another day, another du

So how's about a belated race report from last Sunday's duathlon?  Since I had to return to work later that day after a lovely but way too short week of vacation there was no time to get it done then.  Plus I had an absolutely horrid back to work experience but that's for another post.

Hmmm, what to say........it was very, very, very hot and humid and I had a miserable time.  I'd posted earlier in the week that I just wasn't feeling confident about it and that carried on over into the race itself.  Tossed & turned Saturday night from race nerves and the 0400 alarm sounded entirely too soon.  I'd already had everything laid out and mostly packed so for once we were early.......and when I say we it was actually both of us racing, Vicki had talked James and Kelly (another Cruiser) into teaming up for the duathlon.  James ran and Kelly cycled.  I'm starting to think that is the way to go, lol. 1/2 the work and no dead-ass legs for the 2nd run portion.

Despite being early I only managed to do a spin on the bike to make sure everything was working ok, couldn't get motivated to do a warmup run..........I just got all my gear ready in transition then stood around talking.

Run 1--WTF? The 1.25 miles to the turnaround point didn't seem this long on the bicycle......Probably pushed too hard here but just wanted to get it over with.  19:30 for the 2.5 miles, a 7:48 pace, 30th into transition overall, 2nd female.  Did I mention the heat?

T1--55.2 seconds. Helmet, glasses, shoes! I have new road cycling shoes and these have a latch system instead of all velcro like my last pair, so a bit slower getting in & out of them.

Bike--I completely fell apart here......based on my recent training and last duathlon I should have done so much better.  Just. Couldn't. Go. Fast.  Oh and there's a short but wicked steep hill that we have to go up twice, first time up is right after you start cycling and there are 2 paths that you can take. One is shorter but much steeper and the other, well just isn't as much so, lol.  1st time up I took the shorter route & hadn't shifted down up front, made it up but just barely. It was a stand up & power through kinda thing. 2nd time I shifted down into the small ring & took the longer way up.  Rest of the course is rolling hills which I should have killed but didn't......Absolutely no energy or power. 

I was getting passed by people that shouldn't have been able to.  Finally with 3 miles left I managed to get up enough oomph to speed up and passed a couple of them back.  Got back into transition area and told James that I just didn't have it in me, the cycle was horrible and one of the guys that came in with me said that I looked plenty strong to him.  Nice to hear but just wasn't the case.  12.5 miles in 41:18.2, a 17.9 mph average, 44th overall, 3rd female in.  Not what I should have done.

T2--56.1 seconds.....the shoes slowed me up plus I haven't put speed laces on my racing shoes.  The transition area was also in a gravel area with leaves everywhere so had to pull one of my shoes off then back on to get the debris off my sock.

Run2--ugh, ugh, ugh.........I HATE this part! Can't get your breathing under control and the legs are just completely, freaking DEAD.  My only thought was to just keep moving.....literally that's what I was chanting to myself.  I noticed that one of the guys who always finishes ahead of me was struggling too.  He ended up doing a run/walk and I passed him fully expecting him to regain his legs and zoom past me at any moment.  It never happened though......I managed to not have to walk but oh was it tempting.  21:51.1 for 2.5 miles, 8:44 pace.  Finished this section 40th overall so regained some of the position I lost on the bike.

Final time was 1:24:30.8.  32nd overall and...........3rd place female!!!!!!!!!  Not age group, not masters, but 3rd female overall.  Absolutely miserable race for me but decent finish :-))

I should note that the duathlon itself, the management of it, the Teen Challenge volunteers, etc. was all top notch.  Anything I've said about having a miserable time was all about how I felt and my performance.  Actually the Teen Challenge guys are awesome.  Very enthusiastic and polite, I love how these guys are trying to make an effort with interacting with the racers :-)))).