Caesar Creek Duathlon

I have gone through a range of emotions when it came to this race. I initially felt disappointment (in myself), then moved to acceptance (with my performance), from there into an appreciation (of how far I've come). The initial disappointment I felt was really in my lack of effort more than performance. I wasn't putting forth 100% during the race. What I came to accept was that I really wasn't feeling 100% that day. I knew it that morning, but my competitive side wouldn't let me accept it until I could put a little time and space between myself and the race. It felt like an excuse, and I hate to make excuses. The fact is though, That acceptance came in the form of knowing that even on very little sleep, and generally not feeling great I still performed well. That acceptance grew into appreciation as I started to compare this race with previous races on this course. I raced this course three times last year and the one time this year. Here is a comparison of the 3 most recent races.

Date	Run 1	Tran 1	Bike	Tran 2	Run 2	Total Time
7/09/2006	24:11	01:23	39:07	01:09	24:42	01:30:33
8/20/2006	23:28	01:17	38:54	01:07	24:00	01:28:48
7/08/2007	22:07	01:15	38:48	01:23	23:54	01:27:26

How can I be disappointed in a a new course record and a steady improvement in my times across the board? The only area where there wasn't improvement was in the transitions. It is also the area that I have worked the least to improve.

I'm not going to go through a play by play for this race. Instead let's play a little game of high/low. I'll pick out one high point and low point from the race, and I'll throw in an important lesson I learned on race day. The low point of the race came fairly early in the race. Somewhere during the 2nd mile I came to the realization that I wasn't feeling that great. It wasn't one thing in particular, just an overall feeling of blaaaaaaaahhhh. It was at that point I just tried to relax and enjoy the race. The high point came early in the second run. As I've talked about in previous entries I have serious problems with leg cramps. I sweat very heavily, and seemed to lose my electrolyte balance fairly easily. I started using the elecrolyte caps and apparently they work. I had no sign of leg cramps at all during the race. It was such a welcome relief during that second run. I was already feeling mentally down and experiencing some minor pains in my back so added leg cramps may have done me in. That definitely makes me think I am on the right track in terms of race nutrition and hydration.

One valuable lesson I learned is to always, always, always take a spare tube, pump and some basic tools with you to the race site. It seems obvious, but it is worth repeating. I had everything packed up on Saturday for the race. I went over my bike to make sure everything looked ready. I went to pull my bike out of the back of the car and there was a flat tire. Luckily I did have the pump and a spare tube with me, so I was able to make a quick change before the race. I can think of many times that I've gone without tools or a pump. That will never happen again.