I did not want to bombard the site with a bunch of tardy race reports so I decided to combine 4 race reports into 1.
Nothing outstanding really happened at those races for me so that helps too. I will keep it to quick thoughts and observations and maybe there are a few things that might be helpful to you.
Gravenhurst International Duathlon – Saturday July 16, 2011
– Having arrived from Germany (raced an iron distance race) a few days before this race, I basically just showed up to burn off a few calories and to get in some exercise for the week.
– It was scorching hot even for the 8 am start. I ran easy, tried to bike hard (lots slower than the previous year), and while the first 1-5 km of the run hurt bad, the legs woke up for the rest and I felt good.
– No stats to list because it was dreadful and it was just an easy workout day. The International Duathlon is not my favourite configuration of distances thanks to that first 10 km run. I was basically there to watch the race, and interview people afterwards.
– Still, a must do race that always gets sold out each year. The run course is challenging and while the bike course has some hills, you can go fast on it.
Bracebridge Sprint Duathlon – Saturday August 6, 2011
– Right after Gravenhurst I was off to work for Ironman at Lake Placid. I ran once while I was there but that was it. Once I got back, I did manage to do get in a total of 7 hours of training (for two weeks) before this race and everything less than 1 hour (with the exception of one ride). This is a far cry from what I am used to. But I was enjoying life in different ways.
– I was hoping to crank things up and just go hard and suffer for the hour and a bit that the race was going to last. All was good until I hit the wall 4 km into the first 5 km run. Yup, hit the wall. I was humming along at sub 4:45/km pace and then…Bam! I was suddenly running at 5:25+ pace and getting slower. The bike was not much better. I still managed the 6th best bike, but I rode well below my standards because I typically make up a ton of time on the faster runners and it is usually enough to keep me ahead and into the top 10 by the end of the race. Not today.
– The bike course here has some nice hills to take a bike out of that bike split. Today, I felt that once I got some momentum going, a hill would come to mess me up. And thanks to carrying around extra pounds, that sure didn’t help either (you know you are in trouble race morning when you try and put on your XL shirt and it’s tight). Plus, I just did not feel like suffering though it. Just one of those days.
– I planned to race the International Du on Sunday, but after racing so brutally today, I surely was not going to show up at one of my least favourite distances and put myself through that. A great location to do a race though, so I will be back.
Cobourg International Duathlon – Saturday August 13, 2011
– I was not going to show up at all for this race given my ‘stellar’ performance at Bracebridge, but it was the Ontario Duathlon Championships and I needed to be there to report on the race and conduct interviews. I can’t just stand around and watch when I am fully capable of participating so I decided to take part and take it as a desperately needed long workout day for me. This is a whole lot better than lying around in bed.
– Cobourg is one of the hillier courses in Ontario and given my current conditioning, it was not going to be pretty on the bike but I was going to give it all I could. I was planning on racing on Sunday so I was not going to push the run at all because if anything will pop up on the injury front, it will be due to running too hard.
– The run went as planned and I put my body under no stress, I tried to push the bike but once again I was uncharacteristically slow going up the hills. I’d make up ground on the flats and either gain or lose ground on the hills. I ended up riding at least 5 minutes slower than I was accustomed to. No real surprise since I haven’t done a ton of biking outside or anywhere actually.
Cobourg Sprint Duathlon – Sunday August 14, 2011
– With my first kid coming soon, this was potentially my last race for a while so I really wanted to make the best out of this one.
– I ended up having a decent race and was one of the only ones to negative split the run. That is not saying much because I probably should have run the first 5 km segment faster. The bike felt better today, but still slower than I am used to. I was still a putz on the hills but I felt great on that last 2.5 km run though. It was cool to watch TRF’s Phaedra Kennedy get her first win too.
Lessons Learned:
1. Don’t pack on the pounds! Or at least minimize it.
– I never let myself go this early into the season but with no late season Ironman race scheduled (a kid on the way), getting out to do long rides and runs have not been high on the priority list. Instead, I’ve been doing baby prep (building cribs and other bits of baby furniture, cleaning out the house, etc.) and still keeping up with writing/reporting duties.
– I really noticed how much difference a few (ok, more than a few) extra pounds makes especially when biking hilly courses. So if you care about making a serious dent in your biking and running times, then drop some weight. If not, read below.
2. Enjoy Life & Forget About the Race Results
– Sometimes you just have to enjoy life (mine will change big time real soon). This is probably due to the early season Ironman and with nothing else scheduled for rest of the year, but this summer it seems that I’m putting long training on the back seat and doing more socializing with family, and friends. This was definitely triggered by an incredible trip to Germany (the people of Bavaria are great) and I’ve been in full vacation mode since.
– I really love just getting out and running a quick 30-45 minutes, or riding a quick 1 hour. Not enough to keep up with my food intake but I can always adjust the latter. I just don’t feel like it unless I am climbing up a hill on my bike – too bad its too late at that point.
3. Give 100% of whatever you’ve got
– Regardless of your current fitness level, injuries, or other barriers heading into race day, you owe it to yourself to give it 100% of whatever you have on that day. As horrible as I felt climbing those hills, I still gave it all I could (which wasn’t much) because I think it is a bad mindset to get into if I allow myself to back off my effort when there is no chance of injury present. My gas tank had about 50%-60% capacity at Bracebridge and Cobourg but I gave 100% of that capacity.
If you made it this far…..you have my apologies and thanks.
All the best to you in your training and racing. Time to fill up that gas tank.
Roger
