Queens Biathlon Race Report

Yesterday I completed my first race of the year, the Queens Biathlon. The following is my race report:

Pre-Race
Coming into the race, I really did not know what to expect. I felt fairly good about my fitness (with the notable exception of a few extra pounds), but given the fact I had never really done a duathlon before, I was not sure how I would perform. Race morning I woke up at 4:20 A.M., was out of the door by 5:00, caught a 5:30 Path train to Manhattan, then a subway to Queens, and rode the final 5-6 miles to the race start. I arrived in plenty of time to check in, set up my transition area, warm up, meet a fellow Slowtwitcher in person that I had traded a few messages with (he actually ended up winning his age group--congrats!), and then it was time to race.

First Run (3 miles)
The race was fairly small, and thus we had a mass start. When the gun went off, I felt like everyone took off like bats out of hell! I just focused on keeping a nice steady pace and not killing myself. The run course consisted of an out and back through a mostly wooded area of Alley Park with rolling hills (aside from the hill back into the transition area, which was fairly long and steep). I ran pretty slowly on the uphills, and opened up my stride on the downhills. I also took the last hill pretty easy, figuring that I wanted to have nice fresh legs for the bike. My first run time was a bit slower than I had anticipated, but much more importantly, I did not feel terribly winded when I finished it.

Bike (18 miles)
After a relatively decent transition I was on my bike. The bike course consisted off two laps of an out and back along a major highway. On the way out the headwind was BRUTAL--I remember riding into some strong winds during past Chicago Triathlons, but this was much worse. I just concentrated on staying aero as much as possible, while shifting gears maniacally as the wind gusts ebbed and flowed. Needless to say, once I hit the turnaround point each time I was flying. I definitely got passed more often than I passed other people. I just focused on my own race and keeping something in the tank for the second run.

Second Run (3 miles)
My second transition was a bit clumsy (my bike actually fell off the rack, but fortunately a race volunteer righted it for me), but not terrible. Starting the second run, I was honestly surprised at how dead my legs felt! After the first half mile or so I started to feel better and my stride began to widen. I passed one person in the first quarter mile or so, but aside from that, everyone else was simply too far ahead of me. As I made the final turn towards the finish line, I saw there were literally about a half a dozen racers right on my heels, which was all the motivation I needed to really work the final hill. As I crossed the finish line, it felt good to have my first duathon under my belt.

Post-Race
I went into this race thinking that duathlons were perfect for me--no swimming (which is my weakest triathlon discipline) and more running (my strongest). What I failed to consider, however, is that people do duathlons because they are in the exact same position that I am! Thus, I did not place nearly as highly as I thought I would (the fact that I entered the race 5-10 pounds overweight did not help either -- particularly on the two runs). Will I ever do a duathlon again? Definitely--now that I know what to expect, I am certain that I can do better (plus there are so darn many of them in the area, and they are a lot less of a logistical undertaking than triathlons). Well, it is back to training for me--that, and figuring out what other races to do this year. Thanks for reading!

Race Splits
Run 1: 22:07 (7:22 pace)
Transition 1: 0:55
Bike: 54:11 (19.9 MPH--slow, but trust me, it was crazy windy!)

Transition 2: 0:47
Run 2: 23:20 (7:47 pace)
Overall: 1:41:20 (27th overall, top 19%)

Final Preparation

Well my first race of the season is less than 48 hours away, and as usual I am starting to get nervous. In terms of final preparation, yesterday and today I hit the gym and lifted weights. I also bought a new helmet to replace the one that cracked in three places when I crashed. It is fairly stylish (not that that was what I was really going for), fits well, and is really easy to adjust. I must say I always get excited about getting new triathlon gear, even if it is something as boring as a helmet. I am planning to take it nice and easy tomorrow, and then it is all systems go for Sunday...

Passing The Test(s)

Yesterday was pretty important for me, as I ran and rode as final tests before this Sunday's race. Even though I had pretty much decided Sunday was a go, I definitely wanted to see how my groin would hold up to a race-pace run and a hard ride. I started off by running three miles on the treadmill during lunch. The first mile was at 7:30 pace, with the final two at 7:08. The run felt fairly comfortable, and my groin was completely fine during it and afterwards. Test one passed.

After work I did a 15 mile ride with my bike basically set up in race mode. I tried to place my tri spoke wheel on the front, but it continues to rub up against the brake (which led to my first-ever DNF last summer), so I finally gave up and put on the training wheel from my back-up bike (which is ridiculously "un-aero" -- it must have like 50 spokes). I also put on my "faux disc" rear wheel that has a cover on it, which is working perfectly fine. The other mechanical issue I have is I cannot get my bike computer to work with my rear wheel, which is O.K. because with my aero drink on, I cannot see the display anyway (and I have a Forerunner 205 to keep track of my speed). Anyway, I rode 15 miles fairly hard with a tailwind on the way out and headwind coming back, and felt pretty strong. Test two passed. It looks like it is all systems go for Sunday...

The Show Will Go On

So it has been a week and a half since the big bike accident. The first few days I was sore all over and could barely move without pain. Aside from the cuts, scrapes, and bruises I mentioned earlier, it also turns out that I pulled my groin pretty badly. Last week I really did not even try to run given the pain, but did ride the exercise bike a couple of times and used an ellipitical machine once. Yesterday after a half an hour on the elliptical machine I ran a mile on the treadmill pain-free, which was a great feeling! For a couple of days there I thought I was going to have to bag on Sunday's race, which was not exactly a good feeling. Now it looks like the show will go on! Oh, one other thing -- it turns out that I spoke prematurely when I said my wheels could be repaired -- the bike store called back and informed me they are beyond repair. Super. It is not a problem this week since I have my race wheels, but eventually I will have to suck it up and buy a new pair...

Wipeout!

Well this morning was going to be my big pre-race brick workout, but unfortunately, the big guy upstairs (or maybe downstairs) had other plans. I woke up at 6:45, got all my gear together, and was on my bike a little after 7:00, heading north through Weehawkin and West New York until I hit River Road. The first nine miles I felt really strong, and was routinely riding 21 MPH or so on any flat sections. I rode up the huge hill right by the George Washington Bridge and turned around to head home.

As usual I was flying on the descent back down the hill, but unfortunately it rained most of yesterday and last night, so the road was very slick. Almost immediately my back wheel started to fishtail, and after I righted it momentarily, fishtailed even more. Before I knew it I was flying over the handlebars and through the air. My head hit the pavement first (thank God for helmets!) and I slid a few feet before coming to a stop.

When I got up to survey the damage, it was not too bad -- both knees and one elbow were a bit bloodied and my left torso and shoulder were bruised, but that was about it. Unfortunately my bike was not in quite as good shape -- both rims were bent pretty badly, although the frame/handlebars/brakes/etc. seem to be O.K. The bent rims prevented me from riding home, so after walking a bit, I was able to use the phone at a laundromat and call a taxi to take me home. I definitely consider myself lucky -- given the speed I was going (30 MPH+), things could have been A LOT worse...

P.S. I took my wheels to the bike store, and it looks like they can be trued, which is a relief. It would have sucked if I had to get new wheels (unfortunately with my cracked helmet, I do not have a choice). On that note, anyone who trains using race wheels (which I see a lot more of in the NYC area than when I lived in Chicago) is an idiot.

The Big Test

This afternoon I hit the gym to lift weights -- chest and triceps. It was a fairly uneventful workout, although I must say I was pretty happy with how much weight I was putting up on the flat and incline bench using freeweights -- gotta look good in those ridiculously tight triathlon clothes! Aside from that there is not much to tell. The real reason for this post is that I am excited and nervous for tomorrow morning's workout -- I plan to do an 18 mile bike/3 mile run brick. This will be my longest brick of the year, but more importantly, will simulate the last two-thirds of my first race of the season in just over two weeks. I am particularly interested to see how I run off the bike -- I have done plenty of bricks on the exercise/spin bike and the treadmill at the gym, but I have a feeling doing a "real world" brick will be a completely different story. I also picked up my bike after having the computer repaired and a tune up, so I am really excited about riding it. As ridiculous as this sounds, I can already tell I will have trouble sleeping tonight...