Greetings once again Tri…um, Du…um, Multisport Race Fans! “Race Report” Dave here with my second report of the 2009 season. And as you’ve guessed by now, this one covers my first duathlon event, the Duathlon Nationals in Richmond VA, April 26.
Back in November 2008, like many of you, I received an email from Celleste Callahan, USAT Duathlon Liason to USAT Board and a Team USA Triathlon/Duathlon, calling on USAT triathletes to “Get out and Du it!”. The short of the matter was that duathlon participant numbers appeared to be pretty low and support was waning. Only 200 folks came to the Nationals last year. In essense, this was a plea to come save the sport by sending a message that folks are indeed interested or could get interested. Since it was in Richmond, it was fairly close only being about 3 hours away. So, I looked over the dates and entry fees. This event takes place in late April and this year, it was to be April 26. Actually, it was a whole duathlon festival with an off-road event on Saturday and the on-road even on Sunday. In addition, there was a junior event as well as a novice or sport event for those who wanted the experience but not the distance. Well, April is usually a good running month not getting too warm and also still a bit chilly for swimming (though you’ll note I later did sign up for a sprint tri with a lake swim the week prior). The course was akin to an Olympic distance tri – 10K run, 38K bike (23+ miles), and 5K run. The entry fee was only $65 which seemed like a pretty good deal in and of itself. To sweeten the deal even more, here’s all the shwag (goodies) – backpack with USAT Du Nationals lable, running hat from USAT, technical T with Du Nationals, after race tailgate party, and nice glasses (i.e. beer) for finishers. For that entry fee, it doesn’t get much better than that! So, I thought, when am I ever going to compete in a National Championship? So why not? And with that, I completed my entry form with registration fee for my first duathlon.
Now again, come January with my severe vertigo illness, I was not sure if I could compete in this event I had signed up for two months prior. Things eventually worked okay if you read my last race report on competing the first tri of the season the week prior. But, during the week prior coming up to the event, I felt my training had still been below standard and so I decided the goal was to finish and enjoy the moment. With this in mind, I headed down the day prior to pick up my packet and scope out the course.
Now, those of you who remember this weekend will know that Summer arrived early again this year as the temperature climbed into the mid 90s on Saturday with a few spotty reports of low 100s in Virginia. And unfortunately, the temperatures were forecast to be as high on Sunday during race day. Gosh, shades of last year’s Eagleman! At least the distances were less and I’d be done in under 3 hours rather than 6. Plus the humidity didn’t seem to be up there. Still, heat is heat when you’re running. At least with biking you generate your own breeze. So, I packed the hydration belt and the De Soto cooling material jersey I wore at Eagleman last year. I probably should’ve packed the cooling bandana I had as well as the helmet cooling pad as well. But, like I said, we weren’t going to be out there as long.
In addition to myself answering the call to support this event, over 1000 others did as well! Incredible considering the 200 turnout last year. So, the race director and committee from Sportsbackers had to work out some sort of system different than what we’re used to in tris so that 1) there weren’t a whole lot of folks on the bike course at any one time and 2) folks in later waves weren’t standing around for too long. What they came up with turned out to be pretty successful in my opinion and I actually think tris should work this way as well. As there were waves starting just before 8 AM and continuing until 11:30, they had an open and rolling transition area. This meant that instead of closing transition at a certain time, they kept it open the entire time. This allowed the later folks to arrive later during the morning and kept the transition area relatively clear for the folks actually racing. A “rolling” transition meant that they would put folks who are in the early waves at one end of the transition area and rack folks who raced later and later continually towards the other end of the transition area. They also asked folks to rack no more than 90 minutes before the start of their wave. So, you never had a completely full transition area as people would remove gear soon after they were done and replaced by the next waves of folks’ gear. In addition, spots in transition were numbered, so no real advantage getting there early to get a good spot. As I stated, this worked exceptionally well.
Okay, got to the expo and packet pickup on Saturday just after noon. Pretty easy process and a bit different wrt race numbers. They handed you a sheet with your number marked for different areas, all having sticky backing. There were two running numbers, one for your back and the other for your front. Since there were no holes for a race belt, I debated on this for a bit and decided to just stick the numbers on my shirt as indicated. This eliminated the need for a race belt in transition, which I thought was a good thing. There was also a small race number for your bike that wrapped around your seat tube and this worked much better than the top tube numbers I normally get. Got most of my shwag after that and I was set. I was just in time to hear the pre-race meeting and course description by the race director. But, I didn’t really learn too much per se as I had viewed the video of the course online. However, I did find out that the start was up on the hill from us which I didn’t know and also a few other tidbits about course conditions. One that was interesting was putting mats over the bridge expansion joints which apparently caused some issues last year. During the meeting, we also got to watch the finishers come in for the off-road event. I really felt for them as it was 93 outside at the time.
With not much more to see at the expo (I was disappointed in this being a National Championship BTW), I decided to see if I could drive the bike course. I wanted to ride it but I didn’t want the heat to wear me out for the next day. So, I attempted to follow the directions best I could. Unfortunately, parts of the course were already closed off to traffic, but I still got the idea pretty much. One area I was a bit unsure about was this out and back section. Rolling with lots of curves and a turnaround point. But, nothing really looked too bad. So, armed with this preview, I headed back to my hotel to put numbers on my bike, prepare for the next day, and get out of the heat to rest up.
Race morning arrives and since I’m in the 8:10 AM starting wave, I need to be at transition around 6:30. I’m not too far away, so I got up around 5 with the thought of leaving around 6. I didn’t have my usual breakfast but I still managed to have a nice carb drink, yogurt, and granola for breakfast. Plus coffee. Wouldn’t do without that 
. Weather Channel says it’s already 76 when I leave the door at 6 and forecast a high of 96! Whew! There were many…um, mature folks like myself in the early waves who thought at that point that there were advantages to being a bit older sometimes.
Unlike other events with close parking for transition, this is in the city and we’re to park on the street about two blocks over from transition. At first, I really didn’t care for this as I don’t particularly like hauling gear great distances. But, I easily found something that worked and decided this wasn’t too bad after all. Still don’t like hauling my stuff too far, though.
Find my numbered spot and arranged my gear. Decided to go with a hydration belt during the first 10K run as it was already quite warm, though I still debated this later and actually something quite amusing happened later because of this decision. Hmm, my place just didn’t look like much after I was done. Thought I was missing something. Oh yeah, swim stuff/wetsuit. It was quite a bit different not having to deal with those and my little area really did look quite incomplete. After I was done, another nice feature was a bag dropout place. So we didn’t have bags competing for space in transition either. Just the essentials for racing. You could always get your bag as they gave you tag with your number on that sheet to place on your bag.
Okay, I’m pretty much ready to go and warmed up by jogging up to the start and back a few times. Met Vicki Bate who was in the women’s wave after my wave of the men. Wished each other luck and I stretched and relaxed before the start. We’re called into the start chute, all wishing each other well, and then the starter counts down…1 min, 30 sec, GO! (Air horn blast!). I get going but I’m also really watching this big gaggle of guys take off out ahead of me. I wave goodbye and sit back a bit to get into my own pace.
Unlike Rumpass in Bumpass, I had no illusions here. In order to be a top finisher, I would have to run around a high 6 or low 7 pace for both runs and be above 20mph for the bike. So, I thought a sub-9 pace would be okay for this first 10K, probably 18-20 mph for the bike, and pour whatever I had left intot the 5K. The first part is a pretty big downhill, which I don’t remember when I get to the bike. Then we’re going along old part of Richmond with cobblestones! Didn’t appreciate that but maneuver around them. As I’m crossing a bridge, I see guys out ahead of me and maintain my pace. But, as I get into the second mile of the 10K, a few guys are already having problems up one of the hills. As I start to pass these folks, I see the mid-pack guys ahead of me. Chase mentality starts to set in and I set about to pick these guys off one by one. By mile 3, I’ve picked off quite a few but still a few more to pick off. At mile 4 I glance at my watch. It says 30:something. Oh, wow! I’m at a sub-8 pace! Since I didn’t feel uncomfortable here, I decided to continue with this pace. And I had my sights set on this one guy ahead of me who seemed to be maintaining the same pace. But, after mile 5, I was able to pick him off as well. Coming up to transition, we’re going up a hill and I’m able to get ahead of a couple more. And feeling pretty good about all this as well as I head into T1.
10K run time 47:04, 7:35 pace
In T1 I had some small problems getting my helmet and shoes on, but no big problems. Already had socks on so that wasn’t a factor either. So, I started to head out. BUT, just before I did, something jiggled around my mid section – my hydration belt! Normally, this would not be there in a tri as we don’t have these on the swim. So, I quickly turned around and dropped the belt off at my place which wasn’t too far away. So, that chewed up my time in transition. Stil kinda funny though.
T1 1:49
The first part of the bike was a short uphill to the run start area. Not too difficult and then as I crested the top, I’m looking down this steep downhill that I should’ve remembered from the run. It’s kinda like looking down on a roller coaster ride. I first think “Alright! Screaming downhill!” But, as I start down it, I think “AAAAAAHHH!” as excitement turns to fear. The road is pretty uneven with manhole and pipe covers in it to dodge. I resist the urge to brake and hold on for dear life as my bike hits slight bumps and uneven pavement here and there while zooming downward! Fortunately, it smooths out and I can confidently hammer the rest of the way in the 53 x 11. But, not for long as the first turn comes up. I decide that for a bit more control, I’ll feather my back brake for just a bit on this hill during the next 2 loops. As I just alluded to, the course is 3 loops of 7+ miles for a bit over 23 total. And it turned out to be fairly technical with many sharp turns, some uphills, the steep downhill, and lesser ones. Went over two bridges, one of those twice each loop. I was doing okay but didn’t feel overly strong on the bike today. I did pass folks but I had a good number of fast folks pass me as well. The road surface also wasn’t the best and the bumps were a bit jarring here and there. Splashed my aero hydration bottle a few times as well, even with the sponge. Never could get into a rhythm as there really were no long stretches. As I headed into transition, I started getting out of my shoes and almost took out myself and some spectators! I was on the right so I wouldn’t hinder anyone but drifted a bit too far over at first and scared a few folks watching the race from the curb. Oops. Got back and successfully got out of shoes for another nice dismount. Running into T2.
Bike 1:15:56 18.65 mph avg
T2 was uneventful and pretty normal now for me. Still need to improve though.
T2 1:03
Now into the 5K and the heat is on a bit more. Legs are a bit like jelly too and having a difficult time getting moving. Fortunately, the first part is all downhill and I need it to keep my legs moving. This course covers some of the last part of the 10K which is a nice view of the canal in downtown Richmond. There are other runners here, a few my age but more are the wave ahead. I pass a few thinking “Gosh, I hope I can still do this at that age!”. By the mile 2 marker, the run and heat are taking a toll on me even though we’re in the shade. I’m moving progressively slower. And the last part of the run is uphill. Geez, didn’t I leave this party earlier? But, I trudge on, even smiling for the camera during the last leg. I put on a good show at the finish and sprint in hearing my name announced over the loudspeaker! My first du is done!
Now, the time for the 5K I get at the results is just not right and everyone is saying the same thing about this that the run wasn’t really 5K. I can believe this because my time says 20:20. No way for me. That’s a sub-7 pace and I know what that feels like. There was no way. Kevin Clark, a fellow triathlete from Frederick, said someone else who had a Garmin on measured it was on 2.5 miles. That I can believe and that’s an 8:08 pace for me.
Final time 2:26:11.
M 50-54 AG 29/55, 410/886 total finisher in AG categories.
There were nice cool towels afterwards and I set a spell in the medical tent near the finish, mostly just to get some much needed fluids and stay out of the sun. I’m actually not doing really bad as some folks who are there are. So, after a bit, I decide I’m just taking up space for folks that really need it and saunter over to the food and drink area. Some good food afterwards and thank goodness lots of gatorade. I saw Vicki finish and then see her making her way over and greet her while letting her know about the food and drink. We meet Kevin C in a bit afterwards and discuss the last run. While I had no illusions of making it to Worlds, Kevin misses it by a few places. The first 16 in each AG goes. Lucas McCollum makes it placing 5th overall and 3rd in his AG. He deserves it to after that kind of performance in the afternoon heat. Oh well, perhaps another year. Hey, I still got all the good “shwag” plus each finisher got that nice beer/drink glass. Cool.
Since I was definitely not getting an award here and it was only noonish with awards not until 2:30, decided to pack up and get going for the 3 hour drive home.
Overall, a good experience. Recommend that next year, you “Do the Du” too!
Next up – Frederick Half Marathon May 3.