I'm having a ridiculously hard time trying to decide whether or not to try my hand at the Off Road Duathlon Championship Saturday in Richmond, VA. On one hand it's 2 hours away in Richmond, VA and I haven't been specifically training for it, nor have I exactly tapered for it (today I ran at lunch and then put in 8 moderate mountain bike miles with Brian after work). I also don't have a good pair of trail runners and my two pairs of running shoes currently in use are somewhat less then stellar on technical terrain...
On the other hand, I've been consistantly running since the build up for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, I've been riding and feeling really good on the mountain bike a bit lately and don't feel like I'd be at any big disadvantage there, I've got tomorrow to rest and well, shoes are shoes right? Considering next weekend I'm doing a 12 hour race I better be good to go on the mountain bike right?
Plus this is the National Championship Race, something I've never done, nor have I really ever considered doing before. It'd be pretty cool to see where I stack up against the competition on this too; so long as I don't get completely trampled to the ground and humbled beyond repair. I've got to feel at least somewhat good about myself going into next weekends' race...
So, I have 1 day to decide. If I do go, I'll get some cool swag... though I don't think I can let myself be swayed by that.
Showing posts with label duathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label duathlon. Show all posts
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Dilema
Training Duathlon results are posted. All in all not too bad. The first run was a little slower then I thought due to the 3 mile distance as opposed to what I thought was 3.1 but nothing drastic. Everything else is pretty straight forward what I had give or take a little due to transition time which I didn't really mess with. I was happy to see I turned in a slightly faster run time on the second run then the guy ahead of me that passed me on the bike. On the other hand I had him in my view almost the entire run, felt I was catching up but just couldn't turn it on to really give it a go. I think I should be able to turn up my pace at that point in a race to pick people off in the run.
In other news, I bought a new helmet on Sunday and returned it on Monday. I was feeling rushed at Performance while they were closing and made a hasty decision to buy the Giro Atmos for around $140. By the time I got home I knew I was returning it. Only problem now is that I still don't have a helmet.
PBK.com is having a 10% off online sales, sale and free shipping to the US and they've got a Bell Alchera on sale for $50. Looks good to me though I of course was poking around and found a 2XU tri suit on sale for $100. I've been eyeing that suit up for the past year and knowing this year I want something other then the Zoot suit I was wearing last year I'm now tossing around my real desire for this suit.
I could always justify it by telling myself that by buying both items I essentially spend the same amount I got back when I returned the Atmos. That seems to me like the same kind of logic as saying you lose money by not buying things (you don't need) at a big sale.
In other news, I bought a new helmet on Sunday and returned it on Monday. I was feeling rushed at Performance while they were closing and made a hasty decision to buy the Giro Atmos for around $140. By the time I got home I knew I was returning it. Only problem now is that I still don't have a helmet.
PBK.com is having a 10% off online sales, sale and free shipping to the US and they've got a Bell Alchera on sale for $50. Looks good to me though I of course was poking around and found a 2XU tri suit on sale for $100. I've been eyeing that suit up for the past year and knowing this year I want something other then the Zoot suit I was wearing last year I'm now tossing around my real desire for this suit.
I could always justify it by telling myself that by buying both items I essentially spend the same amount I got back when I returned the Atmos. That seems to me like the same kind of logic as saying you lose money by not buying things (you don't need) at a big sale.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Pre-Crash Saturday
I know, I said I wouldn't talk about it but... oh well. My body still hurts so I did anyway.
A shot from last week when it got warm. We got Cassie a couple of chances to swim while it was in the 70's. The water was still a bit chilly but she was having a good time none the less.
Friday night I went out to dinner with Aimee and her folks at the new National Harbor for her father's birthday. I won't go into my thoughts on the area, aside from pointing out how inaccessible it is and how badly I think that hurts it's chances of succeeding. After dinner we went to a sports bar to watch the Duquesne vs Dayton game. Very exciting with a GREAT outcome. Saturday's game not quite as great but still an awesome season for the Dukes. They will still likely make the NIT tournament which is a big deal considering their record four seasons ago was 3 and 24. See more fun Duquesne men's bball facts here.
Anyway, Saturday morning came early and saw me a bit groggy after a couple too many beers but I managed to drag myself out of bed before 7 anyway. I made my way down to Hains Point for the first DC Tri training duathlon of the year. The temps were just under 40 for the start at 8 and the group that showed up was surprisingly large.
I started off the opening 5k along with the front group of about 10 with a few guys tearing off the front of the group. For the first 2 miles or so I was feeling pretty descent and was sticking right with another guy who was running very smoothly. He eventually pulled away and continued to do so for the remainder of the run. I found myself somewhere around 1.5 and 2 miles losing my form and efficiency so there is definitely some work to be done there.
In the first transition I moved quickly and managed to make up some time on the guy I'd been chasing in the run. In the first few hundred meters I caught him, commended his run performance and then settled in for the 16.8 mile bike. I didn't feel great on the bike but also wasn't doing terrible. The glutes were feeling tight right away and stayed that way through about half of the bike section and in the end I averaged somewhere between 20 and 21 mph, with no serious head/tail winds for the ride. I believe I should be aiming for somewhere closer 23 in those conditions and on that course but at this point in the season I'll gladly take my result.
The second run was as usual a bit of a shock to the system. The calfs started to cramp initially but quickly loosened up. For the first brick of the season I feel pretty good about the post ride pace though hopefully later in the season I'll be able to hold a faster turnover on the run. One thing that needs some work which will assist in that and a better and more comfortable bike portion are my flexibility. Core strength also needs some work.
In the end I was passed by one guy at the end of the bike and otherwise sat in the same position from the early bike portion through the finish. Not sure my eventual placement but it was either 7th or 9th based on updates from one of the volunteers during the ride.
Total time was around 1:30.
My first run time was 19:40 (my first sub 20 5k I believe) a pace of 6:21/mile.
The bike portion was around 50 minutes, 20 point something mph.
The second bike 22:40, a pace of around 7:20/mile.
A shot from last week when it got warm. We got Cassie a couple of chances to swim while it was in the 70's. The water was still a bit chilly but she was having a good time none the less.Anyway, Saturday morning came early and saw me a bit groggy after a couple too many beers but I managed to drag myself out of bed before 7 anyway. I made my way down to Hains Point for the first DC Tri training duathlon of the year. The temps were just under 40 for the start at 8 and the group that showed up was surprisingly large.
I started off the opening 5k along with the front group of about 10 with a few guys tearing off the front of the group. For the first 2 miles or so I was feeling pretty descent and was sticking right with another guy who was running very smoothly. He eventually pulled away and continued to do so for the remainder of the run. I found myself somewhere around 1.5 and 2 miles losing my form and efficiency so there is definitely some work to be done there.
In the first transition I moved quickly and managed to make up some time on the guy I'd been chasing in the run. In the first few hundred meters I caught him, commended his run performance and then settled in for the 16.8 mile bike. I didn't feel great on the bike but also wasn't doing terrible. The glutes were feeling tight right away and stayed that way through about half of the bike section and in the end I averaged somewhere between 20 and 21 mph, with no serious head/tail winds for the ride. I believe I should be aiming for somewhere closer 23 in those conditions and on that course but at this point in the season I'll gladly take my result.
The second run was as usual a bit of a shock to the system. The calfs started to cramp initially but quickly loosened up. For the first brick of the season I feel pretty good about the post ride pace though hopefully later in the season I'll be able to hold a faster turnover on the run. One thing that needs some work which will assist in that and a better and more comfortable bike portion are my flexibility. Core strength also needs some work.
In the end I was passed by one guy at the end of the bike and otherwise sat in the same position from the early bike portion through the finish. Not sure my eventual placement but it was either 7th or 9th based on updates from one of the volunteers during the ride.
Total time was around 1:30.
My first run time was 19:40 (my first sub 20 5k I believe) a pace of 6:21/mile.
The bike portion was around 50 minutes, 20 point something mph.
The second bike 22:40, a pace of around 7:20/mile.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Awaiting unofficial officials...
Sunday morning I woke up relatively early (for a Sunday morning at least) and headed down to Haines Point to try my hand at the final DC Tri Training Duathlon. I've never done a duathlon, and I've only ever done one real brick workout which was over a year ago when I was training for the Pittsburgh Triathlon. So, needless to say I had no idea what to expect; though I do know I've gotten a lot faster, at least on foot over the past year.
There was a good group of folks out; I'd guess at least 30 started though don't quote me on that. We all basically leaned our bikes up against trees and benches, pulled on the running shoes and lined up at the exit of the bus parking area near the point. I lined up about mid pack but quickly made my way out and around the majority of the crew once we started. I figured I might be going out to hard but I wanted to push things a little bit and soon I was solidly in 4th overall with 1 and 2 setting a blistering pace and trailing third by just a few steps.
I continued to pace off of the runner in third until I was gradually passed by another guy who then moved on to pass the guy in front of me. This got me a bit more motivated toat least keep my fourth place spot and I picked it up, passing the one and then trailing, with a slightly widening gap the new third place the remainder of the first run. This was probably one of my better 5k runs with a pace of what I'm guessing will be just over 6 minutes per mile.
The transition to the bike was ok, though I didn't really press to hard to be fast. I kept the intensity pretty high and kept my eye on the guy ahead of me. We did the long loop, all the way down to Independence and back around the point three times so I got to see how far behind the leaders I was each lap. The top two again were flying, though I think I kept them at a somewhat consistent gap for the majority of the bike. I felt pretty good, though the feeling of the run then bike is definitely a bit different then the swim then bike. The glutes were certainly feeling the brunt of the additional pain. The gap between myself and third remained fairly constant, though I don't believe I made up any ground.
The final run started pretty poorly with more calf cramping. I need to figure something out to deal with that since for the second time in a row I had to stop and message a leg so it wouldn't seize up. Once I got it worked out I cruised along the rest of the way, making sure no one was catching me but also knowing I wouldn't catch anyone ahead of me either. I definitely could have given the second run more had there been some motivation but still it was a good run.
Overall I'm very pleased with the result for the day. I've got some serious work to do before I can hang with the leaders out there but I gave a solid effort and I feel like I produced a good result against some veteran competition. I'm eagerly (read: obsessively) awaiting the final results which should be posted on the dc tri site soon so until then I won't know exactly how things went by the numbers. Will post up some data bling (sorry, no powertap here) as soon as it is available.
There was a good group of folks out; I'd guess at least 30 started though don't quote me on that. We all basically leaned our bikes up against trees and benches, pulled on the running shoes and lined up at the exit of the bus parking area near the point. I lined up about mid pack but quickly made my way out and around the majority of the crew once we started. I figured I might be going out to hard but I wanted to push things a little bit and soon I was solidly in 4th overall with 1 and 2 setting a blistering pace and trailing third by just a few steps.
I continued to pace off of the runner in third until I was gradually passed by another guy who then moved on to pass the guy in front of me. This got me a bit more motivated toat least keep my fourth place spot and I picked it up, passing the one and then trailing, with a slightly widening gap the new third place the remainder of the first run. This was probably one of my better 5k runs with a pace of what I'm guessing will be just over 6 minutes per mile.
The transition to the bike was ok, though I didn't really press to hard to be fast. I kept the intensity pretty high and kept my eye on the guy ahead of me. We did the long loop, all the way down to Independence and back around the point three times so I got to see how far behind the leaders I was each lap. The top two again were flying, though I think I kept them at a somewhat consistent gap for the majority of the bike. I felt pretty good, though the feeling of the run then bike is definitely a bit different then the swim then bike. The glutes were certainly feeling the brunt of the additional pain. The gap between myself and third remained fairly constant, though I don't believe I made up any ground.
The final run started pretty poorly with more calf cramping. I need to figure something out to deal with that since for the second time in a row I had to stop and message a leg so it wouldn't seize up. Once I got it worked out I cruised along the rest of the way, making sure no one was catching me but also knowing I wouldn't catch anyone ahead of me either. I definitely could have given the second run more had there been some motivation but still it was a good run.
Overall I'm very pleased with the result for the day. I've got some serious work to do before I can hang with the leaders out there but I gave a solid effort and I feel like I produced a good result against some veteran competition. I'm eagerly (read: obsessively) awaiting the final results which should be posted on the dc tri site soon so until then I won't know exactly how things went by the numbers. Will post up some data bling (sorry, no powertap here) as soon as it is available.
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