It is a wicked hilly course, and unfortunately the fast downhills never completely offset the slow uphills, and my time suffers. I'd do better at a time trial on a nice flat course. One more steep down hill that has a hairpin turn at the bottom. I have both brakes locked to the max to avoid zooming off into the lake at the other side of the turn. Whew...made it! Into transition. My time for the 9.9 miles is 33:44 for an average of 17.6 MPH...not great, but I'll take it. The hills and the wind which has picked up a lot, made it a lot slower that I'd like. But it's respectable as my bike time is the 21st fastest out of 75. Did I say something about the fact that I hate to run?

T-2. I'm in and out with the change of shoes again in only 46 seconds! Woo hoo!

Back on the run. Geez, I hate running! My legs feel like someone has filled them with cement, like I'm running in a giant bowl of molasses. I reach that first down hill and start feeling better again. 3 people pass me, but they would be the only ones now until the finish. I struggle up the uphill section. This time I take water from the nice lady and thank her profusely. The rest of the run goes well, I feel slower than the first run, but the course does not seem as long, probably because now I know what the route is. 1/4 mile from the finish. I had heard someone coming up behind me for the past mile and I expect to be passed again. But I take a quick look back and he is at least a minute behind now, so I won't have someone fighting to get by me at the line. My final run split is 28:51, 2-1/2 minutes slower than my first run, and a 9:09 per mile pace. Geez, I hate to run!

Woo Hoo, the finish! I get 1:30.55 on my watch for a time. I was thinking it would be nice to break 90 minutes, but the hills on the bike kind of messed that up. I'm basically happy with my run, since that part of the course was hilly too.

Oh yeah, I forgot...I finish #1 in my age group! Yee haa!!!! I am undefeated, something that can't even be said by the pathetic Red Sox! The second place guy in my age group is 4 minutes back. I get a cheesy medal and some bike polish, but it is still a wicked cool day, even if I didn't win anything! I am so psyched up, I can't wait for the next one! I need to work on my running, and hope that the bike course will be a bit flatter (and longer) since I can make up ground on people if I have enough time on the bike.

Well, that's my 15 minutes of fame...and here's a photo of one happy guy. Thanks for reading all this, sorry it was a bit long, but I love this web site and you all are such an inspiration to me. This is the start of a new "rest of my life" and it's gonna be a great ride!

Max



Edited by max 2004-04-10 3:07 PM






Attachments
----------------
Sutton 04 006.jpg (97KB - 29 downloads)