yesterday was the desert duathlon classic in phoenix. it was my first race of the season (obviously) and only the second du i have ever done (the first was the bluewater 'tri' turned du in 2004).
results are here:http://www.desertclassicduathlon.com/
the venue was gorgeous (see pics). the race was definately unique and although i'm happy with the result..there were a number of lessons from this race.
i started my journey to phoenix with what i felt was more than enough time. the race started at 8 (my wave was 830) and we had to have picked up our chips etc. by 730.... i felt that this meant i would have an hour to warmup and prepare.... so i was on the road at 0400.. assummed that it would take me just over 2 hours to get to the race site (map quest never lies) and there, i would have more than enough time to set up and do the extra little bits of running/riding that was on my schedule before the race.
for some reason, the actual race site was further than anticipated by mapquest. i didn't get to the site until almost 7. there was a 2 mile hike from the parking to the registration. there was a 15 min. wait in line at the registration. before i knew it, the man on the loud speaker said "4 minutes til transition closes!" panic. i had not even racked my bike!
i rushed to find a spot (random organization, not by AG) and started setting up my stuff. no time for a test spin. decided not to preload my shoes in the pedals as there was a long run with tons of rocks. i set my cycling shoes on the towel and notice that my orthotics are not in them, remembering that i had used them in my other shoes for my road bike! guess i'll be riding with no inserts! no problem, i can deal -- just have to pull them extra snug.
now it's a long wait until my wave so i get in a few miles of warm up (not that much for a distance athlete, but oh well) and do a couple of stretches and strides and washroom stops.
i toed the line with all the other women under 39 and off we went!
the first few hundred metres were painful. a sign that i wasn't warmed up enough (ja think??). just as i was settling in, we hit the dirt trail. it was a welcome surprise. the concentration needed to avoid prickly plants and to not roll your ankle, took the focus away from the burning sensation in my quads. every once and a while i would wonder if i was pushing too hard??? but then i would remind myself that it was a 'sprint' and that was the point.
i ended up catching another girl but didn't have the desire to pass her -- not knowing how my body would feel later in the race.
my first transition was painfully slow partially due to the cycling shoes, partially due to me taking off clothing and partially due to not knowing how to do a fast run to cycle transition.... but needless to say, i was happy to get on the bike.
i took the first half of the bike a little more cautiously than i should have (after all, it was a sprint!), as i was worried how my legs would feel on their fourth, non wind trainer ride of the season. i saved too much for the second half of the ride, and definately too much for the second run...
i felt great for the second run! i'm a runner again!! it still hurt like hell but i was able to maintain it... yes!
lessons:
1. when you can, sleep over the night before a race if it's more than 2 hours away.
2. wind trainer sessions can transfer over to the road
3. check and recheck race gear
4. i enjoy (and miss) the swimming part
5. i still am a runner!
No comments:
Post a Comment