– Date: June 3rd.
– Description: Sprint Duathlon 2k run – 30k bike – 7.5k run
– Location: Kelso Conservation Area
– Race Name: Milton Triathlon
– Sport: Duathlon
– Race web site: http://www.trisportcanada.com
Last year I didn’t compete in any road Du’s opting instead to stick to the off road Du’s. Unfortunately there is only one off road race in Ontario this year and it only has a 15 km bike, which takes away my strength. I also am not travelling out to BC this year where I competed in an off road Du last year. So my only choice was to hit the road. I wasn’t sure what to expect as the Off Road races have a very different atmosphere than the road group. I also no longer have a tri bike as I needed to replace it and chose to get a traditional road bike instead for it’s greater versatility (I was planning on only doing off road du’s at the time as well). I chose to do Milton as a couple of freinds of mine were looking to do their first Duathlon and this turned out to be an ideal date plus I like sprint races with a 30k bike instead of 20k. We arrived early after dropping of the kids amazed to find a ton of people already there. We ended up having to park a little ways off so took the time to get our gear together before heading down to the transition, so we didn’t have to go back to the car.
After dropping our bikes in the TA we registered and headed to the bathrooms before they got to backed up. After visiting the washrooms we jumped on the bike and headed out for a quick warmup. It was a good thing we did a warmup as Jill was having troubles with her gears skipping that she hadn’t noticed before, so I did a little roadside maintanence. Upon returning to the TA I remembered why I never used to take my bike out for a warmup as someone had parked their bike right on top of my towel. Fortunately he was nearby and we got it sorted out quickly.
After seeing Jill off for the Tri I headed up to the Du start. After a short wait the gun went of and we were off. The 2 km run was along a gravel path which some people didn’t weem to happy about but I had no problems, even wearing my Brooks Burn racing flats. It was turning into a very hot day so I made sure to grab some gatorade at the aid station to get a head start on hydrating. I haven’t been doing much speed work so I was just trying to set a steady pace. I finished the 2k run in 9:32. Not great, but not to bad either. After an average transition I was out on the bike course for my favourite part of the day.
I exited the park on the bike course amid mass confusion. There were people all over the place and I was having some dificulty passing on the left without crossing the middle line. luckily the riders started to stick to the right of the road and it opened up a little more for passing. I started to turn it on and was flying past people. I had a couple people try to keep up with me in this section, as well as a few people try to jump on my wheel. (Drafting was a MAJOR concern in the is race. I saw many people riding in peletons throughout the race and didn’t hear of any stand downs. I wasn’t to worried about it as none of them passed me, but there may have been some ahead of me.) Fortunately I was able to surge and drops these people pretty easily. I felt goo coming up the dreaded sixth line hill I had heard so much about. I looked up and thought to myself, this doesn’t look so bad only 1.5k up. I passed a horde of people on this hill as well and pushed it over the top to keep my speed up. I passed one rider from Blue Bikes who I played cat and mouse with for the rest of the ride. I would pass him and think that I had left him for good only to have him pass me back a little later. We ended up riding in T2 one after the other. I was happy to see Jill looking super strong on the bike when I passed her. She hasn’t ridden as much as she would like becasue of her run training for the Ultramarathon. I felt really good on the bike. It was fairly hilly for a triathlon but what is life without some challenges. I finished the 30k bike in 49:16, good enough for 17th in the DU. (I know I could have dropped at least a couple of minutes with a tri bike to.)
Now for the final run. We came out of transition and headed straight up a gravel hill. The run felt like we were going up hill the all the way to the turn around. I felt like I wanted to walk but wouldn’t let myself. The heat had become stiffling so I drank gatorade and poored water on my head at every aid station. I passed RF athlete Esther Tam at around 3k and cheered her on, she was looking strong. After what felt like running up hill forever we turned around and ran down hill towards the finish. I began to feel a little claustrophobic at this point as most of the races I have been doing (off road dus, trail running and AR’s) you don’t see a lot of other poeple, but I couldn’t seem to get away from people. I would pass poeple and be right up with someone else. At the last aid station I was buoyed by RF athlete Kelly Boucher, who was volunteering, cheering me on. I finished with a strong kick, staying in front of and passing the people racing around me. My time for the 7.5k was 36:15. Again not great, but pretty good for right now. My total time was 1:37:28.
I was pretty happy with my return to road Du’s and I have caught the bug again. I am planning on doing a couple more this year, and hopefully improve my run with some more speed work.
