Queens Biathlon Race Report II

On Sunday, May 16th I competed in my first race of the season, the Queens Biathlon. Below is my race report.

Pre-Race

I felt confident but cautious coming into this year's race--confident because my training had gone well and I felt good about my fitness (especially on the run); cautious because last year I was way too overconfident before this same race, and was ultimately disappointed with my performance. Race morning I packed up my car and got to the transition area nice and early. I did have a relatively minor mechanical issue--in reattaching my rear wheel I somehow screwed up the sensor for my bike computer, and thus was forced to race without it working at all. I stretched, warmed up a bit, hit the bathroom a couple of times, and was ready to race.

First Run (3 miles)

I intentionally seeded myself in the middle of the pack, so I was passing other runners constantly during the first mile. I concentrated on running a nice consistent pace, shortening my stride on the uphills, and opening it up on the downhills. I also decided to simply trust my run fitness and resist the temptation to "race" the other competitors or push myself too hard. Once again, the last hill into transition was steep and painful, and I decided to take it fairly easy. As I came into transition and glanced at the race clock, I was happy to see a sub-7:00 minute per mile split--all of my run training had paid off, and I had taken 1:10 off of my time from last year.

Bike (18 miles)

My first transition was a bit clumsy (at one point I dropped my helmet), but the time was a wee bit faster than last year. I was off on my first race ride on my new bike! Unfortunately I quickly remembered my least favorite part of this race--the bike course, which consists of a double out-and-back on a major highway. Heading out the wind is in your face, and on the way back there is a long, somewhat steep hill right before the turnaround (which connects to an even longer one to head back into transition). I passed a few riders, got past by a few more, and generally held my own. With the exception of the really bad hills I was able to stay aero pretty much the entire time. The one issue was that I did not have an actual water bottle for the race (long story), and thus, ended up sticking a regular old bottle of Gatorade into one of my cages. Thus, I literally had to take the bottle out of the cage, unscrew the top, drink, screw the top back on, and then place it back in the cage every time I wanted to get a bit of hydration. The "Triathlon Nazis" would have been so ashamed! I ended up taking 38 seconds off my time from last year, which does not sound like much, but given the conditions, I was pretty happy.

Second Run (3 Miles)

I had a very smooth second transition (17 seconds faster than last year) and was off on my second run. My legs felt SO MUCH BETTER starting out this year than last year--once again, all of my off-season running had paid off! I quickly caught up to a duathlete who I had been trading places with all through the race and asked if he wanted to pace off of each other, which he agreed to. Within the first mile we passed one racer and very soon after got passed by another. Aside from that, everyone ahead of us had too much of a head start for us to make up much ground. I faded a bit on the final hill and he opened up a small gap, but I was extremely happy with my time, which was 1:07 faster than my second run last year (and nearly as fast as my first one last year).

Post-Race

Needless to say I was very happy with my performance. I raced smart, raced hard, and left it all out on the course. I also learned from the mistakes I made last year, and improved in every single one of my splits to beat my 2009 time by 3:12. I ended up finishing 4th in my age group, which makes this two straight races in which I have been right around the podium. I could not have asked for a better start to my 2010 season, and am excited for the races ahead. Thanks for reading!

Race Splits

Run 1: 20:57 (6:59 pace)

Transition 1: 0:54

Bike: 53:33 (20.2 MPH--not amazing, but it feels nice to have a 2 at the start of my bike split again)
Transition 2: 0:30

Run 2: 22:14 (7:25 pace)

Overall: 1:38:08 (21st overall, 4th M35-39)

Not Much Blogging, Plenty Of Training

O.K., I realize that the blog posts have been anemic recently -- between being crazy busy with my new job and the fact I cannot access this website from work, I simply have not had many opportunities to pen updates. The good news is that my training has been much more consistent. I have continued to get a couple of runs and spin bike rides in each week, as well as hitting the weights once a week. Most of my training has remained indoors as Spring has not quite arrived yet, although I have been running outside more often (including a four mile run this morning in which I ran the last two in less than 7:00 per mile pace). The temperature is supposed to steadily increase this week into the high 60s/low 70s, so I am really hoping that by next weekend I can start riding outside at least once a week. My swim training is still non-existent, but we are not going to talk about that.

I also signed up for two additional races -- the Queens Biathlon on May 26th (which I also did last year) and the Metroman Triathlon at Asbury Park on July 16th. Unfortunately it looks like I will not be doing the Stamford KIC IT Triathlon on June 27th -- I have a couple of other more important obligations that weekend (including my wedding anniversary). It's not the end of the world -- I will just try and find another race that fits into my schedule. That's about all that I have to report -- I will try and update the blog more regularly going forward, but I cannot promise anything...

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%)

I Have Signed Up For A Race!

O.K., I know that I have been neglecting the blog lately -- just been caught up with other various and sundry things (fortunately, training has been one of them). The last several weeks of training have been pretty consistent -- two runs, two spin/bike rides, one or two days of weight training. The last two weekends I have actually ridden outside for the first times this year. I have been pleasantly surprised by my bike fitness -- I have been averaging around 18 MPH on some pretty challenging rides (i.e., lots of hills, some of which are brutal), without going "all out." I think that anyone who does not think riding the spin bike or taking spin classes helps build/maintain cycling fitness is basically an idiot.

O.K., on to more important things -- I just signed up for my first multisport event this season, the Queens Biathlon on May 17th. The race consists of a 3 mile run, an 18 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. Since running and biking are my strengths and once again I have utterly and completely neglected my swim training this year, I am really excited to see how I do. If past results are any indication, assuming the next four weeks of training go well, I should be in the running for a podium spot in my age group (I probably jinxed myself just by typing that)...