The morning had forecasts for thunderstorms, and I left Bethlehem with spitting rain and bad looking clouds. Fortunately things started to look better once I got into New Jersey. There was a very dense fog, but as I got ready for the race, that lifted as well. It looked like we were going to have great weather.
I didn't really know how to prepare for the event, I was asking myself many questions like how do I warm up? How much can I eat on the bike and not cramp on the run? Where do I pin my number? The answer I got to this last question from an organizer was "Well, don't you have a race belt?" I had no idea what that was, so I pinned my number to the front of my suit. Shows how much I knew.
I lined up for the start and decided that my main goal was to stay within myself, and not overdo it on any of the sections. As soon as the gun went off I found myself running along in 2nd place, it felt fast, but I felt comfortable, so I just tried to stick to a steady pace. The first mile split was 5:40. Right before the transition one other guy passed me. I thought that maybe these would be two of the top competitors, but they were apparently in it for only a fast 2 mile, as their bike was 13.4 mph, and they finished in almost the last 2 places.
I lost track of the other duathletes after the first transition, which was just fine, as I was just focusing on running my own race. Our bike leg dumped out into the waves of triathletes that had finished their swims so it was hard to tell who was doing what race, and in which wave. I felt pretty good on the bike, and settled in the 24-25mph range. I held it in a comfortable range, as I knew that the 5k to come would be the real challenge of the race.
I came in to the second transition feeling alright, my legs were tired, but I had been pretty conservative so far. However, that second transition just about did me in. First of all, I had a hard time finding my spot, as the marker I used to find my bike the first time was now on my head (my helmet). I was looking for a pair of running shoes among piles of tri-paraphernalia. Finally I found my two shoes, and hung up the bike. Now things really started to fall apart, I took off both my cycling shoes, got my right running shoe on, and my right calf cramped down hard. I couldn't move my leg, and had to hobble around to find some posts to stretch against. After prying for a bit, I returned to the task of putting on shoes, but it didn't feel right at all. I finally realized that I had put my right biking shoe back on my left foot. That was so totally wrong I had to just stop and laugh. So I finally got two running shoes on the correct feet, and headed out for the 5k.
Wow, that was a tough 5k. My legs felt heavy, my heart rate was much higher then it usually was for that pace, and I felt like I was barely trodging along. No, that isn't a word, but that is what it felt like. I slowly picked up my rhythm, and my legs slowly wound themselves out, but I never felt like I had good foot speed. I just tried to maintain.
I came up to the finish without any extra kick, and crossed the line glad for a chance to really stretch. I spent the next 3 days trying to stretch my legs back out, and by day 4, they finally felt normal again.
Ryan had an awesome tri, taking top honors and posting the only time under one hour. I managed second over all in the du. I was only 25 seconds behind the winner, and I kept wondering where I could have found that extra 25 seconds. How much did I lose in the transition? How slow was my 5k? Those kinds of questions that are useless to ask after the race, but I couldn't help wondering.
A few days later when the full results were posted with time splits, I got some answers. Unfortunately a timing mat missed my first 2 mile split, but by working backwards, I figured that I had a 10:40 2-mile (but then my first mile split doesn't make any sense), T1 of about 0:45 to 1:00, and a bike of about 23.4 mph.
The notable thing was T2, mine was 1:12 and the winner had 0:47, that is a difference of exactly 25 seconds.
I'm still very happy with my result in the du, but seeing what I can work on to improve is definitely motivation for next time. I can also see where those seconds saved with aero gear on the bike can really help. I think I'll take my winnings and buy an aero helmet. I also want to get more running miles before my next du, and practice those transitions to the run, I think I can go faster then a 19:34.
Can't wait for the next one.
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