Duathlon World Champs Race Report

My race was tough. Everything had gone according to plan over the last week, although I was a bit tired from traveling, and I knew what to expect. I had been over the course, and was well aware of the hills we had to go up five times on the bike and three times on the run.

My race was at 2pm and I met up with Murray just outside our residence at 12 noon so we could ride down together. We needed to be there in plenty of time in case we had to sort out any issues, but not so early was to exhaust ourselves sitting around. We were to race with the 50-54 year olds as well.

Check in went smoothly, and we hung around warming up and making sure we were getting enough fluids and also an understanding of how transition worked - it changed every few races to accommodate the "moving" bike racks.

At 2pm we took off - well everyone else did! The pace was hectic, and it was more than enough for me. The reality of my last nine weeks came home to me. Let me recap.

* I had been in fabulous shape, worried that I was doing to much and that "something was going to go wrong" about nine weeks out. At this point I picked up a mild cold, but wasn't worried and took a few days off and kept it easy for another week.
* Then in the third club duathlon of the season an orange safety road cone jumped out and attacked me (OK, so I wasn't looking where I was going, being more concerned on a safe merge with the traffic ahead at an intersection). I fell hard, but nothing was broken, and apart from the bruising I had a pulled abductor which kept me out for a week.
* Stupidly, I then raced in the abductor which put me out for another week.
* Thereafter a bunch of small things started to accumulate - none of them serious but all keeping me out of training for 2-5 days each - a strained lower back, a pulled hamstring, a sore knee, and an aching shoulder, the last two keeping me awake at night. These things were most likely a direct result of the accident.
* Add to this shin splints and an inflamed achilles because I was doing intervals in the track in an effort to make up lost ground - possibly counter-productive.

So I finished the run about two places from the back of the field and already one lap down to the top few guys. It got worse on the bike as most of the field lapped me, and I only made up a few places. I'm just not used to this pace after so many years of ironman training and 'racing'.

The second run hurt, but I could not walk, and my speed was reduced to over 5 minute kilometers by the end of it. I finished second to last in my age group, and some 10 minutes slower than I had hoped on that course. Nevertheless I was pleased with my effort under the circumstances and I feel I went well. However I shan't be back until I can manage 4 minute kilometers on the run without going into the 'red-zone'.

Race morning

Well it's dawned fine and glorious. I had a good nights sleep, for me anyway :). The racing would have already started for some of the team, and while I have become quite friendly with some of them I won't be going down to watch. Racing starts at about 8am and goes through to the last start at 3.30pm. I start at 2pm.

We have to present a minimum of one hour before our start time, so just after 12 noon, I am meeting Murray at the door and we will roll on down to the start, and maybe catch some of the action of the previous race. The batches seem to be a couple of hundred strong, so there shouldn't be too much drama with queues and waiting. We will have to wait to last finisher of the 3.30pm race is in before we can clear our bikes and head back.

So until then, I will be eating a leisurely breakfast, putting my feet up and maybe catching up on some earlier blog posts still waiting to be written.

Parade of nations

This was a lot of fun.

The athlete's village

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, on the train after Sandra had dropped me off at Falkirk. My bike was already assembled so I had to squash into the door area. Arriving at Edinburgh was an experience. My map showed me I had 1.3 miles to walk - not a problem. However the station is about 200 feet below street level. That's a lot of stairs to climb with a bike and two bags! Then once up there I had to negotiate the busy sidewalks, which I can tell you are not very wide.

Anyway, thanks again to the wonders of GPS (and a spare battery) I found my accommodation just in time for a quick shower and the regular 5.30pm team meeting. By 9pm I was out so sleepy I turned in for the night.

Yesterday we had registration, which went without a hitch or a delay. There is an issue with the NZ team uniforms - the letters on the back are the wrong size. Normally this will prevent one from racing (it has happened before where a whole team has been disqualified). I understand though that we have been given special dispensation.

In the afternoon I rode over the course. It wasn't quite as daunting as it looked on the map, or from the athlete's village. This mini-mountain looms above us, with the road way up high. And we have to ascend it five times on the bike for a total of 750 yards of vertical climbing in 25.7 miles. I had to ride the main descent the wrong way - its a single lane, and the normal flow of traffic is up. On race day its down, and I suppose is the riskiest part of the course. There is an open training session at 5pm tonight, but by then its rest time for me, and besides there will be thousands of cyclists out there and there are bound to be a few prangs.

Then last night we had the carbo dinner. Its not so much of a formal dinner as a walk through buffet. There are a couple of thousand athletes so obviously they have to accommodate everyone somehow.

35 miles of Scottish country lanes

Sandra piled my bike and me into her car, and she took me a short way to meet Drew, my cycle tour guide for the day. Drew is an interesting character, he refers to Scotland as a country, and has all the local towns and cities ranked in a priority order. He has travelled the world and is as tough as nails.

I saw he was much more warmly dressed than I, and this worried me somewhat. However it was a glorious day and we headed out for a couple of hours. We had a great ride along tiny country lanes, and undulating byways. I shall not complain about the state of New Zealand's roads anymore.

After a little while Drew said he needed a "wee stop". Being in Scotland I thought that meant he needed a little rest. I was wrong, what he had was a wee stop. I hung behind him for the first half hour or so as we were turning every few hundred yards. Then he said to me, we had 10 miles of road before a T-junction, I could have my head, and so away I went. I had to wait for him a few times, but afterwards he said he was pleased to have someone else do the work for a change.

After a very pleasant two and a half hours Drew left me at a corner with directions about how to get back to Sandra's place. Thank goodness for the wonders of GPS.

It was wonderful having someone take me out - if I had gone on my own I wouldn't have found those delightful routes, and would have spent half my time looking at my map wondering where in Scotland I was.

As for my fitness, well generally it leaves a lot to be desired, but I was very pleased with the state of my legs. My heart and lungs were not so happy, as I was huffing and puffing the whole way, but it was good to power up the hills into the wind with a few gears to spare.

Loch Lomond

The plan for the day was to visit Loch Lomond, less than an hours drive from Paisley. Sandra, Cassie (the exuberant Alsatian) and I arrived at the Southern end (I think) of the Loch. Its quite commercial here, with restaurants, fun fairs and a visitor centre. It was Bank holiday in England so many of them had presumably come over the border.

The loch separates the highlands from the lowlands and thus the Gaels from the Scots, and it is situated on a huge fault line. God does have a sense of humour. After a while of walking around this area and enticing Cassie into the water for a few fetch swims we headed for less populated areas.

On the way we stopped for a lovely lunch and then back into the car where we found some peaceful shores, and plenty of photo opportunities. Of course all the while we were catching up on nearly 30 missed years.