I have done this race all 9 years of its existence, 8 individual and 1 relay. This was not my fastest year, but it turned out to be my best finish. As I, and others, have said, it all depends on who shows up.
This was the toughest weather I have ever had to race. It was in the mid 30s and windy, it did not rain, but there was a certain amount of dampness in the air. In previous years it had been cold, but never this cold. In previous years it had rained, but had not been this cold. Last year it rained, but it wasn't as cold. I thought I was cold last year, I was cold this year.
Aside from the cold, it was a typical morning. I got up at about 3:45AM, showered, ate breakfast, and drove the hour plus to Dousman. When I got there it was dark. Did I mention the cold?
I wore my one piece Gear West tri suit, with a tight long sleeve shirt underneath and Pearl Izumi full length bike pants underneath. I wore Gore-Tex bike gloves and a Gore-Tex hat. I wore the gloves and hat the whole race.
The wave starts for this race are mixed, male and female and different ages, so you don't know where you are in your AG. Not that it matters that much, since I am typically not competitive, especially in Duathlons.
Before the race start, they asked who was doing the race for the first time, and about 70% of the crowd raised their hand. Then they asked who had done the race all 9 years, I think about four of us raised our hands.
The main street was being repaved, so it was all torn up, and mostly hard packed dirt, rock, and some potholes. So running that part of the race was a little different than usual. There was no sidewalk to run on, that was torn up too. We only have to run about 3-4 blocks on the main street, but we still need to be aware of the surface.
I went out pretty fast and it showed. It was my fastest first run here since 2011. Still not able to get under that 7min/mi mark. The cold did not affect me too bad on the run. I didn't have a burning in my chest or anything.
This bike course is not easy. It has some short steep, very steep, climbs and some decent uphill false flats. I hit the first short steep hill and my legs felt like lead, that was pretty much the case for each of the short steep hills. I had to go into a gear I normally would not have had to use. The cold and wind, were pretty brutal. I did not feel too bad on the flats, or on false flats, but the short steep ones were killers. My feet started to get numb with about 8 miles left on the bike. That was not a good sign.
I got off the bike and started the second run and I could not feel my feet or my legs. Running out of the park on the grass felt very awkward. The whole run felt kind of awkward. I don't think I ever really got the feeling back in my feet. Amazingly, the second run was my fastest second run since 2008!
I started in the fourth wave, about 150 people started ahead of me, so there was some waiting to see results. They did have hot oatmeal and hot French toast sticks, and free coffee, so that helped, but after about 20 minutes standing outside I was shivering. I put more clothes on and was still cold. My gloves were soaked with sweat and useless, wearing them made my hands colder. Eventually, the results came, and I saw, to my surprise, I was first in my AG. I would not have guessed that.
Even though it wasn't my fastest time, mostly because of the bike split, partly because of the weather, I can't think of a better way to end the fastest (best?) season of racing that I have ever had.
It was a very challenging last race, and I was able to get through it very well. All the training I have done this year paid off.
Hopefully, I can come back for year 10.
2014 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 14:15 (7:08/mi)
T1 - 1:09
Bike (20.5 mi) - 1:00:49 (20.1 MPH)
T2 - 1:00
Run (2 mi) - 14:55 (7:28/mi)
Total - 1:32:08
Overall - 14/223
AG - 1/16
Pace - 3:46/mi
2013 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 14:29 (7:15/mi)
T1 - 1:21
Bike (20.5 mi) - 58:11 (21 MPH)
T2 - 0:57
Run (2 mi) - 15:12 (7:41/mi)
Total - 1:30:09
Overall - 34/311
AG - 5/20
Pace - 3:41/mi
2012 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 14:45 (7:22/mi), estimated based on total time
T1 - 2:04, estimated based on total time, seems high.......
Bike (21 mi) - 58:08 (21.7MPH) fastest in a Du
T2 - 0:37.5
Run (2 mi) - 15:23 (7:42/mi)
Total - 1:30:58
Overall - 90/578
AG - 14/42
Pace - 3:38/mi
2011 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 14:02 (7:01/mi)
T1 - 1:01
Bike (21 mi) - 58:44 (21.5MPH)
T2 - 0:42
Run (2 mi) - 15:05 (7:33/mi)
Total - 1:29:31
Overall - 47/601
AG - 7/40
Pace - 3:35/mi
2010 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 13:59 (7:00/mi)
T1 - 1:25
Bike (21 mi) - 57:53 (21.8MPH)
T2 - 1:14
Run (2 mi) - 15:01 (7:30/mi)
Total - 1:29:30
Overall - 85/792
AG - 15/62
Pace - 3:35/mi
2009 Dousman Duathlon Results
Did it as a relay. I was coming off stress fracture. Jackie ran and I biked
2008 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 12:58 (6:29/mi), fastest run in a Du
T1 - 1:25
Bike (20 mi) - 57:17 (20.9MPH), one mile shorter bike than 09-12
T2 - 0:55
Run (2 mi) - 14:06 (7:03/mi), fastest second run
Total - 1:26:39
Overall - 32/614
AG - 5/54
Pace - 3:37/mi
2007 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 13:20 (6:40/mi)
T1 - 1:19
Bike (20 mi) - 1:01:50 (19.7MPH), one mile shorter bike than 09-12
T2 - 1:17
Run (2 mi) - 14:40 (7:20/mi)
Total - 1:32:26
Overall - 111/797
AG - 21/55
Pace - 3:51/mi
2006 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2 mi) - 15:12 (7:36/mi)
T1 - 1:48
Bike (20 mi) - 1:07:48 (17.7MPH), one mile shorter bike than 09-12
T2 - 1:44
Run (2 mi) - 16:28 (8:14/mi)
Total - 1:43:00
Overall - 238/254
AG - 13/24 (Clydesdale)
Pace - 4:17/mi
