The 11 of 2011 – Do a duathlon
The day before race day was gloriously sunny……………picked up my race pack and the heavens opened. Just my luck 😉
One of the goals I had set this week was to complete this race in under an hour, so I was going to be there on that starting line no matter what the weather gods had to say about it!
I had already pulled out of the first race in the series because of really bad weather and I was determined not to let some rain beat me again.
Arrived at the course at 6.30am to find the carpark virtually full already. Although transition wasn’t supposed to open for another 30 minutes they let everyone in, so I headed over to find the perfect spot. I wanted to be near the exit points and on the end of a rack so that It would be an easy transition. I managed to get the end spot at the bay next to the bike exit and at the other end of the row was the run exit, perfect!
Transition Area .. yes it was dark!
After a race briefing and a group zumba warm up (which I skipped in favour of doing some laps and ludus style warm ups) we lined up at the start line. The thing I found most disconcerting is that the first part of the race was through long grass, then the marshall mentioned the hill climb through another park and my heart sank 😉 The first run was 1.5k’s. My plan was to just plod along on the flat, baby steps up the hills and lengthen my strides on the downhill. I figured there must be a downhill if there was an uphill 🙂
I’m glad I warmed up, it made the first run section easier than I imagined. I twitched my calf on the uneven grass, so I just took it carefully. I took it easy till the path that led to the hill climb and at that stage I seemed to get into a groove and it was relatively easy, stretched it out on the downhill section and headed back to transition for the bike leg.
I havent been on my bike in years!
I wasn’t sure how I would do on the bike leg. I hadn’t been on my bike in years, unless you count the 2 minutes I rode it down the driveway two nights prior to race day. Thankfully all those leg workouts are paying off and I put the bike into a low gear and just cycled up a storm! The only parts that slowed me down were the road crossings because they were stopping traffic and the sharp turns in the rain. Although I’m planning on getting my bike serviced before my next event .. I really should have thought about doing it BEFORE I rode it! So two laps of 4.5 ks and then it was back to transition. A quick sip of water and out again for the final run leg.
Wet sneakers, one of my pet hates
Since this section was two laps of the run I had done earlier I knew what was in store, which made it slightly easier to pace myself. The hardest part was getting going after being on the bike, both my quads and glutes were tight from peddling so the run through the grass at the beginning was extra “special”
I’m pretty sure I did the second lap faster than the first because I was more limber and I knew I was on the homeward leg. Although that last hill climb was extra hard because I was knackered by then, but the last downward leg made up for it and then a flat run to the finish line!
I did it and have the medal to prove it!
I came fourth!
Official time 1:01:52 which was broken down as Run 1 – 13:35 Bike – 25:51 Run 2 – 22:26
The first thing I did after crossing the line was down a bottle of water and then straight to the coffee guy for a strong long black, a girl has to get her priorities sorted. 🙂
The highlight? Probably the fact that I didn’t stop the entire time. I may have run pretty slowly in some sections, but I was running.
The lows? The weather and the fact that James and the kids weren’t there, its not quite the same when you dont have a support “team”
Next on the list? Doing the last race in the Auckland series faster than I did this one! Bring on Pt Chev 9th April 2011 .. hopefully being a few weeks out from comp doesn’t leave me too depleted! I want to break that hour mark! 🙂
Till next time
Well done! What an acheivment!!