Wrentham duathlon

Couldn’t have asked for a better day, sunny with temperatures in the high 50s / low 60s at the start. Historically this race is cold, and last year saw rain. I saw someone with a CTS jacket on before the race, I wanted to say hello but by the time I got set up / warmed up I couldn’t find him. The race was well attended with 307 participants. The Wrentham du is a 3/11/2 duathlon with the runs being flat and fast; the bike leg is fairly flat as well with around 400 ft of vertical with the majority of that in 1 climb and the rest in some rollers.

I arrived about an hour before race start, set up transition, hopped on the bike to run through the gears and make sure everything was clicking, then did a run warmup. Had a gel and shot the breeze waiting for the start.

And we’re off! I felt really good for the first run, being able to bring my HR up to 196 for a peak with an average of 185 for the 21:55. T1 was 1:30 and I’m off on the bike. Life is good until I flat at about mile 5… All of a sudden my fingers go away, I grow 10 thumbs and time slows down. Strip off the rear wheel, fix the flat, it takes 7 and a half minutes (arrgh!!!). The cool thing I guess is that I get to pass a whole bunch of people again… I refuse to use the excuse of a flat and go as hard as I possibly can for the final 6 miles. I round the final corner with about 1/3 of a mile to go. Flat #2, same wheel. I just ride it in on the rim (ouch!!). Upon later inspection, there is a piece of glass stuck in the tire that I missed on the initial change. My bike time minus the flat change (7:29) is 33:47. I remember not to point my toes taking off my cycling shoes in the attempt to put off the calf cramps, but it doesn’t work. The first ½ mile is pretty bad going until my legs get used to going front to back as opposed to around in circles. It gets easier and I’m able to put on the gas and run my HR back up into the low 190s and can pass a few people before the finish. Run #2 time was 16:18.

What I did right: My training and nutrition was good. Last year I posted the same finishing time (within 5 seconds) with no flat, so I peeled 7:30 off my time of a year ago. Some more hydration on the bike would have been nice to have… I’m used to racing this race much cooler so I could have used a full bottle. I felt really good aerobically, I was able to work at a pretty high HR for the duration of the race with no isses.

What I need to work on: Keeping my cool. I came apart at the flat tire. I also need to replay transitions in my head until they become automatic. I completely forgot this, with this being my first race of the season. Do more brick workouts (looking at my schedule these bad boys start this weekend (be careful what you ask for!!)) to get my legs used to the bike / run transition. I need to spend more time with hard efforts on the bike (multiple sets of PIs). Here it is 2 days after the race and the tops of my calves, and my quads just above the knees are still absolutely on fire.

I’m happy with the way the race went, and have a very good starting point and clear understanding of what I need to work on this season (apart from my swim of course). It’s all good!