2013 Gear West Duathlon Results

To get to the Gear West Duathlon I have to go west. I live in South Minneapolis and the race is in Orono.  The sky in the west looked pretty grey and gloomy.  As I was driving, I could see lightning and hear thunder.  When I got a couple minutes from the race site, it started to pour, in sheets.  It was raining so hard it was difficult to see.  This was about 6:30AM. 
I parked and waited a few minutes for the rain to back off, then grabbed an umbrella, and walked over to the packet pick-up.  The walk took longer than pick-up.  I walked back to the car, organized some of my gear, and drove to another parking lot, on the other side of transition.  Transition had been moved from the previous years.  I the site of the race consists of the Orono elementary, middle, and high school.  I think it is all three schools and there are multiple parking lots.  For years, the transition was in the southern parking lot. This year it was moved to the middle, slightly more north, parking lot.  I think I like this setup better than the previous.  Anyway, the rain ended by 7:45AM, and they delayed the start until 8:15AM.  Race was supposed to start at 8AM.  I basically talked to people and putz around until the race started.  Did a little warmup run.
The run is a combination of pavement, grass, running on portion of an old track, and dirt path (in most years mud).  It is a basic high school cross country course.  Lot of ups and downs, one particularly steep hill.  My watch said I did the first mile, of the first loop, in about 7 minutes, which means the other 1.8 miles, the harder part of the course, I did much slower. 
You run the same course twice.  The run can be something of a demoralizer in this race, in my opinion.  It can be very sapping, especially on a wet course.  I did not feel terrible, but not great, I did not have my fastest day out there on the first, or second run.  On the second run I did almost lose my right shoe.  Slipped off heal, still had front of foot in it,  I tried to run and slip my heal back in, but eventually had to stop and fix it, before I got to the really muddy stuff. 
I gave it the run, and the whole race, my best effort, which is the best I can do.
I got out on the bike and felt pretty good, my time is a little slower than the last few years, but not much.  It took a few miles to feel comfortable on the bike, once I did it started to feel pretty good.  The race was pretty well spread out, so there was not a lot of traffic from other bikers.
My wife got me a Road ID bracelet for my BDay.  This is the first time I wore it for a race and I learned I need to put my watch on the other arm, or Road ID on other arm, or if on the same arm, the bracelet has to go in front of the watch.  If the watch is in front of the bracelet and I bend my wrist, I can stop the GPS\stopwatch on my watch.  I found this out on the bike, when I bent my wrist slightly to look at my watch when in the aero position.

Below are some pics, nothing too exciting.  Some pics of my mud covered legs.

This is always a nice race at the beginning of the year in MN.  It is well run, there are people race, volunteering, and spectating that I know.  Going to a race where there are people you know, and like, and a race that is fun and well done, makes for a good day, even if you don't have your best race.
It is hard to compare year-to-year, at least in terms of the run.  The run course varies from year-to-year, and in this race the run is the hardest part.  Not that the bike is easy, it has a decent amount of climbs on it, but it is the same bike course every year.  My bike has been consistent since 2008.  My run has been all over the place, partly due to the course, partly due to the weather, and partly due to my condition this early in the year.  Based on how I was running up to this point, I expected to be faster today, but there are a number of variables that could contribute to my slower than expected run.  Even though my run was slower than I would have liked, I am still happy with my results.

2013 Results
Run (2.8mi) - 24:17 (8:41min/mi)
T1 - 1:34
Bike (17mi) - 48:07 (20.7MPH)
T2 - 0:51
Run (2.8mi) - 25:30  (9:07min/mi)
Total - 1:40:19
Overall - 107/249
AG - 20/31
Pace - 4:31

2012 Results
Run (2.8mi) - 22:18 (7:53min/mi)
T1 - 1:21
Bike (17mi) - 48:53 (20.9MPH)
T2 - 0:51
Run (2.5mi) - 20:16 (8:05min/mi)
Total - 1:33:42
Overall - 99/263
AG - 16/27
Pace - 4:12
Convert first run to 3.1 miles to compare to 2006 - 2008, and 2010 and total time = 1:36:04, which is 1:18 faster than 2011 and 2:20 faster than 2008, previous fastest.

2011 Results
Run (2.8mi) - 22:33 (7:59min/mi)
T1 - 1:12
Bike (17mi) - 48:52 (20.9MPH)
T2 - 1:06
Run (2.5mi) - 21:16 (8:29min/mi)
Total - 1:34:58
Overall - 129/321
AG - 14/31
Pace - 4:16

2010 Results - Taking it slow due to recovery from stress fracture
Run (3.1mi) - 27:57 (9:19min/mi)
T1 - 1:15
Bike (17mi) - 48:41 (21MPH)
T2 - 1:47
Run (2.5mi) - 25:42 (9:42min/mi)
Total - 1:45:19
Overall - 200/380
AG - 38/63
Pace - 4:40

2009 I volunteered, did not race due to stress fracture

2008 Results
Run (3.1mi) - 23:58 (7:44min/mi)
T1 - 1:15
Bike (17mi) - 49:40 (20.5MPH)
T2 - 1:16
Run (2.5mi) - 22:17 (8:54min/mi)
Total - 1:38:24
Overall - 151/410
AG - 26/44
Pace - 4:22

2007 Results
Run (3.1mi) - 24:29 (7:54min/mi)
T1 - 1:42
Bike (17mi) - 53:56 (19MPH)
T2 - 1:29
Run (2.5mi) - 23:15 (9:18min/mi)
Total - 1:44:29
Overall - 201/342
AG - 39/45
Pace - 4:38

2006 Results-First Duathlon Ever
Run (3.1mi) - 27:49 (8:58min/mi)
T1 - 3:18
Bike (17mi) - 1:00:37 (16.8MPH) - Road bike with clip-on aerobars
T2 - 2:25
Run (2.5mi) - 26:59 (10:47min/mi)
Total - 2:01:08
Overall - 315/353
AG - 43/44
Pace - 5:23

April 2013 Training and Racing Summary

The only event in April was the St. Anthony's Tri, which I posted a report for.  The most important thing to come out of that race was an above average run time for this early in the year, which was very cool. 
A local pro-triathlete, Devon Palmer, has been doing some spin/run bricks out of his house in the month of April and I have been taking advantage of those.  In fact, and unfortunately, I have been the only one to take advantage of the opportunity.  I say unfortunately, because it is a good, inexpensive workout that a lot of people could benefit from.  Anyway, the two I did in April were hour spins, tough, and then a fairly easy run, in the snow\sleet both times, around Lake Nokomis.  Those workouts have been helpful.
May is a big month, two open 5K road races, a Tuesday Night Time Trial, Gear West Du, and a 10 day vaca in Hawaii.  Of course, 10 day vaca in Hawaii is the most important part of the month.
My April swim time is about average.  I believe that my intensity is much higher than previous years. As I have mentioned in the past, I think that the coaching I am getting at I Swim is much more focused and intense than previous Masters.  It can be seen, that for the time I am putting in, my yardage is higher than previous years where I put in more time.  Run time, and I believe intensity, is up from the previous 3 years, which hopefully shows up in performance. I think my 8K in March and my off-the-bike 10K show good results so far. Bike is down a little, about average, but I think my intensity has been good.  All in all, aside from the weather, April has been a good month.  Again, May will be a very interesting month, hopefully I have set a good base for it.
I just remembered, I need to post my goals for 2013.  I think that will be my next post.

Year-To-Year April Comparison

 

Totals and Averages Since 2007

YTD Totals and Since 2007

 

2013 St. Anthony's Triathlon Race Report

This is my first race of 2013 and it is my 85th triathlon\duathlon that I have finished. I have only had two dnfs, one, intentional, at St. Anthony's in 2009, and one from a flat in 2010.
This is my 6th time at St. Anthony's. 2008, 2010, 2012 were full Olypmic distance, 2009 there was no swim for the AG due to weather and I had a stress fracture, so I did the bike and dropped out. In 2011, the swim course was shortened and moved to a different location. 2010 I was recovering from the stress fracture, so I took it easy on the run. Typically it is hot, especially the flat, mostly shadeless, run course. This year was no different. This year was similar to 2011, in as much as the swim course was shortened for everyone but the pros.  More below.
I arrived in Orlando and drove to Ocala to my mom and stepdad's on Thursday afternoon. Just hungout there Thursday night. My rental "car" was a slightly used Toyota 4Runner.  The 4Runner is a decent vehicle, bigger than I thought it would be.

Friday morning I got up and assembled the bike, which was nicely packed and shipped by Gear West, some pictures above. No problem assembling the bike. Went for a ~22 minute bike ride in the late morning and it was already getting hot. I biked a little easy and a little hard, wanted to make sure the bike was ok, and make sure I was ok.  I felt ok.  I then went for a short run, about 8 minutes. It was hot. Spent the rest of the day relaxing.
Saturday we got up and drove to St. Petersburg and checked in at the race. As usual, packet pickup and bike deposit was super easy. They do a really good job of getting people through. Probably one of the best races to take care of packet pickup, especially for such a big race.  The twist this year is that each athlete was given two clear plastic bags to put all thier gear in.  Due to the Boston bombings, the organizers decided that no backpacks in transition was the best thing to do.  So, I put about half my stuff in a bag and left it under my bike the day before, and the next day I brought the rest of the stuff in the other plastic bag.  All in all, it was not that much of an issue to not use a backpack.

When I got to the hotel, I was dripping with sweat, just from walking around to do packet pickup and bike drop off.  Just relaxed before dinner and laid out my stuff for the next day. Had dinner at the usual place, a sports bar near the hotel.  Usually, I have a good spiral meatloaf (beef, pork, cheese, red peppers, and spinach) that they have.  Not on the menu anymore! So I had a sirloin with green and yellow squash, and mashed potatoes. Yum. Also had a Yuengling. Yum.  My cousin, who lives in Tampa, and I have not seen for a few years, joined us for dinner.  Her joining us for dinner was a nice addition to the routine.
Fell asleep by about 9:30, woke up about 4 times during the night, but fell back asleep quickly.  I think the second time I woke up I was covered in sweat and my sheets were soaked.  No idea why.  My hotel room was not hot at all.  Kind of strange.  Woke up with my alarm at about 3:30, showered, had coffee, apple fritter, oj, water, a little Clif Bar, and banana for breakfast. While setting up in transition I drank some Gatorade and water. In hindsight, I probably should have had a little more to eat. I think I drank enough. Besides a cup of coffee, 8 oz of oj, I drank about 3/4 of 32 oz Gatorade and a liter of water+. 

Transition was tight, but not as tight as usual.  I think people not being allowed to bring in backpacks made for some extra room. With my bike already there it was pretty easy to setup, and I was early, so I did not have to fight for space.  Like last year they let us put our bags along the massive fence line, this was helpful.  This year they allowed us to do the same thing with the plastic bags.  I had some time to burn, as I usually do, since I show up so early. I saw David Thompson, the pro from St. Paul, and said "hi" to him, and also said "hi" and chatted with Jerry, the announcer who announces races everywhere. 
I said one last "by" to my mom and stepdad and walked to the swim start. It is a point-to-point, so basically it is a one mile walk for about 2500 people. 
It was a windy day, and the water was choppy.  I had a sneaky feeling they were going to shorten the swim, and they did.  After the pros took off they announced they were shortening the swim, by half.  It resulted in about a 15 minute delay, which was much better than 2011.  In 2011 they had to put together a new swim course that morning, this year they already had the new course, and they had setup up an early swim exit, so all they had to do was move a bouy to indicate the turn into shore.  It was a little disappointing to have the shortened swim, but understandable. 
My wave was supposed to start at 7:45, but ended up starting about 8.  It is an open water start in water that is just too deep to stand in, so you have to tread, or float in this case since we are wearing wetsuits.  The water was choppy, going from left to right, shore is on the right side.  Even though there as chop, the swim was not too bad.  There were no real issues during the swim.  It felt ok.  The only issue that once you turn and head for shore, it is not long before the water is too shallow to swim in, so it is long walk\run in shallow water to get up to the beach.  Then it is a really long run\walk\jog from the swim exit to the entrance of transition.  When the shorten the swim course, you are ridiculously far from transition.  So, you have a bit of a jog to contemplate things.
I was in and out of transition pretty fast, once I got there. 
The first part of the bike, probably less than a quarter mile, is on a cobblestone section of street, it is kind of treacherous.  Twice on the stretch my water bottle, on holder between my aerobars and held with a rubber band, started to bounce out.  The second time it fell out.  I know it is penalty if you drop equipment and do not pick it up, but sometimes it seems safer to me if you drop something to leave it.  Suddenly, trying to stop and turnaround to go get something, especially in traffic, seems much more dangerous.  So, I left the bottle, which means I was without fluids for the bike, except for the water stop midway through.  I mentioned the wind early, resulting in the shortening of the swim, at times the bike was challenging due to the wind.  There were sections on the bike where the wind was tough.  My bike this year was pretty average, compared to previous years.  Not my fastest, not my slowest.  I did not get to take much fluid in during the bike and I was worried about how that would affect my run.  It did not affect it too much, since I had my best run ever and my best run since 2008.  I was thirsty off the bike, and the first water stop was great.  I came off the bike not too fast, but I was not jogging.  As always, it was hot.  Very little shade and lots of sun.  I felt pretty good on the run, not fantastic, but good.  I was pleasantly surprised with my time.
At the finish I got the ice towel and ice water, two of the best feelings all day.  Got a little food, packed up my stuff and left.  We stopped for lunch at Sonny's, a bbq chain in FL.  We stopped there for lunch the day before.  I really like the bbq there.  Good stuff.  On Sunday, they have all you can eat chicken, I had all I could eat on the way home.
I am happy with the first race of the season.  I would say that everything went really well.  It was a good trip to FL.  I don't think I could ask for much more to start off the season. 
Below are bunch of pictures taken during the race by mom and stepdad, and a couple I took after the race.  Additionally, a photographer and triathlete from MN, Nick, was working for Competitive Image, and was taking pictures at the race.  Specifically, he was tasked with taking pictures of former pro football player, turned triathlete, Hines Ward.  Nick did catch me on the course, near the finish, and one of those pictures is below also.

2013Results
Swim (820 yards, shortened for weather) - 14:05 (1:43/100 yards, wetsuit)
T1 - 6:27 (shorter swim course, loooonnnggg run to T1)
Bike (24.8 miles) - 1:11:35 (20.8 MPH)
T2 - 2:29
Run (6.2 miles) - 52:43 (8:31/mile)
Total - 2:27:18
Overall -  752/2404
AG - 91/201
Overall Pace - 4:41/mile

2012 Results
Swim (1640 yards, new course) - 29:03 (1:47/100 yards, wetsuit)
T1 - 2:18
Bike (24.8 miles) - 1:12:54 (20.4MPH)
T2 - 2:42 (sprayed some sunblock on myself, put on socks, and forgot my race belt and had to turn around and get it)
Run (6.2 miles) - 55:04 (8:53/mile)
Total - 2:41:51
Overall - 977/2689
AG - 124/236
Overall Pace - 5:04/mile

2011 Results
Swim (820 yards, shortened for weather) - 17:56 (2:11/100 yards, no wetsuit)
T1 - 5:49 (shorter swim course, loooonnnggg run to T1)
Bike (24.8 miles) - 1:10:44 (21.1 MPH)
T2 - 2:45
Run (6.2 miles) - 55:04 (8:53/mile)
Total - 2:32:18
Overall - 980/3125
AG - 110/239
Overall Pace - 4:49/mile

2010 Results
Swim (1640 yards) - 29:36 (1:49/100 yards, this was wetsuit)
T1 - 3:12
Bike (24.8 miles) - 1:15:10 (19.8 MPH)
T2 - 2:27
Run (6.2 miles) - 58:33 (9:22/mile, coming off stress fracture)
Total - 2:48:56
Overall - 1264/3192
AG - 156/287
Overall Pace - 5:18/mile

2009 Results
No swim due to weather, then dropped out after bike due to stress fracture
Bike (24.8 miles) - 1:10:43 (21.1MPH)

2008 Results
Swim (1640 yards) - 30:58 (1:53/100 yards, wetsuit)
T1 - 3:38
Bike (24.8 miles) - 1:11:48 (20.8MPH)
T2 - 3:42
Run (6.2 miles) - 52:54 (8:31/mile)
Total - 2:42:57
Overall - 1258/3350
AG - 121/231
Overall Pace - 5:11/mile