Had a great time and an excellent race at my 3rd Rope Mill Duathlon. It consisted of a 6 mile bike, 3 mile run, then another 6 mile bike. Try to imagine all out effort for nearly 90 minutes. This race was a beast last year and was one of the toughest races I did. This year was no different except that I am pleased to report that this year I felt a lot better physically and mentally. My bike to run transition was more "pleasant" and I didn't feel nearly as trashed going up the first awful hill to Explorer Trail. I was a lot more assertive and in control. I had rested all week except for a short MTB ride on Wednesday. Also haven't been doing much running to speak of for the past several weeks. I think I may have pulled a muscle in my right quad as it's been bothering me since the ride on Wednesday.
We had a race start in the 30s this morning. I couldn't feel my hands and was having to rest my palm on my bars and brake with 2 fingers. My feet were equally numb. I decided to ride Singlespeed because it's been on the shelf for the past several months with various mechanical problems and I'm so elated to have it back in my arsenal. I saw a lot of Singlespeed bikes but turns out there were only 3 in my category,which was a bummer. I think the other Singlespeeders must've been on teams. (Cmon guys, bust out the running shoes!)
I went to bed the night before at 11 and for some reason woke up at 5 and stayed awake thinking about the race. My alarm was for 7. Had a light breakfast of Larabar and raisins. Too tired to make grits.
At the start I wished for a higher gear ratio because I was spinning out on the flat pavement start. I was in the 3rd wave and would've preferred to have been in the 2nd wave because I had to pass a lot of the Sport category riders in the 2nd wave. 1st wave was the insanely fast Expert class. It's truly humbling to see those guys once at the start and then not again. My first lap was quick and assertive. I saw one of the guys who was in my class ahead of me and he kept pulling away then I would catch him because he was having trouble with the rocks and roots. I could tell wasn't that great of a biker and hoped to take advantage. I passed a dozen or so racers and don't recall getting passed by anyone. The first lap was cramped and there were a lot of dismounts for all the logjams, which happened because racers couldn't bike over relatively easy technical features. At the cliffs on Avalanche, a Singlespeeder in front of me decided to dismount at one of the rock features which caused me to dismount. I ran right past him pushing my bike because I had had enough of this. I wonder if he had been on a mountain bike before this race. I think he was on a team anyway. Finished first lap and did the strange creek crossing to the transition area. Had a quick transition to my running shoes. Run felt pretty good! I think I was putting in an 8:30 to 9 minute pace. No problems with the run. Better yet, I never saw the other 2 Singlespeed guys. I beat them on the run by 2 minutes.
Transition back to bike was also quick then on to my second bike leg I was all alone on the 2nd lap and felt pretty strong. My 2nd lap was 3 minutes faster than my first which really pleases me. Maintaining focus and positive mental attitude on 2nd lap. I started to think about work but quickly forgot about that and focused on the task at hand. Saw 2 guys in front of me by about 30 seconds. Eventually caught them on the cliffs and one of them was on a Singlespeed. I thought he was in my category but turns out he was on a team. He beat me by a few seconds.
I was shocked when Renee came over and told me I had first place handily. I'm eager to see what I came in overall because there were some crazy fast peeps out there. Oddly, I felt better overall this year but my lap times were slower. I don't feel like I could've gone much faster but with only 1 gear you do the best that you can.
Overall, this was a great race and I had a fun time. I wonder how many people didn't show up due to the freezing temps..I'm pleased to see my progress over the past 3 years of doing this race. The podium is nice too!
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We had a race start in the 30s this morning. I couldn't feel my hands and was having to rest my palm on my bars and brake with 2 fingers. My feet were equally numb. I decided to ride Singlespeed because it's been on the shelf for the past several months with various mechanical problems and I'm so elated to have it back in my arsenal. I saw a lot of Singlespeed bikes but turns out there were only 3 in my category,which was a bummer. I think the other Singlespeeders must've been on teams. (Cmon guys, bust out the running shoes!)
I went to bed the night before at 11 and for some reason woke up at 5 and stayed awake thinking about the race. My alarm was for 7. Had a light breakfast of Larabar and raisins. Too tired to make grits.
At the start I wished for a higher gear ratio because I was spinning out on the flat pavement start. I was in the 3rd wave and would've preferred to have been in the 2nd wave because I had to pass a lot of the Sport category riders in the 2nd wave. 1st wave was the insanely fast Expert class. It's truly humbling to see those guys once at the start and then not again. My first lap was quick and assertive. I saw one of the guys who was in my class ahead of me and he kept pulling away then I would catch him because he was having trouble with the rocks and roots. I could tell wasn't that great of a biker and hoped to take advantage. I passed a dozen or so racers and don't recall getting passed by anyone. The first lap was cramped and there were a lot of dismounts for all the logjams, which happened because racers couldn't bike over relatively easy technical features. At the cliffs on Avalanche, a Singlespeeder in front of me decided to dismount at one of the rock features which caused me to dismount. I ran right past him pushing my bike because I had had enough of this. I wonder if he had been on a mountain bike before this race. I think he was on a team anyway. Finished first lap and did the strange creek crossing to the transition area. Had a quick transition to my running shoes. Run felt pretty good! I think I was putting in an 8:30 to 9 minute pace. No problems with the run. Better yet, I never saw the other 2 Singlespeed guys. I beat them on the run by 2 minutes.
Transition back to bike was also quick then on to my second bike leg I was all alone on the 2nd lap and felt pretty strong. My 2nd lap was 3 minutes faster than my first which really pleases me. Maintaining focus and positive mental attitude on 2nd lap. I started to think about work but quickly forgot about that and focused on the task at hand. Saw 2 guys in front of me by about 30 seconds. Eventually caught them on the cliffs and one of them was on a Singlespeed. I thought he was in my category but turns out he was on a team. He beat me by a few seconds.
I was shocked when Renee came over and told me I had first place handily. I'm eager to see what I came in overall because there were some crazy fast peeps out there. Oddly, I felt better overall this year but my lap times were slower. I don't feel like I could've gone much faster but with only 1 gear you do the best that you can.
Overall, this was a great race and I had a fun time. I wonder how many people didn't show up due to the freezing temps..I'm pleased to see my progress over the past 3 years of doing this race. The podium is nice too!
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