Keuka Lake Duathon...(or how I did a Du & didn't maim myself!)

Ready or not...Keuka Du here I come!

Sunday, I took my big girl bike out for the big test. Not being brave enough to risk hypothermia despite the swim being my strongest leg, & being too cheap to buy a wetsuit, I signed up for the duathlon at the last minute to see if I could survive the bike unscathed. That's right. Me. Clipless peddles. Broken rib. 2 weeks post marathon. No training.

Bring it on. 5K Run, 22KM Bike, 5K Run

Keuka is the 1st Tri of the season in this area.  It's pretty popular & usually sells out quickly.  SD was already registered for the Oly distance so I was pretty lucky to be able to sign up for the Du only a week & a half ago! It may have been the sucky (non-existant) spring that we have been having but I got one of the last slots! Score! 

We headed to packet pickup on Saturday.  It's about an hour drive, but it's a pretty one so we didn't mind the drive.  The nice thing about the race being at a college is that you can rent dorm rooms cheaply if you are out of town.  In fact, we actually talked about doing this for next year just for the convenience. Because transition closes @ 7:15, you have to be there pretty early even if your wave doesn't go off until after 8:30.  Packet pickup was easy and quick. You could choose between last years hat (white), this years hat (grey) or a grey unisex tech shirt.  SD chose the white hat as it's his favourite hat & he wanted another.  I didn't care for the shirt so I took the grey hat...originally under duress because SD told me we shouldn't get the same one because we'd never be able to tell them apart. He has a giant head & mine is tiny so I agreed because I it's hard to find a hat that actually fits me and I didn't want mine to get stretched out.  I actually like it alot now & am glad I went with it. We went home, had a good chicken & pasta dinner, packed our gear & loaded the bikes on the car.  SD doesn't care but I prefer to load the bikes the night before and then back the car into the garage for the night ready to go.  At 4:45am, I do not want to be fighting with my bike rack! 

I'm thinking of calling her "Loco". It's how I feel when I'm riding ;)

We arrived around 6:30, got body marked and then headed into transition to set up.  Didn't take long as I only needed to put out my bike stuff.  Rain was imminent so I had an extra large side ziplock bag for my bike shoes. This turned out to be an awesome move as I was able to stuff my sneakers in it when I got on the bike and they were dry when I went back for them! 

SD was in the 3rd wave of the Intermediate distance start.  I was able to see him start @ 7:40 and I also finally met Jamie from Couch to Ironwoman! I ran into her just before she went to the swim start for her 1st Intermediate distance tri! Yay! It was SO nice to finally meet you, Jamie! We have missed each other at races a few times so this was pretty exciting.  Boo that I didn't have my camera with me :(. She was brave. No wetsuit & freezing lake in the 60's.  SD said it was COLD with a wetsuit! She is one tough lady!

Run 1: The Du started @ 8:05 and I felt pretty good as we got started.  I was a bit worried about how I would run as I really haven't done any road running since Poconos 2 weeks ago.  The inside of my left knee has been bothering me so I've been resting. I did 2 trail runs this week and hurt on one of them.  I taped to be safe & though I wanted to run a good 5K (under 30), I mostly wanted to run pain free.  The first 5K was ok.  No pain but I definately felt the pace.  I ran 29:08, which is 9:24 pace.  I'm happy with that.  

T1: 1:59.....It felt like FOREVER!!!! Needed to change from road to bike shoes. I don't know why it took so long???  I had everything ready.  Glad I took the extra seconds to stuff my shoes in the ziplock as it rained during the bike.  

Bike: 53:03 Which is 15.8mph. It was a rolling hill type of course with one long slow mile long climb around mile 9.  I was hoping to be able to crank faster than that.  I was aiming for 50 min flat so I'm a little disappointed in the time.  However, I purposely was cautious.  I did not want to fall & get another broken rib.  When it started raining I was extra cautious and slowed it way down on the downhill heading to the turnaround.  I did not want to wipe out.  The speed was cautious and I was careful mounting my bike and clipping in. I know that cost me a  few extra seconds.  But I was comfortable enough on it to spend a good portion in the aero bars!  Overall, a nice 'safe' ride.  That was the main goal so I'll score this a win. As an aside though, I want to say that as I was getting passed by the sprint tri guys who were catching up to me, I could not believe the amount of A-you-know-whats who would fly by me really close without announcing 'to your left'!!!! That was dangerous and it pissed me off.  I thanked every person who passed me who let me know first and gave me adequate room.  There is just no call for that kind of behaviour on the course.  At least, that's what I think.  Opinions?

Dismount was preceded by a no-pedal zone.  It was long and slow, but I was out of my clips and coasting safely by the time I got to the dismount line.

T2: 2:27....worst transition ever.  Seriously, I was 48/49 duathloners. I have no idea what I was doing in there that took so long.  I only had to rip the velcro from my bike shoes and put on my ready and waiting sneakers.  Fail.  Big fail. 

Run 2: 31:38   10:12 pace: Heading out onto the run course I felt ok.  My legs weren't jello, but they had that awkward feeling gait that you get after getting off the bike.  Know what I mean? Although the pace was ok for me, I didn't feel myself until around a mile in.  Being an out and back run, I was able to see and cheer a couple ladies I knew as they passed ahead of me.  SD caught me just before the short course turnaround (where he had keep going), so that was nice.  He was not enjoying his run but he looked ok.  In the last quarter mile I saw Jamie again heading out on the run course! Yay! She looked STRONG with a big smile on her face!  

I was pretty happy when I crossed the finish.  I thought I knew what my time was but at the time I had no idea my transitions were so sucky.  Live and learn.  

Official Time: 1:58:15

SD finishing the Oly

This is how bad he felt :(

I knew I didn't have a lot of time before SD crossed the line so I got a water & headed back into transition to grab my phone so I could take a couple pictures.  Turns out, inside transition was the best place to watch the finishers! No crowd and great angle.  I waiting about 20 minutes before I saw him.  He crossed in 2:42:16.  This is an 18 second PR despite puking at the finish (that never happened before!) & having his worst run ever. I felt bad for him, he felt so crummy at the end.  

Luckily, that passed after a few minutes and we brought our bags to the car, changed and went to the buffet.  Great spread they include with your registration! You know I'm sold when it had my most favourite post-race food...soup!

photo worthy food ;-D

Overall, an average performance. I am not a huge fan of the run/bike/run since the swim is my strongest event but it served it's purpose and I am glad I got to race Loco before I tackle Musselman Sprint next month.  

When the official pictures come out I have a funny story to tell....but I'll wait for the photographic evidence!