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.
No comments:
Post a Comment