Metlife Duathlon 2008

OK, I'm slowly catching up on posts.

Karl, Jennifer, and I made the long haul to Tinley Park Illinois for the Metlife Du. We've done this race four years in a row, so we couldn't pass it up.
Karl's parents are nice enough to let us stay with them. Lucky for us, they only live 30 minutes from the course.

We made it to the race early, with intentions of getting a good warm up. The course is a 2mi/11mi/2mi, so it's fast from the start. Unfortunately, just as we pulled into a spot, it started to rain. We waited it out, but lost valuable warm up time.
We did manage to get decent spots in transition, so that was a plus. The weather was warm and humid, and if the sun came out, it was going to be brutal.

Karl and I lined up together for the Men's start. I made into a fast group...and we were flying. I checked my watch at the one mile turnaround....5:25. Needless to say, I figured I'd better back it down for the second mile. Karl wasn't too far behind me, and ended up passing me before transition. We were both passed by a guy pushing someone in a wheelchair. I give this guy HUGE kudos for giving it everything he had. I believe he was part of a relay team, but still, an awesome display of drive and determination.

We were on our bikes quickly, and out onto the flat, fast course. I tried to stay with Karl, but as usual he slowly pulled away from me. I rode a steady pace and felt pretty good. No offense to the FIB's, but most of them can't climb to save their lives. No fault of their own mind you.....it's pretty flat down there. I hammered it up and over the only "climb" on the course. (which was actually an overpass) I dropped a half dozen guys right there. Unfortunately, they may not be able to climb, but they sure can run.....

I came out of T2 feeling ok, but definitely not great. I haven't been doing a lot of bricks, and it was going to cost me at this race. I must have lost 6-8 spots on the second run. My legs never really came around, and I had to really gut it out the last 100 yards or so. I probably could have pipped a guy on the line, but I felt a little bad for him, so we came in neck and neck.

Jennifer had good race as usual, but there was some tough competition this year. Her runs are coming along, but her bike was where she put some time into people. I'm not sure how she managed it, but she had a faster bike time than last year....with a lot less training. Go figure. Hopefully she can improve her runs for next year, as I really think a top 3 AG finish is possible.

Here's the lowdown on every one's results, as well as a link to the race site:


Jennifer - Run 1: 17:01 T1: 1:01 Bike: 31:46 T2: 1:05 Run 2: 18:31 Total: 1:09:22
She finished 7/28 women in her age group, and 127th overall (out of 372) Jennifer also had the 7th fastest women's bike time, (20.8 avg.)and the 75th fastest bike time overall.

Karl - Run 1: 13:06 T1: :48 Bike: 27:03 T2: :43 Run 2: 14:16 Total: 55:54
Karl had an awesome race. He's really picked it up this year. He finished 5/39 in his AG, and 12th out of 372. He also had the 3rd fastest bike time overall. (24.4 avg.) Keep it up.....but stay out of the 40-49 AG. I've got a enough competition as it is.

Mark - Run 1: 13:08 T1: :48 Bike: 28:03 T2: :52 Run 2: 15:29 (bummer) Total: 58:19
I had a decent race....right up to my second run. I ended up 6/35 in my AG, and 28th out of 372. Overall I can't complain, it's my own fault for not working those second runs harder. I have a lot of work to do for next year.

Thanks to Karl's parents for letting us hang out at their place, very much appreciated. Looking forward to next years race.

Here are a few pics' courtesy of Karl:



Karl and I heading back in from the first run.



Look really close...behind the guy in the hat...next to the short guy...that's me.



Jennifer's moving so fast...she's out running the shadows.



Here's the view from Katrina's world...she's short...we're tall.



We managed to smile....although it was the first time none of us came home with a medal this year.

The "Great" Evansville Duathlon 2008

Karl and I made the short trip to Evansville to attend, "The Great Evansville Duathlon. "Great" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's definitely "good", of course that wouldn't sound quite right....so "Great" it is.

This is definitely one of the tougher duathlons we compete in, due to the distance....and the hills. The course is 3.1 mi/20 mile/3.1 mi, certainly longer runs than we're used to doing. The weather was pretty warm and muggy, but we were ready to give it a 100%....as usual.

The first run started out pretty quick. Karl and I stuck together for most of the 3.1 miles, with him putting a slight gap on me in the last 1/4 mile or so. Again, no splits, but as I recall we were in around 21 minutes. We were neck and neck heading out of transition, but Karl ramped it up on the bike. I tried to stay with him, but eventually had to settle into my own pace. I rode the Cervelo with a disc wheel, which may not have been my best choice. I love the bike, but it's not the best geometry for climbing.....and there was plenty of that in this race.

The turn around for the bike leg is a pretty steep uphill grind to Magnolia Park. (I'm guessing somewhere in the 9-10% range) Complicating the descent after the turnaround, is a fast right hand sweeper at the bottom of the hill. I didn't have my computer on, but I imagine I was hitting high 30's coming down. I tried to maintain as much speed around the sweeper as possible.....unfortunately half the road had been re-paved. I managed to run wide, and catch both wheels on a 2 inch rise of new/old pavement. Needless to say this caused some issues at that speed. I managed to ride it out without touching the brakes, (remember, this is a race...of course crashing would have really slowed me down) however, I did end up over correcting and ended up riding off road for awhile....still no brakes mind you, that would be crazy. I guess my limited mountain biking time is paying off after all.

After returning my heart rate to something below 200 bmp, I tried to put the hammer down. I kept a solid pace on the way back in, no thanks to the corner guy who gave me no heads up on the traffic situation. ("go ahead, pull out onto the highway...I'm sure it's clear"....dude, that's why you're there) I had a good tailwind for some of the ride back in, and I was making good time. I rolled into transition, but Karl was nowhere to be seen. He's really stepped it up this year, both on the runs, and the bike. The longer the bike leg is, the better he does. Again, no splits, but I think I was pushing 22mph avg.

My second run had me trying to chase down Karl, but to no avail. I haven't been doing a lot of brick work, and I'm really paying for it this year. I must have been passed by a half dozen people....thankfully most of them appeared to be high school cross country runners, so that made me feel a little better....but not much. I was really smoked, and the heat was really taking it out of me. I managed to roll in with an overall time of 1:44:52. Good enough for 13th overall, and 2nd in my age group. Karl had a fantastic race and finished in 1:41:07. He was 9th overall, and 2nd in his age group as well. We went home with our super fantastic "Certificates of Achievement." Yeah, that's right, who needs medals when you can have a COA. I bet no one in Beijing will get a COA....Gold, Silver, Bronze, yes, but a piece of semi-official looking paper that you have to write your own name on....I think not.

Jennifer didn't make the race this year. I may have "accidentally" talked her into doing a women's only mountain bike clinic at the Blackhawk Ski Area. Mountain biking is not Jennifer's favorite pastime, but she gave it a try, and give her all the credit in the world for going. I'll leave the details for her to post later....but I'll warn you up front, there might be a lot of profanity....not to mention a compilation of derogatory comments... possibly directed towards me. I'm not sayin' I don't deserve it....but still....

Here's a few pic's courtesy of Karl, Becky, and Katrina:


Getting things set up in transition


Neck and neck in transition...as usual



Karl accepting yet another COA from the Academy



My very own COA....I'm so overcome with emotion



Karl and I display our COA's, while Katrina contemplates being a tank driver

Here's the link to the race site.

Albany Duathlon

Alright, here's a long overdue race report. I figure better late than never....

Jennifer, Jennifer's parents, Karl, and myself made the trip to Albany on May 24th.
This is a really small local du. The first time for all of us, but it was a good course and well organized. Jennifer's parents were good sports about coming along. I can't imagine watching a bunch of crazies run and bike being on their top 10 list, but we were glad they came along.

The weather was nearly perfect, maybe a little warm, but not much wind. The course was 2/15/2. The first run included a long downhill....unfortunately, it also included the uphill on the way back. Karl and I ran together, he led on the way out, and I took over on the way back. We also had some help from local speedster Tara Sheetz. (and she was racing with an injury...lucky for us, or she would have left us in the dust) I don't recall the exact times, and we didn't get splits, but it had to be around 13 minutes.

Karl and I were out of transition within a few seconds of each other. The bike course included a short out and back, with the bulk of it on a two loop section with a few rollers. I stuck with Karl for awhile, but he eventually pulled away from me. Tara Sheetz caught Karl and the race was on between them. I think Tara eventually pulled a small gap on him, but they both had great times. (I'm guessing somewhere in the 40 minute range...around 23mph avg.) I rolled in 30 seconds or so later. I had a pretty quick transition to the second run. I was slowly gaining on Karl, but just couldn't close it down. Tara was flying and had at least a minute plus on both of us. Karl sprinted in for an overall time of 1:07:41 for 1st in his division, and 5th overall. I was right behind him at 1:07:52 for 2nd in my division, and 6th overall. Tara Sheetz came in at 1:05:45....crazy fast, and 4th overall.

Jennifer had a great race as well. She's not very confident about her runs, but her bike is always fast. I'm not 100% sure of her splits, but she was fast enough to take 1st place in her division, and 2nd fastest women overall. She finished with a time of 1:24:49 and 19th overall. (including the men)

Overall a really fun race that I'd do again in a heartbeat. Very well organized and super friendly people. Good times.

I'll post some pic's when I can find them......