DUATHLON!!!

Wow - can't believe it's almost a week since the Footstock Duathlon. In a typical fashion, I meant to write about the race much earlier but this has been a crazy week. The kids are wrapping up the term at school - only a week until the end of term - and everything suddenly just gets so busy. It's also been the rainiest, greyest week in history and I've felt a bit de-motivated, which is quite typical for me the week after a race.
It really was a good experience overall. I've done enough races now to be able to tell the good from the bad, and this was one my better races, except for the fact that I really do feel I could have pushed harder throughout. It was my first duathlon though, and I'm a beginner on the bike, and so I just didn't really know how tiring the whole thing would be. General comments on a duathlon versus a running race:
- Prep time is SO much longer for a duathlon. I felt all confused and muddled the night before and the morning of the race. There's a lot more stuff to think about - water, gels, food, bike shoes, helmet, running shoes, different clothing options...you get the picture.
- The race itself seems to attract more 'hardcore' types than I'm used to. Everyone seemed so incredibly fit at the start line, and the results confirm that. There were some really serious athletes there. I really found that intimidating! And because I'm not strong on the bike, my results reflect that.
- I'm useless at transition. I treat it like a break, get way too relaxed, and am very slow and disorganised. I could have taken at least 3 minutes off my time if I'd kept the feeling of urgency instead of seeing it like a mini holiday. So I was cross at myself for that afterwards.
- The race didn't feel as difficult as I thought it would. I'd love to do the same race next year, and really push things the whole way through.
- I completely overdid carbloading!!! I ate far too much the week leading up to the race. It was fun while it lasted, but has left me feeling kind of bloated and sluggish since.

Anyway! The race!! My cousin/friend Melissa was also doing the race, and came and stayed the night before the race so that we could just get up early and go. I had some wine & a large meal of spaghetti. I don't normally drink anything the night before a race but we were asked out for supper, and I just sort of forgot my 'rule'. So I was worried about that, but actually I don't think it really mattered. I managed to get to bed early enough but had one of those awful frantic nights, when you know you have an early start and something stressful the next day. I got up at about 5.30, packed the rest of my stuff, and made some coffee & bagels for Melissa and me. I always find it hard to pack down a large bagel so early, when I've got a nervous stomach. I am kind of plagued with GI trouble when I do intense workouts, and it's always a concern for me on race day. So far, I've only had trouble during one race, but it still worries me.
We left at about 7 and drove to Canmore, which isn't a long drive from our house. We went straight to the transition area and dropped off our bikes, and laid out the gear we would need. The morning was so beautiful, and I was so impressed with the fabulous scenery spread out, but not so impressed with the obviously hilly terrain. I was also very intimidated by the row of gleaming, sleek road bikes and felt totally out of my depth. I was glad to see about 2 other hybrid bikes as initially I thought I was the only one that didn't have a road bike.
We then went back to Canmore and found the start line, and had to hang around for a few minutes. This is one thing that I don't like about duathlons. You want to get quite a good place during transition, otherwise your bike is quite far back, but that means too much extra time before the start of the race. I don't like hanging around. It makes me nervous and my feet go numb. At least the weather was lovely though. I found it hard to decide what to wear - I knew I would get cold on the bike, and had a t-shirt and a long sleeved layer on, but was worried I would get too hot for the 10k. But at the starting line it was still quite cool. So we started running and immediately I regretted not doing a significant warm up. I'm not very strong at short distances and prefer to run longer and slower. The first run (5.8k) was entirely uphill, and had long portions of gravel. And when I say uphill, I mean a significant uphill. So I was really slow and that was disappointing. I had been hoping for about 22 minutes for that, since my pace goal was about 7.15, but there was no way that was happening. The first 2 miles of the run were brutal. I had cramps, my breath was gasping in and out, and I felt like dropping out. Then we got off gravel, and started the long uphill road, but at least this part was on tarmac. I passed quite a few runners, and was in 5th place (female) when we hit the transition area. But then by the time I finished fumbling around and getting my shoes, helmet etc on, I lost time. But it felt good to start biking and the views were so spectacular that I felt so happy and privileged to be able to do stuff like this! As expected, I was able to sustain a good, even pace on the bike, but got passed by so many faster bikers. I was still pleased with the bike ride overall though. It was very hilly, and there was a significant headwind, but I managed to finish in 1.26 (37.7k), and this was significantly shorter than I had been on training rides. I found the lack of vehicles and the sunny weather made a huge difference. During the whole time of my bike training the weather had been cold, windy, and often rainy, and that's pretty miserable on a bike. By the end of the bike ride though I knew my energy reserves were getting low. I had some brief fantasies about diving into the sea, which always happens to me when I start getting dehydrated. I had no fluids with me during the bike ride, because I haven't quite mastered the art of biking & drinking (I like to keep both hands on the bike at all times...!!)
The second transition was slow for me because I had to take some time to drink. And I ran out of water, and only had Accelerade left. Now usually I love Accelerade, but I had taken some Clif Shot Bloks, and that is just too much sugar when combined with Accelerade.
The second run (just short of 10k) went actually pretty much as expected. I thought I would come in around the 48m mark, and I was 47.54, which would have been shorter if I hadn't had to stop and drink so much at the water stations. The course was much more favourable, as the first 5.8k was the reverse of the first run. We then joined the half marathon course along the shale river trails, leading to the rec centre. I felt strong finishing, and not as exhausted as I normally am crossing the finishing line, which is why I now wish I had pushed everything harder. My overall time was 2.47. I thought I would come in at 3.00, so I really was pleased. However, I only placed 16th out of 67 females. I know how to cut time for next time though:
1) Practise transitioning more!!! Changing shoes, putting helmet on etc. I also need to keep the sense of urgency during those times, and not get too relaxed.
2) Wear a race belt for my bib. I had to unpin my bib number from my outer layer and repin it on my t-shirt during the second transition because I got too hot. This must have wasted at least 1 minute.
3) Get a road bike. I love the hybrid bike - you feel so secure on it, and it's comfortable and powerful. But it just can't go fast enough, especially on straighter sections. I figure I could save 10 minutes off the bike ride with a faster bike.
4) Push harder overall.
5) Don't combine Accelerade with gels. Do gels with water instead.
6) Warm up beforehand. Starting that 5.8k with cold muscles made me at least 2 minutes slower overall than I should have been. It was silly not to, but I didn't want to waste any energy in case I was unable to finish. I'll know for next time though.

Melissa had a great race too, and we were on a high afterwards. We drove back to Calgary, and went for some serious refueling at Joey Tomato's. I think our waiter thought we were insane because we were so frantic for him to bring food out NOW!

So, I'm now back to straight running. I love biking, but I just don't have time to train for both. I figure I'll do one duathlon a year, and do a few months of bike training for that, but then go back to running. Next race is the Diakonos 10-miler in July, then the Invermere Half in August.

Hello...

I'm new to this. I've never written a blog in my life, and can't imagine why anyone would want to read what I write. However, I thought it might be fun to write down some of the different experiences I face daily as I (try to) train for races, while dealing with a busy home life. The problem is, I forget so much stuff. Days go by in a blur of busyness, and I think 'oh I'll remember about this' and I don't. You see, I have 6 small kids, aged between 2 and 8. So that always keeps things interesting. Especially when I have this passion called running that I never have enough time for.
Today was a pretty typical day really - housework, kids, laundry, homework. It's a blustery spring day, constantly promising rain but never delivering. Joe, my husband, is working late and I should be making dinner for the kids but seem to be getting myself nicely sidetracked. I have a sort of a sense of general unease right now because I'm competing in a race on Saturday that I'm ridiculously unprepared for. It's a duathlon, and I'm not a biker....I was sitting with my friend/cousin-by-marriage, Melissa, in January having lunch and thinking about the race season sooooo far away. Melissa is an avid biker and runner, and is an inspirational person to me because she's not afraid to try new stuff. It seemed like such a good idea to do a duathlon at Footstock (race weekend in Canmore, every June). On paper it looked not so bad - 5.5k run, 37.7k bike, 9.7k run. The fact that a)last time I was on a bike I was about 10; b) don't own a bike; c)know nothing about biking seemed like insignificant trifles. Biking can't be that hard right? Wrong. It's not that I can't bike, it's that I'm terrible at it. And the fact that I know I look silly doing it, and have a irrational fear that the front wheel is going to fly off really doesn't help anything. I see pro bikers and they look so good! Slick outfits, legs whirling, confident...I'm the person who falls off her bike on her driveway cause she forgets that her feet are in bike pedals when she stops. Oops.
Anyway, I'm doing this race which I didn't know how to train for because I ran out of time and it was suddenly 4 weeks away. I looked up a few biking websites for training ideas and quickly exited them because it was all too confusing. But it's fun in a way because I know I'm bad, and have no expectations, and finishing will be a bonus. Just as long as I don't fall. Please, please don't let me fall......