Tammi talked me into it again. Signing up for a race when I probably had no business doing it. Again, I had been working on my swim but was too intimidated by the distance to do the Sprint Tri. I thought about doing the Try-A-Tri again but when Tammi called and said she wanted to do the full distance Duathlon I said "why not?".
This race was held August 09, 2009. This day turned out to be the hottest, most disgusting day weather wise that our area had seen in a long time. I had spent the entire day before with my neice at the Kids-Of-Steel (her second year!). It rained ALL DAY and her wave kept getting postponed because there would be thunder and lighning and they'd have to wait it out. The next day, the day of our race, was a stinkpot of heat and humidity.
Pre-Race
Again, I arrived early to set up my transition and get my chip timer and body marking (still my favourite part). The race didn't start until almost 10:00 which became a problem as the day got later and the sun got hotter. Paul was doing the bike leg of the Duathlon relay with Sydney's husband and another girl they knew. He had just bought a road bike because he was thinking of also getting into triathlon but had literally ridden it once.
Run #1
This was a 3k out and back. I tried to stay with the herd but the pace was really fast for me. I quickly dropped off but still managed to finish the 3k in good time (for me). Tammi was already well and gone into transition by the time I got there.
Run time - 16:39 (5:33/km avg)
T1 + Bike + T2
I grabbed my bike in transition and because I still was not using clips I was off pretty quickly. The bike was a 30k, two loop course. I tried to pay attention to what was written on people's calves to see if they were in the Duathlon and more importantly in my age group when I came upon them or when they were (more often) passing me. I did pass one girl in my age group but it was no consolation as she was riding a city cruiser with a basket in front (for real!) and wearing an iPod. She was literally almost completely upright! I passed Tammi about half way through the first loop as she was on her mountain bike and already starting to struggle. The way back was brutal. There was a headwind the made me want to cry. I kept watching my speed on my Garmin and I was down to 8 kph at some points! Back to the race site and we had to turn around and do it again. I hate two loop courses! Much of the same on the second loop except by this point the heat was starting to get to me. I'm not the most confident rider and not good at getting my water bottle out of my cage while I'm riding. As a result I don't drink enough. I didn't have anything to drink during this bike leg. Bad idea, especially considering how long I was out there. I finally came into T2, grabbed a gel and threw on my run hat before heading out. I literally wanted to cry I was feeling so crappy.
T1 + Bike + T2 time - 1:21:56 (22 kph avg)
Run #2
The second run was a 6k course that wound it's way through the surrounding neighbourhood. This course had NO shade and there were only 3 water stations. I took a gel at the beginning of the run but I think I was already dehydrated. It wasn't long before I started to walk. I didn't feel so bad because alot of people were walking. It was awful. It was approximately 114 degrees with the humidity and it was almost noon at this point. I shuffled/ran/walked and tried to just get myself through it. At about the 4k point there was a water station and when I was about 50m from it I saw a guy pass out. By the time I reached him the ambulance was there already and when they left with sirens screaming I remember thinking, "wait, take me too!". That guy actually was in a drug induced coma for a couple of days while they treated him for multiple organ failure. He was a fairly good triathlete that was pushing for a podium spot that day. Scary! Throughout the run I was playing cat and mouse with a girl from my race and age group. She passed me then stopped to walk and I would pass her. At 5k I told myself to suck it up and I would run the last kilometer without stopping. I needed to get it over with! I finally saw the finish line and was running up the chute. About 10 feet from the finish I feel someone whiz by me. NOOOO. I thought it was her. Fortunately it wasn't. It was my friend Dawn who was doing the Sprint Triathlon and is an awesome athlete. She won the women's masters (over 40) division. I came across the line and Paul, Sydney and her husband Andy were waiting for me. I started to cry. It was so hard.
Run #2 time - 48:17 (8:03/km)
Total time - 2:26:52
Overall - 89/105
AG (F35-39) - 3/4
I got an age group award. How funny is that?
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