Peterborough Sprint Duathlon

– Date – 7/8/07
– Description – Duathlon (2k/20k/5k)
– Location – Peterborough, Ontario
– Race Name – Peterborough Sprint Duathlon
– Sport – Duathlon
– Race web site – http://www.trisportcanada.com

Pre-Race Commentary

This weekend’s stop on the Subaru Triathlon Series brought some of the areas best long and short course multisport athletes into the secluded city of Peterborough. Both triathletes and duathletes had the option of a short Sprint event or the lengthy ½ Iron Man distance event. As a relative rookie to the sport, I decided to stick to my comfort zone and opted for the Sprint Duathlon consisting of a 2k run, 20k bike and 5k run.

With the ½ IM athletes departing as early as 8:00am, I thought it would be in my best interest to get to town early before the road closures took their effect on traffic. I arrived at the site at 7:00am, almost 2 ½ hours before my event was to hear the starting gun, and there was already a large contingent of athletes in full warm up mode.  

Once I had my schedule for the morning settled and planned out in my head, I was able to relax as I was not rushed to get through registration and warm ups, as per my usual routine. What an incredible feeling that is!  

2k Run Commentary

The run was located on the outskirts of the soccer pitches in the park and we were to run on a grassy surface that had many areas of sandy pot holes so selecting a path to get through these hazards was key. These short starting distances always seem to bring out the speedsters in everyone and pace can be a major concern. With everyone usually going out so fast it is very hard not to get caught up in the rush of things thinking 2k is a breeze and you will have a lot of energy for the bike but it is amazing how much it can zap the body.

As usual, I went out quick with some proven runners to clear some running room but then settled into a comfortable pace not wanting to exhaust myself on the first run this time in an attempt to have a solid bike as that is where I have been loosing many positions lately. Not surprising with the caliber of runners at these events, there was a large group staying just a little back from the three leaders as we hit the 1k turn-around in just over 3 min’s. I put on my blinders at this point and just tried to worry about my race and not who was around, behind or ahead of me. This seemed to work out very well and I did not drain myself and still managed to hit T1 in 6:22, eighth best for the first part of the race.

T1 Commentary

Our racks were very close to the zone entrance which meant a long run in cleats across the grass with a bouncing bike. I would rather run farther into the zone to get to my ride and save the Gatorade that always spills out as I lead my bike to the “Bike On” line. Anyway, a decent transition right up to the mount where I fumbled on the clip in and lost around 30 seconds as my cleats continued to slide off the pedals. I can usually start out even on the backsides of the pedal in the arch of my shoe until I get going and clipped in but it was not working today. I actually lost some spots during this error as there were so many runners just seconds behind me that had a smoother transition.

20k Bike Commentary

I really wanted to push the Cannondale today and leave as much on the road as possible. I was willing to use this strategy and give up a few seconds on the final run as I have a lot of confidence that my legs will eventually get into pace and guide my to a respectable time. Right from the start of the ride I got aero and held it as I passed triathlete after triathlete from the sprint tri section that went out 20 minutes earlier than us for their swim. I quickly got the bike rolling up to a nice speed and started to feed from the confidence of all the passing I was doing as I moved quickly through the crowds of riders. After 5k, I had not been passed (except the riders that got me at the bike mount zone from T1 above) and had even caught a few younger duathletes that had put in great runs. I was now in a zone and was not about to let anyone over take me today. With the 10k marker in sight I was holding strong and was keeping pace with a veteran duathlete that I had slowly crept up on over the past three kilometres. I finally caught him at the tight-turn around and knew he could pace me to a solid ride if I could continue to stick with him.

We continued to move through the thick pack of triathletes together and I was able to make a move up a slight uphill grade to overtake him less than 3k to home base. I had put together one of my finest rides in my short multisport career. I was winded but anxious to get out for the final run knowing a top ten finish was a great possibility.

T2 Commentary

Due to the effort I put out on the bike I wanted to be cautious and not make the blooper highlights for the large crowd hanging out at this spot. I made a clean dismount and then quickly zigzagged through the transition zone to the rack at the other end of the fenced in area. It was a pretty uneventful change, although I could use some work to shave a few seconds in the future, as I left the zone to hit the final 5k route. During the short distance from my bike drop to the gate, I was able to pick up one spot as another gentleman in our race looked spent and had a slow shuffle to the arched marker. I reached the mat first and set my sights on the long line of athletes marching down the field.

5k Run Commentary

Even though I was feeling tired, I knew I had some work to do out here and asked my legs to start turning over as quickly as they could. I was making some good strides past a lot of triathletes (mixed in with us and running the same course and distance) but could feel the breath of someone on my heels. He was there only a minute and then made his move past me. I was not sure at the time what race he was in so I did not want to loose him and I punched it up a gear and hung in there for the next 3k.

We were moving well through the park course, picking off a large number of runners, unfortunately almost all of them were in the other discipline. Looking back as we reached the 4k mark, I could not see any challenges so I decided it was time to make a move on the only runner to pass me during the final run and slowly made my move over the course of 200 metres. I finally cleared some space and had one more runner in mind that I had noticed at the turn back halfway into this portion of the race. At that point in time he was ahead a good 500 metres but the gap had closed and I was ready to make another charge with the race drawing to a close.

The course at the finish area included some turns with large vegetation so I was having difficulty tracking my target and eventually lost all hopes of a finish line pass when a runner going across the bridge in the wrong direction came straight at me and broke my stride. As it took place on a blind bend, due to tree growth, I did not see him coming until we came together. It was only a fraction of a second but just enough of a delay to throw me off the four seconds that would have made a great finish.

Closing Commentary

Although, I placed higher overall in Milton and had very impressive runs in other events on this series, this was probably my most satisfying and best executed Duathlon to date. I ended up with an eighth place finish and my first ever podium on the Subaru Series (3^rd in 30-39 AG).

The location of the event was not driver friendly for parking and traffic in general. Leaving the site for the sprint athletes will need to be re-evaluated to make sure they eliminate the conflict with the ½ IM closing down the roads while the other athletes try to make their way back home. There was an enormous backlog of cars stuck in lineups waiting to get out of the park area. Most people ended up turning off their vehicles as they remained still for such long periods of time. If this is not corrected for next season I would probably skip this event unless I had all day to spend in Peterborough or was brave enough to take the ½ IM challenge. I hope this can be cleared up as I would hate to miss an event for a slight oversight.