Mt. Rainier Duathlon

This was an awesome race, but really different and challenging. It was my first duathlon. I wasn't feeling great coming into the race, so I am happy with my performance considering the latter.

Got to the race with plenty of time to sign up and set up my transition. Had some coffee 15 minutes prior to race (I don’t drink except before races now, so it was like rocket fuel) and an EFS flask. Started off the race wanting to stick to the plan and stay relatively conservative on the first run, but then I saw how fast everyone around me was going. So I just tried to stay with the main pack of runners. I felt really good for this first portion of the race, besides being slightly tired from lack of sleep. Here are my mile times:

Mile 1 : 5:53
Mile 2 : 6:14
Mile 3: 6:13
Mile 4: 6:25 (140 elevation gain, 80 loss)
Mile 5: 6:01

I got to transition and felt good, not too worried that I would be shelled for the 28 miles ahead on the bike. I put my helmet on and then grabbed my bike only to realize I forgot to put my shoes on the bike pedals before the race, so I had to go into my bag unzip to sections where I keep my smelly shoes and put them on and run in them. Lost around 15-20 seconds. Grabbed another EFS flask and put it in my jersey. I went out super hard and was trying to make up ground that I had lost in T1, to my surprise my legs felt totally fine (compared to how they have been feeling at the run, bike EMC sessions). I cranked it and caught up to the guys that were in front of me during the first run (Derek, Joshua?). A little surprised with the Mud Mt. climb, was not expecting that kind of grade, ouch. I hammered on the downhill trying to maintain 85% FTP wattage or more. First lap was good, then I had a period where I was feeling flat (maybe depressed that I had to go up Mud Mt. again), but I quickly snapped out of it. I felt crappy when I was climbing during the second lap, but stayed pretty close to my desired power. I was able to hammer the downhill and go hard the whole way back. Consumed EFS Flask and two water bottles both with 2 scoops of EFS powder, so close to 600 calories.

Bike Split (late starting) : 1:18
work: 1505
tss: 148
Norm: 324
VI: 102
Power – Avg 319 Max 724
HR - Avg 146
Cadence – 87 rpm
Speed – Avg. 21.5

I got through T2 with only a small mess up with my glasses, it only cost me a few seconds. When I started the run I realized that I had to pee and I couldn’t go while moving, so I stopped for a 15 seconds to get some relief, but Derek Hill passed me!! I felt like a boy with wooden legs during this portion of the race. I went as hard as I could, but I was on the brink of cramping and really didn’t have any juice left. Didn’t take any gel during this portion.

Mile 1: 6:50 (stopped to pee)
Mile 2: 6:48
Mile 3: 6:44
Mile 4 (.79 ml): 5:40

Great job to everyone who raced today!

[HansLund]

Thanks for sharing Damon and some darn good speed on your part - congrats!!!!!

Looks like Kara and Michael had phenominal races as well; a very stong showing, hip-hip, hurra

[Marne Sall]

Thanks for taking the time to share, Damon. I could sense the mental and physical aspects of the race through your report. Given this was your first duathlon, what was your biggest "aha moment"? Your fall/winter training really came through with your pace and watts results. Very impressive and fun to learn and share in your first-hand experience. Well done!

Marne

[BryanU]

Nice work and results Damon!

What's your race schedule this year? (I want to make sure I race different races )

Thanks Hans - Yeah Kara and Michael did great! Michael had enough time to change clothes and mix some recovery drinks before I finished!

Marne, thanks a lot. My biggest "aha moments" were when we first started the 5 mile run at the beginning and I realized that if I didn't go faster than I had originally planned I wouldn't make top 10, so I really had to go with the flow of the race at the beginning. And then I also realized that the transition needs to be set up just as carefully as a triathlon; I forgot to take my shoes out of my transition bag until I came back from the first run!

Bryan, I think I will be doing either the Carnation TT Hill Course or the Kirkland Half Marathon. I need to fine tune my running before Boise 70.3! So you will probably be in the clear for the time trial, hehe.

Great job out there Damon...especially considering you were racing while dosed up on antibiotics (could account for the bathroom break on the run!) I have only done a few duathlons at this point, but in my opinion, the running with "wooden legs" feeling does not seem to go away Duathlons definitely hurt, that's for sure.
Great job out there.

Nice racing Damon!
It sounds like your first duathlon was a good learning experience for you. You're right about people running pretty fast the first run. It comes with a little experience, but I always find if you run just a touch below "all out" for the open distance you should be ok . I know that's not very scientific but it seems to work, like I knew I COULD run faster on the first run, but it would have been a big effort, so I knew the pace we were going was just about right.

As far as my race went, it was sort of blah to be honest. I found myself a little complacent on the first run. One other guy took it out pretty fast, and so I gradually realed him in over the first mile or so, he seemed like he really wanted to push the pace, so I decided to keep him within reach. By about mile 2 we were shoulder to shoulder and then he actually dropped behind me, so I kept the same tempo. We hit the rolling section and I realized it was just the two of us with a fairly decent gap to 3rd (who was Vo2 athlete Seth Berntsen). Coming into T1 I figured I could put some time on this guy, so I rushed to my bike, only to screw around with my helmet for an extra 15 seconds than I shouldn't have had to.

First run was 28:26 (5:35 pace) with T1 in 28 secs.

I ended up heading out of T1 side by side with the other guy who I'd run with. I had my shoes mounted on my bike and had a relatively smooth time putting shoes on and getting up to speed. I excited the parking lot, got into the aerobars and started to get moving. I got the first right hand corner about 200 yards into the course and glanced back after turning the corner to see where things stood, and the guy was no where to be found. At first I thought maybe he dropped a shoe (he had his shoes mounted to pedals too), but I never found out what the problem was. I just kept riding and every now and then would look back on the 90 degree corners to see if anyone was in the distance. Unfortunately I never saw anyone again the rest of the race and so just settled into a rhythm and kept riding "comfortably hard". In some ways I was glad for the solo race as I was doing it as a hard workout before Wildflower on Saturday, part of me wanted to have a tempo workout where I didn't have to dig too deep for before WF, but the other part knows it's also nice to really be pushed to your limits to get some growth both physically and psychologically. I know this wasn't probably the best day to have to really battle, as I never felt 100% on, but I pushed hard none the less all the way through the bike. Bike split (according to website) was 1:18:14, about 2 minutes slower than last time I was here, but I knew during the ride I wasn't quite killing it like the last time which was probably one of the best rides I've ever had in a race.

I came off the bike and decided to run quick for 10 minutes just to simulate racing off the bike and then back off a bit to save my legs for next weekend. I got into a decent rhythm on the run and felt fine. After the first 10 minutes I backed off a little mentally, but never really slowed down too much I don't think. I often times feel it's a bit hard to break your rhythm/cadence especially when running off the bike, so I just tried to keep it going without putting too much pressure on myself to dig deep. In the end I found myself pusing a little bit just to put up a decent time (I was 2:06:high, last time) and decided I needed to at least get under 2:10 today. 2nd run ended up going 21:54 (5:46 pace) and felt good. Overall a pretty solid day and more importantly not too beat up and tired for next weekend I think. Overall time was 2:09:28.

Some other highlights were getting to see all the Vo2 team out racing this weekend. We had a good showing from many team members and coached athletes.

Again Kara upstaged all of us I think by taking on a small but incredibly talented group of women at this years race. This years race featured perennial top age grouper in the country Tracy Orcutt (anyone who's raced in this area knows who she is), also in the field was former All-American track and cross country runner at Nebraska (Kirkland native) Kimberly Pancoast, this woman would pretty much "chick" any dude on our team in most running races (she went 16:46 at the Jingle Bell run 5k here in Seattle in December of 07, just to give you some perspective).

Needless to say Kara had her hands full with these and other women, not to mention the guys on our team who's heels she would be nipping at. Kara ended having a great first run putting time in Tracy Orcutt who is a noteably strong runner in the triathlon scene (Tracy mentioned later how she couldn't believe how much faster Kara's running had gotten over the off season!), and limited her losses to Kim as much as one can hope for in this case. She took it fairly easy on the bike on the first lap, until she was caught by Tracy which put the spark in her and she took off again, eventually catching Kim Pancoast (who herself posted a very strong sub 1:30 bike split) near the end of the bike. The highlight of the race had to be Kara leaving T2 just ahead of Kim, and holding her off until just 200 yards from the finish. Finishing just 10 seconds back to a woman who was only outrun by me (she crushed every other man in the field on the second run!).

Kara posted the fastest woman's bike split again in 1:25:51, faster than all but 11 men in the race, and then averaged 6:26 miles for the second run. (Pritchard it's a good thing you didn't come race, or the your worst nightmare would have come true I think, on this day! )

Also wanted to recognize an athlete of mine (who's not on the list serve I don't think) Seth Berntsen who finished second overall and PR'd by nearly 3 minutes on his already fast time from three years ago. He's getting ready for Wildflower, and more importantly IM CDA this year, so look out for him as well.

Nice work to all the other Vo2 people at the race, I meant to get a team picture, but didn't get a chance. Hopefully others will chime in with there impressions of the race. It was awesome seeing so many of our team do well, I think we really made an impact on the race with so many place getters and many of us in the team kit, people knew who we were after yesterday!


Michael
Here's a couple pictures:

Those pictures are a riot! Poor Michael - it's tough always finishing first b/c nobody is there to take your picture at the finish

Here is a LONG race report if anyone feels like being bored

As some of you may know, I have really been struggling the past month or so to find the motivation and fire for racing that I have had in the past. Going into this race I was feeling burned out from the monotony of winter training and was questioning whether it was a smart idea to do a race this long/hilly 5 days before Wildflower. I was feeling slow, tired and un-motivated. After Michael and I did a quick ride on Sat, followed by a run and a minor tantrum over a stomach cramp /turkey sandwich (that had Michael and I laughing hysterically a few hours later ) I decided I would race the next morning.

As usual, we arrived fairly late to the start and rushed all around trying to get our stuff set up. As I was rushing to the start line (no time for even a 2 min warm up jog,) my friend Teresa says to me, "there are some REALLY fast girls here today. One is an all-american runner. When she takes off, just let her go and don't worry about it." With that, we lined up at the start. I spotted the runner, Kimberly, (runners are so long and lanky) and looked for Tracy Orcutt. If I could stay near Tracy I knew I would be running well. My goal was to run a 35 for the first run (Michael insisted that I could run this fast - I thought he was on crack.) Off we went. After the first 1/2 mile, I watched Kimberly take off like a gazelle. I just tried to maintain my own pace....I felt awesome...smooth and comfortable, and it was at that moment that I remembered why I love racing so much. The fire was back

I came into T1 in second place, just under my goal of 35 minutes. I felt great. Kimberly was wwwaaayyyy ahead and I had no idea where Tracy was, so I just had fun and made it through T1 without any major issues. I got on the bike and took a gel about 10 minutes in (I struggle with stomach cramps on short races so I knew I was taking a risk with this.) I took the first lap of the bike comfortably as I was dreading the hill I had heard so much about. I was pedalling along smoothly into the second lap when Tracy flies up next to me. We chit chat a bit and then I tell her to go get the first place girl (my standard comment to her as I watch her go.) As she starts to take off I made the decision to step it up and to see what I had in me that day. I was not sure if this decision would hurt me later, but I went anyway. I stayed with Tracy and somehow managed to drop her on Mud hill...I was shocked. About 1/2 a mile from the end of the bike, I caught Kimberly too. We entered T2 together. My hands were frozen and I could not get my helmet off, but still left ahead of her.

I knew I had to run like hell to even have a chance against this girl. As Damon mentioned, I too felt like I had wooden legs and was worried about cramping. I had no idea what pace I was running....I refused to look back to see where Kimberly was...I was still shocked when I was almost at the finish and she had not caught me. I turned onto the dirt road and finally looked back. There she was about 20 yards behind me. With 200 yards to go, she came flying by me. I was surprised to hear how hard she was breathing...I thought I had a chance to stay with her, but after telling her good job as she passed me I realized that I just did not have that kind of kick. Dang it!

Overall it was an awesome day. It was a great course and I felt fantastic. I coud not have asked for a better race (not to mention zero stomach cramps which is a first for me.) I cannot wait for the triathlon season to begin!

Congrats to all that raced. Michael, Seth and Damon all had excellent races (I never met the other guy in the VO2 uniform?) It was also fun to see Gio out there.
I also want to say a special thanks to Michael for all of his encouragement over the past month. You were right, I still love racing

[benbiggles]

Great results all, very very special performances.

Damon, perhaps your 2nd run would have been faster had you run just a smidge slower during the first run as Rocky did (he ended up with the 5th fastest overall 2nd run split). I have raced a lot of Duathlons back in the UK (a lot) and pushing the first run often leads to a below par performance on the 2nd.

Yes, the other guy out there in the Vo2 Kit was coached athlete Rocky Ursino, who I am sure many of you know and if not will hopefully get to know over the course of the year.

Kara, awesome performance, that girl was FAST, wow, to be within 10 seconds of her overall was a great result and bodes well for Wildflower. Also great that you had no stomach cramps.

Michael, great race also, should set you up well for next weekend. Just don't don't try riding with Bjorn

Seth - Needs to join the team and get some kit but should also have a great result next weekend. Well done Seth.

[MikePritch]

great job all!

Sorry i missed the race, but probably good that i skipped.

Kimberly Pancoast also ran the MI half. she passed me with about 2miles to go and appeared to be picking up the pace. good runner.