Peterborough 1/2 IM Du

– Date – 7/6/08
– Description – Duathlon (2k/90k/21.1k)
– Location – Peterborough, Ontario
– Race Name – Peterborough 1/2 IM Duathlon
– Sport – Duathlon
– Race web site – http://www.trisportcanada.com

An early wakeup call started this day off as I decided to stay at home for the weekend and travel to Peterborough the morning of the event. Having to leave at this time avoided all the usual GTA traffic and the rest of my drive went very smoothly, getting me to the site with plenty of time to take it easy while setting up my spot in transition. As I milled about, I ran into a bunch of friends that were just rolling in so I spent some time catching up after the two week layoff between Subaru races.

After letting my triathlon buddies go to get their wetsuits on, I headed over and picked up all my registration goodies so I could get my bike prepped and then head over to the start line to stretch. I had changed into my gear and was putting the final touches on my bike when my timing cushion came in very handy as I noticed a split in my rear tire where the tube was pushing its way out the side of the rubber. There was no way that this blemish would make it through a right hand turn and I was not about to take any chances after spending so many hours preparing for this race the entire season. I calmly made my way over to one of the bike shops set up on the park grounds and they, thankfully, had the parts available to make the tire change with a few minutes to spare before the duathlon was to begin.

When I put my bike on the rack it was approximately 10 minutes before the gun time for our start time so the officials in the transition zone were getting a little strict with entry which threw a wrench in my hydration plans as I had not had a chance to fill up both my bottles with the E-load mixture that I usually carry and had to settle with some Gatorade that was in my bag just to avoid any issues from the OAT folks

I then carefully exited the t-zone making sure not to hit the timing mats (the triathlon start had made them live already) and jogged over to the duathlon starting line. Due to the long distance nature of the event the field did not appear too large but most of the regulars were in attendance so I knew it would be a tough challenge to pull off a podium.

As the seconds ticked down on the starters watch, I wished good luck to a few of the guys I now know well from the number of times we have seen each other over the past few years of competition. Finally, it was time to commence my first ½ Ironman distance duathlon and I was super excited to see how it was going to play out with my extra training this year. When they sent us on our way, I quickly burst to the lead wanting to get in a solid, controlled first run. A few minutes later, I continued to lead the charge with a few others directly on my tail as we made our way along the edge of the grassy soccer field in the parklands of Beavermead Park. I made the turn near the 1k marker and was feeling really fresh so kept putting in a quick run hoping to burn the bike specialists’ legs up a little.

Breezing through the initial run in 6:31, I hit the bike zone with John Stewart (leading me in the AG points) and Bruce Bird (winner in Muskoka) only seconds behind me so I knew I was going to have to pedal hard to stay with these cycling monsters. After patiently getting my cycling gear on, I pushed my ride across the long grass to the mount line now in third as the other two had slightly faster transitions. Bruce was out in the lead and flying right out of the gate. John and I were neck and neck as we hit the main city roads out of the park entrance and picking up the pace through the east end of town.

Knowing John’s cycling strength, I tried to remain close but he was beginning to pull away a little on the rolling country side. After around 5k I was able to make the time back and actually moved past him, a very new position for me.  It was still early but my legs were so energized that I decided to test my abilities so I continued to hammer down on the pedals making up a lot of time on the triathletes that had been out on the course earlier than us.

Still moving at a rapid rate after 25k, I was feeling amazing and was in a pack with quite a few decent cyclists. The course was rolling with moderate hills so the various talents of the other riders stuck out dramatically as we flipped-flopped positions as the different slopes of the road rolled under our wheels.

At this point, I was not aware of how far Bruce had stretched his lead (he was absolutely destroying the course!) but I now had company as Mr. Stewart had joined our group and was gradually making a push past us. I tried to stay with him but did not want to make too much of a charge, happy to keep him in view, thinking my final run would be a better opportunity to take back the second spot.

Remarkably, the ride was going much better than I could have ever expected and my average pace was still several kilometres quicker than my anticipated speed. The bunch of riders along side of me started to get a little crowded near the 50km marker, including a few with duathlon numbers which I was not expecting. I revised my game plan to fight them off and decided to make a sprint ahead of these other cyclists to concentrate on my own pace. Thankfully, we are not allow to draft (we were under the strict scrutiny of an OAT official on motorcycle) so the group setting was not too advantageous, and was actually distracting. I thought it was slowing my progress now as I was too worried about being penalized and I was working extra hard to stay out of other athlete’s lines and getting boxed in during my climbs.

Getting out in front of them seemed to be a wise choice for me as I lost contact with them and ended up riding solo for the last 15k, roughly a minute behind John Stewart (2^nd place) in the duathlon. It also worked out well as I hit town and prepared for a clear landing in the dismount area, clear of the clutter of other bikes on the narrow path that led into transition

I made a great, running dismount and ran over to rack my bike, slowing a touch to make sure I grabbed a few gels and to get my running flats on properly. The heels in my shoes did not pop up on the first slip on which would have produced some nasty blisters for sure. I finally got them on comfortably for the long run ahead and was holding down third position as I ran through the gates to the 21.1k course. I still felt pretty strong and had big hopes of a blazing time that would definitely make up enough ground on second place.

The run course was similar to last year’s sprint route so I was familiar with the terrain but could not find my targets during the first few kilometres. As I made my way to the first turn around, I could see that Bruce was way out in the lead and John was looking very strong as he continued to hold the gap that he had created on the bike.

The run course then doubled back through the park where I lost visual of them amongst the trees just hoping that my pace was slightly quicker than theirs. When I reached the main road of the run course, the heat was starting to make an impact on the race as I made my way out to the unsheltered asphalt. I was now starting to feel it in my legs but luckily I was not the only one but I still could not locate the two men I was tracking. As I neared the turn pylon I caught sight of Bruce again but could tell he was not to be caught on this day. Then John came into view and looked like he may still be within range. I made my turn back towards town and tried to apply some gas. I found the next gear for close to three to four kilometres but I did not seem to be making any ground on that next spot.

Into town and over a few final hills, including the deceptively tiring highway overpass and I was losing energy and was mentally beat up. It was now a game of survival to hold on to third (although I did not know who was chasing me) and to just finish the race. My running stride had reached shuffle status as I re-traced the course through the park for the final few kilometres. I was absolutely spent and just trying not to give in to my brain’s demands to walk as that would definitely lead to a loss of my current podium finish and put a bad taste in my mouth after such a good race up to that point.

I turned off my head for the last ten minutes, barely moving towards the finish line. Finally, I rounded the soccer fields in the park and my reward was in sight so I made one final kick for the line just to make sure I reached my destination in respectable fashion.