Sprint Duathlon - Tri for Joe in Cincinnati
In the wake of being rejected for our weekend plans by my boyfriend on Tuesday (the source of a lot of angry noises at the lateness of the decision), I decided to enter a sprint duathlon at the last minute.
I elected for the duathlon because the Tri for Joe at Coney Island is usually well-known for its super-icy pool swim (and I don't own a wetsuit). Last year the water was 56 degrees. Last week was unusually warm, and the water temperature turned out to be 76 degrees for the race, so I'm kicking myself a little bit for not trying the real triathlon.
Anyway, on to the race! The morning started at 4 am, when I dragged myself out of bed to eat a bit and straighten my hair before the race. Yes, I wasted 15 minutes to make my hair easier to put in a ponytail. ;) I had some yogurt and a glass of milk with soy/whey protein powder before leaving for the hour-long drive to the amusement park.
I was surprisingly awake for the drive down through Cincinnati - listening to my iPod, enjoying the sunrise, noting that I will be making most of the same drive every weekday once I start back to school in a few weeks. The drive took about an hour, and I was one of the early arrivals. I got checked in and got the prime spot on the rack in transition - on the end closest to the aisle! Awesome. I had to rack my bike using the tri hook on my saddle, because putting the nose over the bar resulted in my front tire lifting off the ground and the bike swinging precariously on the rack. That's what I get for being a shortie. :o I noted that the rack was a bit wobbly, but set my things up and munched a little bit of a granola bar while I got situated and located a couple other members of the tri club.
After warming up a little bit on my bike to make sure my shifting was still solid after cleaning the bike the night before, I re-racked it and just wandered around for a bit. Since I had arrived at 6 am and the duathlon started at 7:30 am, I had plenty of time to mix some gatorade in my water bottles, use the porta-potties a gazillion times, and guzzle my extra water bottle before the race. The weather was pretty nice, but a little muggy since Coney Island is right on the river. Closer to race time, I set out on a short jog to see the beginning of the run course and then stretched as I waited in the duathlon group at the start line.
The first run is kind of a blur. I remember a lot of people taking off rather quickly, while I had decided I would pace myself since it was my first duathlon and I wanted some legs left for the rest of the race. I picked a couple people to fixate on and just concentrated on staying steady for the first mile of the 5k. I ended up picking a few people off by the halfway point, where I took a walk break for some water. I picked off quite a few more who had raced ahead at the beginning, and continued to pace myself as I got closer to transition.
Transition 1 was smooth, though possibly slow - shoes off, cycling shoes on, hat off, helmet on, bite of granola bar, grab bike, go. I passed a ton of people who had gotten out of the swim (which started 5 minutes after the du) but quickly started getting passed by the speedy people on their tri/time trial bikes. I was averaging 18-20 mph for the first few miles before the first turnaround, and then got blocked in a bit. I had forgotten to reset my computer after warming up (darnit!), but tried to keep my pace around 18 for the rest of the ride. It was a mostly-flat 12 miles, and I passed 5 or 6 people ahead of me on the one uphill. Climbing hills with my boyfriend is starting to pay off, apparently! I pushed it for the last mile or two and came in with an average pace around 18 once my little warmup was excluded. Not too shabby for being conservative. :) I finished a bottle of gatorade while on the bike, and a little bit of my plain water as well.
Transition 2 was a little slower - one of my shoes had been tight on the first run, so I tried to adjust it a little. My legs felt like lead for the first half mile or so of run #2 (I have only done one brick prior, and it had a 15 minute waiting break between bike and run, so probably shouldn't count), but I got loosened up by the time I was to the first water station, a mile in. I stopped and walked at every water station on the second run, partly because both of my ankles were getting pretty ouchy. I managed to pick off most of the people I had made note of being ahead of me on the bike, including one lady in a pink shirt who was rudely wearing headphones in the middle of the lane on the bike and so could not hear anyone announcing their intent to pass. I did manage a decent sprint at the end, and apparently didn't work hard enough through the race as a whole - my breathing and heart rate were back to normal within a minute off hitting the finish line. At least I felt relaxed! I ate half a banana (couldn't finish it) and drank a little bottle of chocolate milk at the finish line, along with a bottle of water.
Following the race, I had to pee immediately. I actually had felt the need to pee after the first run, but it wasn't significant so I had ignored it. I hung around for an hour or so after my finish to see if they would post any results, but apparently the decided not to. So I gathered my things, my bike being one of only two left on the rack in transition. Apparently, my bike was holding up the rack, because when I unracked it, the whole rack fell down (one of the legs at my end had come out). :( I felt like a total loser, but luckily the other bike was a mountain bike and the owner didn't care at all. Whew!
I got packed up and headed home. I had to stop halfway home because of a serious need to pee - I went to the running store that sponsors the tri club to say hi and use the bathroom, and ended up going to a little farmer's market just down the street and buying some dipping oil and italian bread. That was most of my "lunch."
Once I finally made it home, I was tiiired. I ate a bit, got changed (didn't shower since I had to go ride a pony in the afternoon), and passed out for a couple hours. That nap felt awesome, and my horseback ride in the afternoon wasn't bad either. I checked constantly for results last night, but no dice.
Today, I am sore, but not horribly so. I have been using the stick on my legs every hour or so and trying to stay hydrated, but I can't seem to eat enough to keep my stomach from growling. My ankles are both a bit ouchy, so I'm hopefully going to make an appointment with an orthopedist this week. I also need to address the issue of my hands going numb on the bike - it seems to be a bloodflow thing, similar to what was solved by my chiropractor a few months ago, so I suppose I need to head back to him soon as well.
Times were put up just a little while ago, and I was happy to see that I at least won my division in the bike leg, though I was last (out of 4) in the two runs and last overall. Transition times were included in (I believe) the bike and run2 legs, instead of being separated out.
Total time: 1:36:02
Run 1: 25:41 (my previous best was 25:33, so not too bad!)
Bike: 40:25
Run2: 29:55
At least I finished my first race! No major mishaps, no problems with nutrition or hydration, and I felt pretty good by the end of it. I can definitely stand to get faster, but that's a goal for next year.
My next event is an olympic duathlon next Sunday, then my goals are for an Olympic Tri in August and another at Savage Man in September. If I can complete the duathlon next week, I'll at least know I can manage the bike and run legs.. then I just have to work on the swim!
