Sunday, January 20, 2008

Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon

Yay! I did it... I stuck it out and raced in Antarctic conditions hehe.

My friend George and I left before the awards as we were cold and hungry. Overall Female I got 3rd and 1st in my age group. So, not too shabby.

Details:
Did my 10min run and 10min bike warm up and by then was actually not feeling so frozen, except my toes which were completely numb.
The first run 5k was good. I went on perceived race pace effort as I was wearing my HR strap from my powermeter for bike download. Mile one came at 6:19, and I was feeling like I could hold sub-6:30s after all...I had serious doubts about that this morning when I realized my genious had forgotten my inhaler in Dallas!!! It was actually a cool run course...mostly trail and flat.

Went into transition in 21 so did slow down after the first mile, bummer, but I wasn't disappointed. The bike felt really good, I'm feeling strong on the bike- those power workouts on the trainer the last couple of weeks have paid off! The roads were awesome and we had great lane closures for the race. It was two loops for 21miles. The end of the loop had some nice rollers :) From out of nowhere though, the wind that was non-existent before the start had turned Hawi-like haha. So head wind for about 6-7 miles of the 10.5 mile loop and the rest tailwind. I'm happy with my bike. If I could go back, I'd probably take it a little easier the first 2-3 miles...I think I hammered too hard. That seems to be a problem with me- taking it easy at the beginning!!

Second 5k...this is where I wanted to kill myself for forgetting my inhaler. My chest/lungs/throat were painful and pillow-stuffed. Leg wise- I settled into running rythm after 1.5miles. 22:53 so much slower than the first 5k. At the finish the breathing was scary but I walked it off, drank some warm water and it eventually settled down.

Conclusion: I'm happy with my effort, I gave it my all, learned my lessons (don't forget inhaler, conserve the first few minutes of the run and bike).

Well, plannin on chilling the rest of the day and probably get in the cold water at Barton Springs for a mock "ice-bath".

Looking forward to UT masters swim tomorrow morning and then hopefully a traffic free drive back to Dallas!