In the first 10 minutes of the kayak stage of the race I knew it was going to be a great day on the course. My stroke was as smooth as it ever had been, the river was running high, and it was a beautiful sunny morning with the mist floating up over the water. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect morning. The kayak section went off without a hitch. I maintained a good stroke the entire trip with only some minor pain in my right shoulder as I got tired toward the end of the run. My goal was to finish it in an hour or under. I got out of the water and clicked my lap button on my watch at 59:29 going into the first transition.
For some reason in all my planning and dreaming I did not even begin to consider the time it would take in the transitions. These aren't the kind of transitions I'm used to for the duathlons, where all I had to worry about were my shoes and helmet. Getting out of the kayak my shoulders were tired my hands were tired from holding the paddle and my legs were wet and stiff. I had brought my own paddle so I had to deal with breaking it down, putting it in the bag changing shoes, zip tieing the bag shut and moving on to the run. It was a completely different experience. It wasn't so bad though, I whipped through it in about 2 1/2 minutes. It is something that I will account for next year and prepare for a little better.
Going into the run I was full expecting some stiff, cold legs after sitting in the kayak for an hour, but much to my delight the transition was smooth and I got off to a good start. I caught my first mile at about 8 minutes and pushed it up for the 2nd mile to 7 1/2 minutes and kept trying to nudge it up as I warmed up and found my stride. It was a beautiful run. Instead of dreading the miles and fighting to keep my stride and pace I found a very natural solid pace and cranked it out all the while keeping an eye on my time and adjusting my pace. I can feel the interval training already starting to work in my favor. I caught Dave, who started 2 minutes ahead of me, at about the 4 mile marker. I was happy to see him doing to so well, because he was concerned that he hadn't done enough training and thought I'd catch him early in the run. After passing him up I started to focus on the task that was coming up, The Hill.
At the end of the run is a Hill, not a Hill but The Hill. This isn't a normal hill you'd run up in any road race, this is a full on hiking trail that goes straight up the side of a steep hill. I'm no expert on grades, or how steep a hill is, but I don't think I'm exaggerating to say it's a good 16% grade or more. I decided to take The Hill like I'd take an extremely steep hill in cycling. I geared down and walked at a quick pace on the up grades. On the flat spots I'd pick it up to a jog, but it was more about conserving energy and making it up with lots of gas for the bike. The goal for the run was 45 minutes. I topped The Hill at 43:26. Absolutely Perfect.
I slowed myself down in the second transition and walked to my bike taking time to catch my breath, take some drinks of water and eat half a banana. It was 3 1/2 minutes well spent. I wanted to be focused and relaxed for the ride. There are a couple of things I'd like for transition next year. I'd like a stool, or bucket to sit on while I change shoes, and a stand to put my bike on. The transition area is in an open turn around where you can either lean the bike on a tree if you get lucky or lay it in the grass. It's not a big deal to lay it down, but I'd like to have my bike upright with the bottles in the brackets and everything ready to go.
I truly underestimated the bike course. For some reason I thought I'd be able to whip through the bike course at close to 45 minutes. What I didn't take into account was headwind, and exhaustion...but mostly headwind. The course is very flat with some rolling hills, so there were no major climbs to sap me, but the rolling hills took there toll and the head wind...suuuuuucked. I was still feeling strong despite these things until the 11th mile when my biggest fear came to fruition. My left calf muscle began to twitch. No, not again. The cramps were coming, and it wasn't a matter of if at this point, but a matter of when. They did come at about mile 14. Luckily it wasn't severe and I was able to coast and stretch and massage them out on the bike. While it didn't put me off the bike it definitely slowed me down. damn.
The race stats: distance: 17 miles avg: 18.6 mph time: 54:46
It was a solid effort and I set the time to beat for next year amongst my friends. I came in a full 10 minutes faster than the fastest time last year and 16 minutes faster than my time. I was all smiles at the end of the race, and plans have already started swirling around for next year.
After I was done I rested grabbed something to eat and drink, chatted with some friends then headed back out on to the bike course...backwards. I decided to ride with Rick the last few miles of his race. I knew he'd appreciate it. I cruised back out on to the course and worked my way back about 4 miles before running into him. I turned and towed him in the final 4 miles to help him finish out strong.
Odo: 1,590.2 miles
Dist: 26.85 miles
Time: 1:57.23
Avg: 13.7 mph
Max: 25.8 mph
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