Tri for Our Veterans III - Sprint Duathlon
So Saturday morning I tackled another duathlon. This one at Sea Isle City.
Friday night we headed to the event late at night and bedded down at Ocean City. My friend's brother has a beach house at Ocean City which was great since we didn't have to worry about lodging. We got to the house around 11p and went right to sleep. We got up at 4:30a to a downpour and feared the worst for the actual event. Grabbed my oatmeal and rolled right out of the house. By the time we got to Sea Isle City at 5:30a it was overcast, but their beach never got rained on. Thank goodness, because I didn't bring any of my rain gear. When I go to the beach I expect sun, not rain. We got dropped off with our bikes, grabbed our numbers and racked our bikes, and proceeded to wait for the the start at 7am. I hate waiting for anything so I walked around the beach for awhile.
They kicked off the duathlon and the elite tri guys right on schedule. The first run was up and back the boardwalk for a distance of two miles. My running partner forgot all of my pacing instructions and took off like a rabbit. I kept her in my sites for the entire run but couldn't catch her. When I got to the first transition I grabbed my bike, my shoes, and helmet headed right out. The transition area to the mount area was a long distance, which is a real pain in bike shoes. From the time I left the transition area it was another 90 seconds before I could acutally mount the bike. The ride was a short 9 mile up and back, but the road was real patchy, and it didn't allow for real good acceleration. The back part of the ride was head wind. The ride was ok, but the dismount again required about a 100 yard run to the transition area (next year I will just remove my shoes and go sockfoot). Transition was quick. Dumped my helmet and shoes, grabbed my running shoes, a bottle of water (turned out be smart decision since there was only one water stop on this run), and downed a couple of sport beans.
The last run was just under four miles. I decided I wasn't going to break any records today, so I paced myself well and proceeded to just run the whole distance. The work my chiro did on my foot and hamstring was great so I didn't experience any pain on the whole event. The last mile is down the boardwalk and you can actually see the finish line when you get to about 1/2 mile. There were a lot spectators out for the event, and it was great to see all the marines. I spent a lot of the second run thinking about my dad who passed away several years ago, but was colonel in the Marines during the Korean War. I decided to dedicate the race to him. I finished the race strong, actually regretting that I hadn't pushed a little harder earlier, but what can you do. I finished third in my age group (M55-59), and my running partner actually finished second in her age group (F40-44). We waited through the medal presentations, but were disappointed when we found out they were not giving bling out to duathlon age group winners. Oh well, other than waiting a long time for no bling, at least we got meet a lot of great people.
We rode back to the beach house in Ocean City (about 14 miles) in about 40 minutes with all our gear on our backs. I headed straight home to Wilmington since I wanted to try and get some chores done. This was a great event and I'm sure I'll participate next year, I'll just work harder on running with my bike shoes.
Rob
Friday night we headed to the event late at night and bedded down at Ocean City. My friend's brother has a beach house at Ocean City which was great since we didn't have to worry about lodging. We got to the house around 11p and went right to sleep. We got up at 4:30a to a downpour and feared the worst for the actual event. Grabbed my oatmeal and rolled right out of the house. By the time we got to Sea Isle City at 5:30a it was overcast, but their beach never got rained on. Thank goodness, because I didn't bring any of my rain gear. When I go to the beach I expect sun, not rain. We got dropped off with our bikes, grabbed our numbers and racked our bikes, and proceeded to wait for the the start at 7am. I hate waiting for anything so I walked around the beach for awhile.
They kicked off the duathlon and the elite tri guys right on schedule. The first run was up and back the boardwalk for a distance of two miles. My running partner forgot all of my pacing instructions and took off like a rabbit. I kept her in my sites for the entire run but couldn't catch her. When I got to the first transition I grabbed my bike, my shoes, and helmet headed right out. The transition area to the mount area was a long distance, which is a real pain in bike shoes. From the time I left the transition area it was another 90 seconds before I could acutally mount the bike. The ride was a short 9 mile up and back, but the road was real patchy, and it didn't allow for real good acceleration. The back part of the ride was head wind. The ride was ok, but the dismount again required about a 100 yard run to the transition area (next year I will just remove my shoes and go sockfoot). Transition was quick. Dumped my helmet and shoes, grabbed my running shoes, a bottle of water (turned out be smart decision since there was only one water stop on this run), and downed a couple of sport beans.
The last run was just under four miles. I decided I wasn't going to break any records today, so I paced myself well and proceeded to just run the whole distance. The work my chiro did on my foot and hamstring was great so I didn't experience any pain on the whole event. The last mile is down the boardwalk and you can actually see the finish line when you get to about 1/2 mile. There were a lot spectators out for the event, and it was great to see all the marines. I spent a lot of the second run thinking about my dad who passed away several years ago, but was colonel in the Marines during the Korean War. I decided to dedicate the race to him. I finished the race strong, actually regretting that I hadn't pushed a little harder earlier, but what can you do. I finished third in my age group (M55-59), and my running partner actually finished second in her age group (F40-44). We waited through the medal presentations, but were disappointed when we found out they were not giving bling out to duathlon age group winners. Oh well, other than waiting a long time for no bling, at least we got meet a lot of great people.
We rode back to the beach house in Ocean City (about 14 miles) in about 40 minutes with all our gear on our backs. I headed straight home to Wilmington since I wanted to try and get some chores done. This was a great event and I'm sure I'll participate next year, I'll just work harder on running with my bike shoes.
Rob
sounds like fun, congrats on a great day.
Have you looked into leaving the bike shoes clipped onto the pedals. They secure the backs in place with rubber bands, which break away when you start pedaling.
I haven't been brave enough to try it yet. My cycling shoes are a pretty tight fit.
Check out youtube some time there are a few videos on the subject.
Scott
Have you looked into leaving the bike shoes clipped onto the pedals. They secure the backs in place with rubber bands, which break away when you start pedaling.
I haven't been brave enough to try it yet. My cycling shoes are a pretty tight fit.
Check out youtube some time there are a few videos on the subject.
Scott
The first time you do something - It's going to be a personal record!
Congrats on a good outing!
Read my blog, BARIATHLETE I run because I can.
First 5K race October 4, 2009 (34.59) PR 5/22/11 (27:26)
First 5 Mile: January 1, 2011 (50:30)
First 10K: July 4, 2010 (1:03.26) New PR 4/10/11 (1:01.14)
First 10 Mile: April 11, 2010 (1:46.15)
First 1/2 marathon: June 13, 2010 (2:22.21) PR: 5/1/11 (2:17.30)
First Marathon: October 16, 2011: 5:47:20
Goofy Challenge: January 7-8, 2012
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right. - Mary Kay Ash
First 5K race October 4, 2009 (34.59) PR 5/22/11 (27:26)
First 5 Mile: January 1, 2011 (50:30)
First 10K: July 4, 2010 (1:03.26) New PR 4/10/11 (1:01.14)
First 10 Mile: April 11, 2010 (1:46.15)
First 1/2 marathon: June 13, 2010 (2:22.21) PR: 5/1/11 (2:17.30)
First Marathon: October 16, 2011: 5:47:20
Goofy Challenge: January 7-8, 2012
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right. - Mary Kay Ash
great work! congrats!
my father did this event as well, he lives in Cape May. I think he finished pretty strong in his age group (he will be 70 in July) and finished around 1:16 or so. My bro-in-law did the tri and had a good showing as well. Maybe i will travel up north for this one next year, it sounds like fun and a great cause.
my father did this event as well, he lives in Cape May. I think he finished pretty strong in his age group (he will be 70 in July) and finished around 1:16 or so. My bro-in-law did the tri and had a good showing as well. Maybe i will travel up north for this one next year, it sounds like fun and a great cause.
Where are we going?? And why am I in this handbasket??
right now. somewhere. somebody is working harder than you.
right now. somewhere. somebody is working harder than you.
Most Active
Recent Topics
