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...

PEDs

So as I think I alluded to earlier, my allergies are absolutely positively killing me right now. I have all the classic hay fever symptoms -- watery, itchy, eyes, congestion, uncontrollable sneezing fits -- it has just been miserable. Finally I gave in and called my sister (the family doctor), who prescribed three different drugs for me (eye drops, some pills, and another thing that comes in an inhaler -- I cannot be more specific since I do not have the stuff here in the office).

Today was my first day on the new drug regimen, and I feel 1,000% better -- no sneezing, no congestion, nothing. It is a good thing they do not test age groupers for performance enhancing drugs, because I am fairly certain that some part of my allergy medication cocktail has steroids in it or something else illegal. Anyway, I hit the gym today for a short brick -- 40 minutes on the spin bike, followed by 15 minutes on the treadmill at 7:13/mile pace. The workout felt surprisingly easy, especially the run portion, which I was very happy with. With just over two weeks to go before my first race, it was nice to feel sharp and fit.

Heat and Hills

Yesterday I did a 20 mile bike ride early in the morning. I basically just followed JFK Boulevard north, which was nice from the perspective of avoiding those brutal hills right by the George Washington Bridge on River Road, but kind of sucked because every half mile or so I would hit a red light and lose all of my rhythm. I ended up averaging 18.3 MPH for the ride, which I was very happy with considering all of the stopping and starting that I had to do. Afterwards I took my bike to the local bike shop to have the computer repaired and my annual tune up -- it should be ready by mid-week.

Today I went for a five mile run, which in hindsight was not a great idea. It was close to 90 degrees when I started, and I ended up running a route with some major hills. To put it simply, the run did not go well. My average pace ended up being fairly respectable, but I definitely stopped a few times along the way, which I have not done for a long time. No use beating myself up over it -- I just think given the conditions, I simply bit off more than I could chew. At least I got the workout in. The big test for this week will be Saturday -- I am planning an 18 mile ride/3 mile run brick, which will essentially be a simulation of the final two-thirds of the duathlon on May 17th. It should be interesting to see where my fitness truly is right now.

Good Week

This has been a pretty good training week. After a kind of brutal five mile treadmill run on Tuesday (the fan on the machine was not working, so I was sweating like a whore in church), I did light weights (chest and triceps) on Wednesday. The last couple of days I have done 45 minute rides on the exercise bike at relatively low intensity (130-140 BPM heartrate). Tomorrow I am either going to ride early in the morning or lift weights again. The weather is finally becoming really nice here, which I am excited about. With my first race in just over three weeks, logging some outdoors training time, while not absolutely crucial in my opinion, certainly cannot hurt.

Darn Allergies!

So yesterday I did a nice easy three mile run with the better half, which is just what the doctor ordered after three straight days of intense workouts. Today I was planning on either riding or doing a brick workout at lunch, but my allergies have been just killing me all day! My left eye is red and swollen, and this morning I went through almost an entire box of tissues sneezing my head off. I felt a bit better by the afternoon, but figured it would be no fun for me (or anyone else in close proximity) if I sneezed my way through a workout.

Unfortunately now I will have to play "catch-up" the rest of the week with getting workouts in, but I think I probably made the right decision. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow. On an unrelated note, I ordered some new parts yesterday for my bike computer. It has not worked (no speed or distance readings) since late last season, and I definitely want to have it fixed before the Queens Biathlon on May 17th. I may need to send my Forerunner 205 in as well -- one of the arrow buttons does not seem to work, which is a real pain...