Dooby Do Duathlon Race Recap
April 19th, 2010I know you’ve heard this 100 times, but never use new equipment on race day. Furthermore, do not wait till the last second to tune up your bike. I spent 7 hours and one trip to the bike store during the rebuild.
I was lucky that Saturday’s bike rebuild went so well. I just needed to get one new shifting wire. Other than that, I was able to fine to the race bike and launch into 2010 racing season.
The Dooby do Duathlon was the first on the race docket. It was a 2.25 mile run 6.5 mile bike, 2.25 mile run 6.5 mile bike, 2.25 mile run. It’s intense as you are redlined the entire way.
The first run went pretty well. The course was changed a bit from prior years and everyone’s times was about 2-3 min slower than prior years. I kept within myself and didn’t blow up because I knew I had to race the bike hard (twice).
I came into transition tied with first, however; a helmet flaw left me in transition 15 seconds longer both blowing me lead and allowing the chase pack to catch me. I quickly rectified the situation and was off.
At this point I was racing for second place. Roger Bonga a formidable competitor and I swapped spots on the first bike leg. I knew there’d be a 3 mile stretch where we’d battle the wind. In calm air I was easily 25-26 mph, but once we got into the wind (COLD wind 35f) I slowed to 21-22 mph. On Cross wind I was 24-25mph. The comfort of the bike felt so much better. Ken O’day helped me re tool the race bike. If comfort was any indication, I think we nailed it. I also worked with John Sherman and he was able to get me the parts to rebuild my bike.
Here’s where the computrainer paid off this winter. While my bike is a little faster, it was the run that felt amazing. Off the bike, my legs felt like I was running for the first time. It felt like my body just wanted to continue to push faster and faster.
In this formula one style race where there are 5 legs to the event, you want to make sure you pace yourself. I think I did a good job pacing, but what was more important was feeling extremely confident in my running. Biking I didn’t give anything up, but running is what set me apart from the rest of the field.
It’s my hope to continue this trend. I’m very happy with the season opener!!!

