Race Report
By Roger Hospedales, Team Running Free
Race: Gravenhurst Duathlons (International & Sprint)
Date: Saturday June 9 & Sunday June 10, 2007.
Location: Gravenhurst, Ontario
Description: International Du: 10/40/5 & Sprint Du: 5/20/2.5
Sport: Duathlon
Website: www.multisportcanada.com
Race plan
Saturday’s International Du – Run at Ironman pace, and Bike at a dream Ironman pace.
Sunday’s Sprint Du – Run at the top of my Aerobic zone, push hard on the bike, and run hard as possible in the final run segment if a podium position was possible.
Execution of said plan
International Du:
Ran the first 10 km at the lowest intensity I’ve ever done at a race. My average heart rate was 139. This was largely due to the fact that I was running with my good pal and Team RF member, Angus Kim. We are driving down to Lake Placid together so we spent the time (1:00:57 to be exact) making arrangements and catching up on a few things. It was one of the most memorable runs I’ve ever had but it put me behind the eight ball heading into the bike. I knew I could make up some time but that much? By the way, the run is hilly.
Got onto the bike and started hammering away immediately. The course is rolling and today there was a bit of a breeze out there. While I was not feeling all that great, I was making up ground on the faster runners. I finished the bike in 1:10:29, averaging 34.1 km/hr (5th best overall) and an average Hr of 163. I could only wish I could do that at an Ironman race.
In the final 5 km run, I pushed a bit harder than the first run (HR average of 157), completing the run in 26:19. The overall completion time was 2:39:56, and an overall average HR of 153. So I basically did the race aerobically and still managed 3rd in the 35-39 age group. It started to rain heavily after the race so I quickly got my stuff, some food, said bye to Marc & Danielle (friends I have not seen for 3 years) and headed home.
Sprint Du:
I woke up and did not have any soreness from the day before (racing aerobic will do that for you). I did the normal race prep, and waited for the race it start. The race was a bit delayed due to the start of the Triathlon (waiting for the Steamships to drop off the athletes) so it gave me a chance to warm up a bit more. I got some extra shut-eye this morning and only got to the race site 20 minutes before the original race start.
When the race finally started, everyone just took off. With Ironman Lake Placid being only one week away I was not going to go nuts and be sore for 2-3 days so I kept my HR in the top end of my aerobic zone (Avg. HR of 159) and finished the 5 km in 24:18. I hope this is a sign of things to come in a week from now because this is the HR zone I plan to do the run in. I made the quickest first transition of the day (37 seconds) and was off and riding.
I was more prepared for the bike course today. I attacked early (that section in town is tight and crowded with racers just chillin’ out) and passed a ton of the first run heroes. I completed the bike in 34:59, averaging 34.3 km/hr (Avg. HR of 165) and it was the 6th best bike of the day. I lost some precious time once back in town because I had to wait behind a lot of slower riders until I could get a safe chance to pass them. I once again made a super fast transition (30 seconds—best of the day), and headed out on the final 2.5 km run.
I did a steady tempo and finished the run in 12:06. My finish time was 1:12:28, 14th overall and 4th in the 35-39 age group (3 of the top 4 people in the entire race were from my age group–lucky me). My average HR on the day was 164 bpm. The weather was much better today so I hung out for a bit, talking to Peter Geering for the first time, along with Mike Leader, Eon D’Ornellas (thanks for the Amino Vital drinks), Gord Avann (doing his second Tri) and bunch of others my feeble mind can’t recall.
Other tidbits
During the bike segment on Saturday, some jerk in a cement truck was madly weaving in and out of us. In fact, I was coming around a corner and saw him crossing the center line and coming right at me. Well after making the turnaround and heading back from whence I came, I eventually saw the truck lying in a ditch with cement oozing out of it. Talk about sweet justice.
The race kit was full of goodies. A cool tech shirt, tuna snacks, HSBC Hand Sanitizer, HSBC Sunscreen, HSBC Sore Muscle Balm, Hammer Gel, small Body Glide samples, and a few other things that don’t come to my mind right now. If you live in Markham, it is a shorter (distance wise) to drive to the race via Hwy 48 when compared to the Hwy 400 route, but it takes 10-20 minutes longer due to the speed limit.
This still remains one of my favourite races. This was my first time at this new location (Ironman Lake Placid was on the same date last year) and it this spot is even better. It is a nice waterfront setting, the race is well organized (as usual) and there is a great vibe from all spectators and competitors.
Up next:
Ironman USA Lake Placid on Sunday July 22. After that I’ll likely be at the Bala Falls Tri doing some volunteering and racing again after that at Cobourg.
