Du For The Parks

Oh My Gosh!!!!! I want more duathlons! This was challenging, yet so darn much fun. More please!!!!

Unfortunately the next duathlon in Central Arkansas is a 1/2 Iron du that I'm not trained for and can't afford with the coming slowdowns in my job (haul General Motors parts). Had talked myself into it but found out from our dispatcher last Friday that things are fixing to get tight so can't justify the almost $150 entry fee, blech.

Anyway, back to today's duathlon, this was a sprint distance so perfect for the amount of cycling I've been able to fit in this year. This particular sprint du was a 2 mile run/12 mile bike/2 mile run. Nice and fast and you hardly have time to feel the pain before it's over. 2009 was the 10th year for the Du For the Parks in Hot Springs but this is the first year I've been able to do it--last year was sidelined because of the broken clavicle (somebody tweeted that clavicle sounds more serious than collarbone, gotta agree!).

Weather could have been better, off and on rain, warm, and humid. Was talking afterwards about how hard it was to breathe. Guess it's better than hot and sunny--maybe......kind of a tossup in my opinion.

I started in what was probably the third row, not quite close enough to make Vicki happy (sorry Vicki) but close enough for my comfort level. I just don't like getting shoved around :-(. Started out a little too fast but soon settled into a good rhythm, just below the unbearable pace level.

End of run 1, entering the bike corral area.

Run 1 was done in 15:19 (7:40 minute miles), T1 (transition 1) time was 1:05. Need to practice the transition times--the wet socks and gear wasn't any fun to change.

Leaving the cycle area, trying to get the helmet into position. Overall, I'm pleased with my performance here. I haven't been able to get near enough road miles in this year and I'm still adjusting to the new bike. No problems with the pedals, yay! Finally adjusted to them, thought for a while I was going to have to go back to the spd-sl's.

USAT rules are that you must stay 3 bicycle lengths back from the person in front of you and when passing it has to be done in 15 seconds or less. Well, I was mixed in with a group of guys that were up and down in their speeds and it was kind of difficult to keep an even pace at times and follow those rules. What was even more frustrating was when they would slow waaaay down for turns or curves and I would run up on them, grrr. I'm not an aggressive rider in those situations so if you're going slower than me, it's time to work on the handling skills.

Since this was Hot Springs it was slightly hilly for the cycle portion but I only had to drop into the little ring up front for one of the hills so I'm considering that a success, lol. My main slowdown was the turnaround point, it was in the road itself (2 lane) around a cone so since my sharp turning skills are still not up to par on the Xenith this kind of killed me on time. Oh and my feet were soaked by this point, not just damp, but standing water in the shoes wet, ewww. Wasn't able to use the sunglasses I'd brought because I couldn't see out of them, so it was a duck my head down, glance up quick, then back down kind of ride. Don't know why I didn't think to grab the clear glasses this morning.

Cycling time--12 miles in 40:21 (17.8 mph ave.)

T2 time was 52 seconds--hang up bike, throw off helmet, pull off cycling shoes, tug on running shoes--GO!

This is the part I hate, you get off the bike and try to get your legs to move in a somewhat coordinated manner and THEY DON'T WANT TO COOPERATE! My legs were screaming at me and I couldn't seem to get my breathing in any kind of decent pattern, ugh.........It's at this point I'm always asking myself what the hell am I doing this for?! Not that I have a ton of experience at duathlons, this is only my second USAT sanctioned du and the Guys Vs. Gals Cruiser challenge makes 3 total plus whatever brick workouts I manage to squeeze in.

Okay Run 2 plan is just to keep moving at whatever speed I can manage, lol. Ragged breathing, legs feel like stumps, yelling encouragement at the other runners to try and keep my mind off of my own agony. I did manage to reel in a couple of guys during this segment, the only other woman near me was way in front of me and the next one behind me was far enough back that I was pretty sure that I could stay ahead of her. Get close to finish line and could hear the footsteps of one of the guys I'd passed coming up fast and all I could think was uh-uh, not going to happen today, managed to find enough of a kick to keep him behind me, woo-hoo! Run 2 time was 16:38 (8:19 mile pace).

Final time was 1:14:13, 7th place female overall out of 33, 2nd in my age group, took home the 3rd place Female Masters award. The 1st place woman in my age group was 2nd overall with a time of 1:08:20. Before the race it seemed like we were both having to go to the bathroom at the same time so had already struck up a conversation with her. Nice to know that even the faster women have pre-race nervous bladders too!

I think all of the Cabot Cruiser women won awards today! I got 3rd place masters, Debbie was 1st place grand masters, Vicki was 1st place seniors, and Lisa was 1st in her age group. The awards were very nice caps made of tech fabric so I now have a replacement for my uber-stinky Nike cap.