So finally I get around to this post. I think that my feet are actually getting back to feeling decent is allowing me to relive this weekend again. I guess time does heal all wounds.
I awoke the morning of this race feeling pretty decent. A few aches in the legs from the Rum Runner run, but nothing where by I couldn't walk. I ate my traditional prerace breakfast, got dressed and off we went Riverport (we were staying in Lunenburg for the night so the drive to the race was very quick). I was also excited to see my wife racing for the first time in a Duathlon. She too was nursing a sore leg, but was willing to give it a go.
The race venue at Riverport is tight. I like to get there early to get a decent spot on the racks. And I love racking for a Duathlon as it is all minimal. Just a bike and a helmet. I then began to prep my legs and feet with a few easy stretches to warm things up.
After signing in, and having a few chats with some other racers, we all lined up and bam, we were off.
I quickly headed out at a decent pace, though it was a bit fast and I had to settle in. This was a 4km run to start and was dead flat. I had enough juice left in the tank to manage a 3:51 km/min average pace for a 15:24 overall time. Good enough for 7th fastest overall. I had hoped this year to start out with a sub 15 minute first run but with my injuries and the previous day's race, I was happy for sure with my result.
I entered T1 with 2 others and managed to get out of T1 first. My bike mount went well, even with the wet conditions I just took my time, popped up and then slipped into my shoes. Once I was all cinched in and buckled down, off I went.
I managed to catch up to Alan Miner ahead of me quickly, and got by him, but it didn't take long for him and another rider to get back in front. We managed to catch at least 1 more rider on course and pass him, but were passed by at least 1 slower runner.
I felt good on the bike and decided to push it as best as I could, being that it was only a 28 km ride. I decided to stay with Alan and not try to fight him for position, though. He was setting a great pace and I hung back just out of the drafting zone and matched. We came in together and I managed an average pace of 34.6 km/hr for only the 14th fastest bike split of the day, but was in 8th place overall. I did manage to have a faster bike split heading into T2 than Alan did, mostly due to my faster T1.
I also got out of T2 faster than Alan did, but the pain in my heels was setting in and my legs were starting to fade within the first kilometer. Just before half way into the second run Alan passed by me. I decided to not push it at this point as things looked clear behind me. I wanted to finish strong and as long as my ankle didn't conk out on me I would be fine.
I stayed within sight of Alan the whole way, but never was able to pull in any closer. He ended up beating me by a little over 30 seconds. Including T2 time, I managed a rather meager 4:18 min/km pace to finish out the final 4km. My actual run pace was better than that at a flat 4 min/km. So I guess I shouldn't complain, but I should get faster at T2 it would seem.
I crossed the finish line strong in 8th place and went home with the 1st place medal for my age group, Men 30-39. I had an overall time of 1:21:05, a full 5 seconds faster than last year. Well any bit faster is better.
No comments:
Post a Comment