Moss Park Race report

Cooling down after the race


The Moss Park Olympic Distance Duathlon was held on Sunday and I learned a very important lesson - poker until midnight, combined with chips and dip, and maybe a couple beers is not the best pre race plan ever made.

I was using the Moss Park duathlon as a hard training day so Sean and I could see where my training was and what I needed to work on before Powerman Florida. This race is held in and around Moss Park and is flat and fast - the run course actually has a little shade.

The distances were as follows - Run 1, 2.75 miles, Bike, 23.5 (do not let anyone tell you the course was 25 miles), Run 2, 5.5 miles. There were only about 10 of us in the duathlon but the Tri was going on at the same time so there would be many more people around for the bike and run 2 than on run 1.

The race started exactly on time and at 7:00a we were off for our first 2.75 miles. I ran very smooth and actually felt pretty good. It was still pretty cool during this portion. The run is a little hard to judge how fast you are going because the miles are not marked. The only hiccup on the run was grabbing a cup of gatorade and drinking it to find out there was a bug in it - yum, protein! Run 1 time 16:20 (5:56 pace).

The bike was going to be fun because I was going to be the first person out on the bike course. I have never had a vehicle lead me on the bike course - I thought that would be fun. The bike course is a 2 lap affair and is really flat and fast - some of it was just repaved so that made it even smoother to ride on. I figured this is where I would be caught by some of the super fast triathletes but I figured I would ride as hard as I could until getting caught. Well, no one caught up to me and I was fortunate enough to have the lead vehicle with me the whole way - that was pretty fun - sort of like a rock star. Bike time 59:30 (23.6 mph).

Run 2 was going to be tough. I had only been on the bike for about 5 weeks since last November so I was not sure how my legs would react to running hard after a hard bike. I came out of transition not feeling real well but figured of I could keep running hard I would get in to a groove and start to cruise. It was a little lonely being the only one on the course, a feeling that I am certainly not used to. The first lap went pretty well and I was just trying to hang on for one more lap of 2.75 miles. The second lap was a little tougher but I got in to a decent groove and ran as hard as I could. Run 2 time 36:28 (6:36 pace)

Total time for the race 1:53:44, T1 and T2 were 51 and 34 seconds respectively. I was 1st overall in the duathlon and no triathletes caught me on the course.

I was pretty happy with the time and the way I felt. I wish I would have had a little more sleep and maybe a few less chips but I did not feel horrible. I think there are a a couple areas I could improve - run 1 could have been paced a little better, the bike can get faster with some more work, and run 2 will have to be a little faster and more consistent between lap 1 and 2. I will look to improve on those things at the next race in August.

I was pretty dog tired on Sunday but recovered well yesterday - I did some easy stretching and some core work and my legs fell pretty good. I am heading out for a track workout this morning.

Happy training and good luck in your upcoming events.