Sylvan Beach Duathlon

I did a multisport race! Yeah it has been a while. No, it wasn't a triathlon, it was the Sylvan Beach Duathlon. This is now the second year I have done it, even though I did not post about it last year. It's actually kinda sad that I didn't. I love that there is no swim, but it seems like a lot of fast people come to this race. Last year I had an awesome race (for me) even though I made some mistakes, and still was next to last in my age group. That just kinda takes the wind out of my sails. I know, at least I am doing it, what difference does it make where I place, right?

The Week Before

As per my usual, once I sign up for a race I feel extra pressure to perform my best... so I go do some crazy workout that ends up with an injury or something. This one was no exception. This time one week out from the race I go for a run and try to push to my pace from last year's duathlon. Last year I did the first two miles with no walk break at 10:11 pace! So I went out and was running intervals at 10:00 pace for 6 minutes, then I noticed my knee started bugging me. DOH! I rested it most of the week and had Dr T. work it over a bit with some cold laser therapy and Graston. Turns out I had a little tendonitis where the top tendon attaches to the kneecap. I took it a bit easy on the first run, but had no issues in the race!

Laser action!

Finishing touches on Frankenbike were borrowing the wheels from Donna's Fuji D6 Pro and installing a new Torhans Aero 30 drink bottle. I took it for a test ride and adjusted the seat height more from the crank change.

Frankenbike!

 

The Race

Part of the reason I did this race was honestly because I had talked a guy from work into doing it... he is doing his first triathlon soon and I thought this would be great experience for him. And it was, as he did the ride on tires about half flat and only brought one gel pack for nutrition. Poor guy was 'livin the dream' for sure! But he still beat me on the second run, dangit! Never mind that he is 29 and a runner... LOL

 

Run 1: 2 Miles

Official:	21:16.1	10:38/M
Garmin:	21:13.4	10:30/M
Last Year:	20:22.2	10:11/M

I managed to stick fairly well with my plan on this segment this time. I took it fairly easy and didn't let adrenaline get the best of me. I stopped to walk a couple of times even. I figured I'd be able to race better later on if I didn't kill it here, particularly my knee!

 

T1

Official:	1:25.6
Last Year:	1:25.9

Wow, I am surprised how close the numbers are! I was racked in a similar location this time, but that close? Last year I remember that I forgot to remove my visor and had to shove it in the back of my jersey as I put my helmet on... no issues this time!

 

Bike: 18 Miles

Official:	1:00:25	18.4 Mph
Garmin:	1:00:33	18.0 Mph
Last Year:	59.18	18.8 Mph

It's hard to judge the bike from year to year with weather differences. I have not been training on the bike much this year though, so I am happy with this! I had the added benefit of the bike upgrades, borrowed race wheels, and aero helmet this year though.

 

T2

Official:	1:18.5
Last Year:	1:40.5

Not sure what I was doing in T2 last year, baking a ham?

 

Run 2: 8K (5 Miles)

Official:	56:28.8	11:31/M
Garmin:	56:10.6	11:27/M
Last Year:	53:37.5	10:54/M

This is IT, the famous run of the Sylvan Beach Tri/Du. Well famous around here for being freaking HOT! It is June after all, and temps are well in the 80's if you are lucky by the time you get to this run. There is one long straight stretch where you're running on the road on the sunny side and there is just NO shade. There are just enough trees to cut down the breeze too. Fortunately there is a guy in the middle with a water hose being an awesome neighbor and spraying the runners. Whoever you are dude, you rock!

I quickly reverted to a 6 minute run, 1:30 walk interval for this one. I have not been doing bricks either (see the part about no biking), so this is pretty much what I expected to do in these conditions. Did I mention how freakin hot it was? I was adjusting my intervals to walk the aid stations and pour the cold water on my back, that helped.

 

Nutrition and Hydration

I felt like I did a pretty good job with that this time. We were out of eggs, but had some egg whites which I had with an Ezekiel english muffin for breakfast. I also had some cereal in a big on the way to the race, and some EFS drink. On the bike and run, I carried EFS Liquid Shot mixed in water. I picked up water from the aid stations. This usually works well for me, but I got to where I didn't want any more of the EFS/water. It was maybe just too warm. I did take in enough not to bonk at least!

 

Conclusion

I really didn't have my head in this race... if I hadn't talked someone into doing it I probably wouldn't have done it. I knew I was not well prepared, which stresses me out. I knew I wouldn't do as well as I did last year. With that said, I am still glad I did it! I got in there and pulled it out. Not exactly the way I want to race, but I did it.

My plan going into this year was to not sign up for a race unless I already feel ready for it, which I kinds broke with this one. But there aren't that many duathlons around, and I have not been swimming, so I will have to take it as it comes a bit. I'll tentatively think about 'Du The Bear' this fall! I should have my new bike built by then, more on that in another post!

Darren