Sunday, June 12, 2011

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.  







47 comments:

Darlene said...

Congrats - you've got a lot of guts!! I gather it didn't rain - it did on and off here. So whar's up next, Dualthlete!

Kate Geisen said...

You did AWESOME(ly). I'm so proud of you! I knew you'd do well. And most of those people ahead of you were on road bikes, which while they aren't rockets do make a big difference. All the training you put in really paid off. Congratulations!!

Anonymous said...

This is EXCELLENT news! I had a feeling this would be a great experience- you have an affinity for both disciplines!

Unknown said...

I am so glad that you had such a fun experience. Yay!!!!!!

I'm using a 205. They are pretty cheap these days from amazon.com (plus no shipping and no tax). Old school Garmin, but it works!

Anne said...

Yay! So glad it was such a thrill :) Now, I want to do one!! There are a few in my area...so we'll see. If I stay healthy and can do the marathon, I'll probably wait until next year. If I end up training for the half, then I'll definitely consider a duathlon this year. :) But, one day for sure!

mary smith said...

What a great report! Your students will be so happy to hear how well you performed and knowledgeable about this sport. Life continues to be so much fun and you are such a good athlete, enjoying what is offered and excelling in so many ways!
I have the Garmin 610 XT and I love it!

Patrick Mahoney said...

Great report and sounds like you had an amazing experience. You can tell it was fun just by the way you wrote about it.

Excellent that the weather held as well...

Jill said...

YAYYY!!!! I knew right away when I got your text that it was you (sorry, I lost all my phone numbers back in December!) and I could sense the excitement just in the two words you sent me!! You put your two favorite sports together and found a new passion- how cool is that!!?!?! So happy for you, girl.

btw, we have lots of duathlons here in CO!! Come visit!!!!!

Christi said...

Congrats!

Kandi said...

Congrats! So glad it went well for you and you did even better than you had hoped.

Pahla said...

I AM SOOOO PROUD OF YOU!!!! Congratulations on becoming a duathlete!! Sounds like a mighty tough race with all those hills, good thing you trained hard. I'm already looking forward to your next one!!

A Prelude To... said...

I just KNEW you would love it!! I'm so happy you loved it!! Congrats Duathlete!!!!!

p.s. I'm on the second book in that series. It's addicting...

Char said...

Well done! You put yourself out there. Did something new and a little bit scary and you smashed it.

Alisa said...

Yay! So glad you enjoyed a multisport event. You did great. I laughed at your comment about not coming in last, I always think about that too :).

Great work! Can't wait to see you do another.

Average Woman Runner said...

Congratulations on your new accomplishment! Nice job beating your 2-hr goal. Do you think you will do another this summer?

Unknown said...

FUN post, I would have loved the hat tipping as well! Your regular and secret goals and your "WHOLE THING" happy attitude. You rock! Are you on vacation yet?

Paul said...

Super! It all worked out great!
Congrats!

Christina said...

Congrats for your achievement and crossing an item of your to-do list!
I don't know if I will ever have the guts to do something like that.
That story about the man mowing the yard brought a smile to my face. Love it!

HappyTrails said...

We are so proud of you! Sounds like you had a great day all the way around - on the bike and the run - and topped it off by having FUN!!!
Good for you. Jill is right, there are lots of duathlons out here - maybe we need to find you a good reason to head out for another visit.... :-)

Richelle said...

Awesome job on your first du! Have you signed up for another one yet? :)

I really like my Garmin 305, but it's still pretty new. Maybe it will start crapping out on me in a few months' time.

Amy said...

Congratulations!!! Your report made me feel like I was right there with you - and like a duathlon might not be so bad after all. You made it sound really fun!

I am having battery issues with my Garmin too - grrrrr.

Liz said...

Go you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and it sounds as though you did really well on both stages. I wish there were more duathlons around here too - I'd love to try one, but I haven't found a suitable one yet. Great post.

Johann said...

Well done, that is super! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. The next one will be even better.

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Congrats! You did fantastic!

Laura said...

CONGRATS! Awesome job!
I have the 305 ~ almost 3 yrs old and still alive...so far....

Marlene said...

YEAH! Congratulations!!! Nothing to be afraid of afterall. :)

misszippy said...

Congrats! So glad you had a great experience with it and that you'll be back. Sounds like you found the perfect sport to combine your two loves!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! so glad you met all your goals, although fun is the best one!!!

I like my 310XT (the 305 was a lemon). I hope the one you have gets fixed, they're too pricey to not work right!

Emily said...

next stop: triathloning!

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Yay! Sounds like fun! Glad you took off your helmet at the right time!

Ewa said...

My quads were killing me just reading your report. Good job, Andrea. You do realize that not having a racer slows you down several mi/hr so pat yourself (again) on the back - your did great.
I have Garmin 310xt. Bulky- yes, big screen - yes, long battery life -yes (but not 20hrs as advertised), 4 section display - yes. Too many other features to mention.

Molly said...

I knew you were going to love it! Congrats, what a great race!!!!

the guy mowing his lawn cracked me up : )

Briana said...

Inspiring!! I bet it feels good to have achieved your goals for the race. AND I think you have me convinced to sign up for a duathlon in September in Maine! Congrats to you Andrea!

Anonymous said...

Hello,

My name is Gena and I work for a tri store online. I happened upon your blog and was enjoyed reading about your active life! Congrats on the duathlon! I've found those to be harder than tris. Anyway, I am contacting you to see if you are interested in a simple sponsorship. Please let me know at sponsorships@onetri.com. I just wanted to note that you have been selected as you met our specific guidelines. If you are interested just send me a quick note and I’ll send you more details about the potential sponsorship.

Safe and Happy Training :)

racing dawn said...

Yahoooo!! You're a duathlete!!!

Great race report! And awesome finish time!

Christy Ashley said...

Congratulations on a great race! I'm so glad you had fun! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Glad you like it So when's the next duathlon? =)

Cinthia said...

Wow, how cool to enjoy a race so much. Congrats on such an optimistic effort. Made me want to try a duathlon, too, even though my bike is in really poor (ahem, slightly abused by too many mountain roads) shape.
Loved that you counted how many people you passed. It's so much fun to do that!
Happy running/biking,

Teamarcia said...

Congrats A you did a fantastic job! Sounds like such a hard course too. Awesome!

Suzy said...

Congratulations!! It sounds like you had an amazing experience for your first Du. There were a lot of hills from your description, but isn't that the norm in VT? Congrats again.

Anonymous said...

Congrats!! I find that DU's are much more taxing on your legs than tri's. I was humbled after my first DU, that is for sure!

Fran said...

Congratulations! What a great result, I'm so proud of you Andrea. You went out and rocked that duathlon.

I have a Garmin 305 and I still love it but this is my second one. The first had the same problems as yours and just died even when it was fully charged.

Jenn said...

This is an Awesome report!! Congrats on a great race! I'm doing my first duathlon in August and this got me all excited!

Congrats also on meeting all of your goals and having a blast in the process!! YAY on not being last on the bike either! In my track race last week that was my #1 goal-don't be last and when I achieved it, almost as good as being first!!!! Great job!

Lindsay said...

You're probably one of few bikers who passes on a hill :) Lancette? :) Awesome improvement from your training 15-milers! Congrats on your first, and excellent, du!

I have a 405. It's temperamental. If I was getting one today I'd get that new one - 110 I think?

Tricia said...

CONGRATS! youre awesome!

Kate Geisen said...

Yes, I go to the gym to use their free weights. The book does show ways to modify the exercises so that you can do them at home with fairly simple home equipment, though I think some of it may be trickier.

Michael said...

Congrats, congrats, congrats!! So glad the weather ended up being good!!

I use the Garmin 305. It does everything I need it to do.

Karen said...

Congratulations! So glad you had such an awesome experience!