Dynamic Duathlon - LOVED IT!

This woman is a duathlete!

Here are my goals for this race:

I want to have fun. (ABSOLUTELY)

I want to finish. (DEFINITELY)

I want to finish with the feeling that I want to do it again. (FOR SURE)

Here is one of my goals for 2011: CHECK!

15. Secret goal- find a duathlon and race in it! Tell no one as when they see you show up on a mountain bike looking not one bit like a bike racer they may not let you enter! Be prepared to come in last.

I had forgotten I made it a secret goal! 

Here is one other relevant goal:

2. Cross train especially in warmer weather. Don't forget what a friend the bike was to you when your feet failed you! This would be a big fat CHECK too!

I loved this duathlon.  I wish there were more of them.  I DID NOT come in last.  I am very proud of how I did.  It is all relative and I am thrilled. 

THE BIKE

 The bike course has been described as challenging and yeah it was but doable.  It was actually 15.6 not 15.  When I went this distance before hand the fastest I was doing it was 1:13 or so.  Today I finished the bike in 1:05 flat. I was thrilled! (yeah be prepared for me to overuse that word)  I felt like I put a lot into it during the bike.  When we were going up a hill around Mile 2 or 3 I was dead last.  I thought okay but just keep those bikers ahead in your sight.  Well, I did and within the next mile I passed one. I had no idea if I would stay in the "lead" but I did. There was one biker who was friends with a woman I have raced the 100 on 100 with twice.  They were doing this as a team.  She and I passed each other several times.  She would zoom by me on the downhills but I would pass her on the uphills.  I felt like I did okay on those uphills.  Generally when I passed someone that is where it was.  I think there were 3 hybrid bikes total in this race. I was glad I didn't have my mountain bike as I would have been on my own I am sure.  Maybe around Mile 7 I passed a man.  Okay this is good, AJH.  You might not be the last biker.  My "friend" and I switched positions often.  On the last third of the bike course I caught up to and passed a woman.  It wasn't long before she was passing me.  We did this a few times.  The last time I passed her I told her I was sure she would be going by me soon but I stayed ahead of her.  There were many hills, two were particularly steep.  I did a little drinking and eating on the bike but I felt like it really slowed me down when I did.  Soon enough I reached the 15 mile mark and knew I was almost back at the start.  I slowed down to go into the school.  I was so worried about the dismount that I never looked at the clock.  I "racked" my bike (new word for me), ate a little, drank some and headed off to realize I had forgotten my hat (took off my helmet though) and came back to get it.  Then I started again.  As I came around the corner I checked the clock and it was 1:07:12 so I figured I was around 1:05 in the bike. I found out later that is exactly what I was. When results are published the transition is included in the run so pace is a little deceiving.  I did find myself absolutely widely grinning during portions of the bike race! And when I was done I was NOT the last one in on the bike.  

THE RUN

 The run course was also more than 5 miles, I am estimating 5.2.  It was hilly, hilly, hilly. If it was a stand alone race I don't see myself signing up for it.  When I started out I was pleased that I could see some runners. I didn't know how far ahead people were.  The first mile and a half is all up hill.  During the next mile and a half there are some flats but still lots of uphills.  The fourth mile is a little of everything. The fifth mile is a blessedly long downhill and the last section is a path across a field to the school parking lot.  None of the bikers who were behind me passed me (all 3 of them) but I passed 4 runners during the run. I passed them in the first two miles and then I could see one runner quite a ways ahead of me.  Once I got a little farther I was running alone.  It was a strange feeling as I definitely use other runners to give me energy and help me go faster. I felt I did okay staying in the race groove though and not settling into a slower every day run.  This run was slow don't get me wrong, but not as slow as a workout would be for me.  As I ran by one home, a man was out mowing his lawn.  He gave me a big grin and tipped an imaginary hat to me.  I loved it.  I thanked all the volunteers as I so appreciated knowing just where to turn and having traffic stopped way in advance for me so I didn't have to worry about it.  My final time was 1:56:43.  I had thought I would surely be 2 hours plus so I was once again thrilled.  My run time without the transition was somewhere around 49 minutes so somewhere high in the 9s. I'll take it. It was one tough course on tired legs.  

Disappointment

 My Garmin was dead again. One more chance and it is history.  In case that third failure appears does anyone have a Garmin they love?  What model? What features do you love?

I didn't take any pictures until I got home.  I was too nervous and caught up in making sure I was doing what I needed to, I decided not to worry about pics.  

Thrills

 The whole thing!  I am so glad there were some newbies there. I am glad I could see bikers while I was biking. That helped a ton!  I would not have wanted to have been alone. It was very motivating to try to keep up, catch up, pass.  I actually knew a few people.  And the weather  - the rain held off.  The temps were quite perfect.  Once again, the whole thing.

The swag - pretty basic.