Tri For Joe Duathlon

My initial impressions of the Tri For Joe go a little something like this: Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy, Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy....and so on and so forth. The official results aren't posted yet, but there are a couple of certainties: I finished 3rd in my division, I pushed through the pain on the final 5K and finished strong, and I took at least 4 minutes off last year's time. Those are enough for me to celebrate a great first duathlon of the year!

Let's break it down:

I was pretty nervous before the race. I wanted to have a good showing for the race and hopefully repeat last year's 3rd place division finish or do better. At the very least I wanted to improve upon last year's time. I got there about an hour early to get a good place in the transition area. Apparently I wasn't the only one, because there were already lots of bike racked up in the transition area. There was still plenty of room, but the end spots were taken, so I was stuck in the middle. I set up my bike, shoes, helmet, etc. then returned to my car to finish getting ready and stretch. I'll do a separate blog on transitions for those of you that are first timers to duathlon/triathlon. It can be the most nerve racking part of the race for a first timer.

It was a cool, but sunny morning that would warm up quickly. I started the race with my race shorts, the wicking shirt I wore for the Flying Pig with my cycling jersey over top for pockets. I couldn't figure out a way to stow a couple packs of Gu that wouldn't involve tossing the empty packs on the ground afterwards, and that's just not cool in my opinion. I'll have to work on that before the next race. It will have to be the least expensive means to take care of the issue. The other extra piece of clothing I started out with were my arm warmers. The nice thing about duathlons is that you go through transition twice. You can ditch clothing as you heat up over the course of the race. I ditched the arm warmers during transition 1 and the jersey during transition 2.

The first run was fast. My goal was to run a 21 minute first 5k, and save some gas for the final 5k. It would be great to be kicking it on the final 5k instead of struggling to maintain pace and fighting cramps. I took off fast clocking in the first mile at 6:34 and the second at 6:17. I pulled it back a little on the 3rd mile and into the first transition to conserve a little bit finishing up at just a bit over 20 minutes. I was feeling good. I was feeling strong. All was good.

Transition 1 was very smooth. Helmet, shoes, bike, and off running out of transition 1 with a smooth jump on to the bike. Hi Ho Silver!!! I used the first couple of miles to settle in. I put on the gloves that were secured to my bike. I took some sips of Gatorade, and some sips of water. Early on I held my pace to between 19 and 20 mph. I did not want to blow myself up on the bike. It was tough letting people pass, but I just had to keep reminding myself that some of these were triathlon, while others I just couldn't keep up with on the bike, and some I would see later in the race. I was certain of that. The course is entirely flat with the exception of a few small inclines. Usually there is quite a bit of head wind on this course, but there was very little wind on today. The race gods were totally with us today. Around mile 7 I ate one packet of Gu and pushed my pace up above 20 mph. I was hoping to keep the pace above 20 mph for the rest of the course. Everything went just as planned. The only bit of concern I had was around mile 12 when I started to feel the twitches in my left calf that indicated the onset of cramps. Luckily they never materialized. Score one for the S! Caps and zero for cramps. I took 2 caps about 15 minutes before the race.

Coming into the second transition I was still feeling good. One more smooth change, and I was off and running...sort of. The twitches were still there as I was leaving transition 2 and getting stronger. I knew that was only a matter of time before they went full blown. I didn't push hard during the first mile and a half. The twitching came in waves getting stronger until....they were gone. Thank goodness, score 2 for the S! Caps and zero for cramps. The rest of the run was a test of determination. I was tired, and had that nagging voice in the back of my head saying, "hey slow down, you've put up a good effort, now just cruise on to the finish." It was at that moment that I knew I had to dig deep. What can I control? My breathing, okay let's do some belly breathing, blow it out, suck it in. Don't gasp, just breathe through it. Relax, starting from the head, down to the shoulders and on down. How is my form? Thumbs up, in a fist that's not too tight, move those arms. For the last mile and a half I was a machine. Pick them up and put them down. There is a runner 20 yards ahead, let's catch them. Okay there is another runner 10 yards ahead try to catch them. It was the strongest finish I've had, and felt particularly sweet after the shambling, cramping, painful finish at the Flying Pig.

Excellent race! Is there anything I could have done differently? I don't know, maybe go faster? Seriously, though if anything I will probably take a couple of the caps with me next time and pop them about mid-race. That might help with those cramps going into the second run. It is a promising start to the season. Now it's time to turn my attention to Deer Creek!