I did the Galena duathlon this weekend. In the past the Galena triathlon has had some really cold swims that either get cancelled or shortened because the water is so cold. I hate cold water and didn't want to have to worry about the possibility of a tri turning into a du so decided just to go ahead and sign up for the du. Turns out it was perfect day and the water wasn't bad - oh well.
So the du started after all the triathletes had started (and I believe most had finished) the swim. It was a 2 mile out and back loop that was crazy hilly. I had no idea if I should take it easy on the first run or go all out as this was the first du I've ever done and the shortest race I've ever done. I've never done a sprint before, my strength being sticking to a pace over longer distances. So I'm in the first wave of woman and I start toward the front and I decide I'm just going to go for it. We take off and this woman jumps to the front. From the back she appears to have very strange form and I decide there's no way she can keep that speed up with that form (I was wrong) and I go with her. So we fly up and down hills passing men in earlier waves and I try sticking with her and we put some distance on the other women but she is slowly building a lead. She probably had 50 yards on me when we came into T1. My time for the first 2 miles was 12:14 and I thought I was going to barf when I got to my bike. So onto the bike and now we run into all of the BOP bikers. Typically I read people on slowtwitch complaining about slow people way too far to the left and weaving all over the road and I think, "Stupid elitists. Everyone has to start someplace and just say on your left and go around them." However, I did not feel this way trying to get around these people on Saturday. I wanted to catch the woman in front of me (I didn't). People were all over the place. Some people on the hills where even getting off their bikes to the far left of the road. I found myself screaming "on your left" and cursing ever person under my breath that forced me almost into (and often into) the other lane of traffic to get around them. It was as if I was filled with rage. I sounded just like all those I had seen posting on slowtwitch. I don't know if it helped or hurt my performance but I was going nuts that no one seemed to know that they needed to be on the right if they weren't passing anyone.
It was strange though, as soon as I racked my bike, I felt horribly guilty about my attitude and that I should have been telling these people "good job, keep pushing" instead of muttering curse words under my breath (no one ever heard me so no real damage was done). It was probably the first race for many of them. Oh well, too late to do anything about it now. I still needed to find the woman ahead of me. As soon as you get off the bike you climb a giant hill for a 4 mile run. It's an out and back loop and I finally saw the woman ahead of me and with 2 miles left I'd guess she had about two minutes on me. She didn't look like she was weakening at all and seeing her from the front her form looked pretty good so I had been fooled by her form from the back. So knowing I couldn't catch her I started focusing on who might be catching me. I didn't see anyone from my wave who would catch me if I held it together but there was a woman from the second wave who was booking it and she looked very strong. I managed to hold my pace and finish as strong as was possible but when the final results were posted I ended up being third with the woman in the later wave having a much stronger 4 mile run than me. Oh well. It was still a great day and I was happy with the results. If I ever do a du again I will not take the first run out so hard. It sucked getting to your bike and your legs and lungs already being shot and using the first few miles on the bike to recover. And if I ever start at the back of a race again I am going to focus on taking on a more encouraging tone. I wasn't proud of my attitude on the bike.
So the du started after all the triathletes had started (and I believe most had finished) the swim. It was a 2 mile out and back loop that was crazy hilly. I had no idea if I should take it easy on the first run or go all out as this was the first du I've ever done and the shortest race I've ever done. I've never done a sprint before, my strength being sticking to a pace over longer distances. So I'm in the first wave of woman and I start toward the front and I decide I'm just going to go for it. We take off and this woman jumps to the front. From the back she appears to have very strange form and I decide there's no way she can keep that speed up with that form (I was wrong) and I go with her. So we fly up and down hills passing men in earlier waves and I try sticking with her and we put some distance on the other women but she is slowly building a lead. She probably had 50 yards on me when we came into T1. My time for the first 2 miles was 12:14 and I thought I was going to barf when I got to my bike. So onto the bike and now we run into all of the BOP bikers. Typically I read people on slowtwitch complaining about slow people way too far to the left and weaving all over the road and I think, "Stupid elitists. Everyone has to start someplace and just say on your left and go around them." However, I did not feel this way trying to get around these people on Saturday. I wanted to catch the woman in front of me (I didn't). People were all over the place. Some people on the hills where even getting off their bikes to the far left of the road. I found myself screaming "on your left" and cursing ever person under my breath that forced me almost into (and often into) the other lane of traffic to get around them. It was as if I was filled with rage. I sounded just like all those I had seen posting on slowtwitch. I don't know if it helped or hurt my performance but I was going nuts that no one seemed to know that they needed to be on the right if they weren't passing anyone.
It was strange though, as soon as I racked my bike, I felt horribly guilty about my attitude and that I should have been telling these people "good job, keep pushing" instead of muttering curse words under my breath (no one ever heard me so no real damage was done). It was probably the first race for many of them. Oh well, too late to do anything about it now. I still needed to find the woman ahead of me. As soon as you get off the bike you climb a giant hill for a 4 mile run. It's an out and back loop and I finally saw the woman ahead of me and with 2 miles left I'd guess she had about two minutes on me. She didn't look like she was weakening at all and seeing her from the front her form looked pretty good so I had been fooled by her form from the back. So knowing I couldn't catch her I started focusing on who might be catching me. I didn't see anyone from my wave who would catch me if I held it together but there was a woman from the second wave who was booking it and she looked very strong. I managed to hold my pace and finish as strong as was possible but when the final results were posted I ended up being third with the woman in the later wave having a much stronger 4 mile run than me. Oh well. It was still a great day and I was happy with the results. If I ever do a du again I will not take the first run out so hard. It sucked getting to your bike and your legs and lungs already being shot and using the first few miles on the bike to recover. And if I ever start at the back of a race again I am going to focus on taking on a more encouraging tone. I wasn't proud of my attitude on the bike.