Duathlon Worlds Race Report

This race was my first foray into "elite" racing and it turned out to be quite a different experience from the local races I have done before. My athletic ability is not "elite", but I got lucky and managed to qualify for this race. I have never raced a duathlon of this length, nor have I raced anywhere but Arizona and California. The race was held at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., which had a huge area of land around it. This part of Concord is dominated by the Speedway, a huge mall and lots of chain restaurants. Southerners are a friendly breed. I

found that to be refreshing and helpful.

The race day started out drizzly. I didn't race until 3:35 and transition didn't open until 2:00, so I walked around the mall with my relatives. I went back to the hotel, stressed over my equipment and squeezed into my uniform. The pros were finishing up their bike section while the age groupers watched. We watched them through the fence.

The start line is on the racetrack. My wave (45+)was the third wave after paratriathlon and men 50+. When our wave started, I tried to keep up with the rest of the crowd, but I soon fell behind. My strategy for this race was not to use up all my energy on the first 10k, so I could do a decent job on the last 5k. My heart rate was supposed to be in the 160's, but it ended up mostly in the 170's.

The diagram below shows the complicated route. What it doesn't show is that the ramp to the outside of the track goes sharply down, then sharply up, the turn around to the top of the map goes downhill, then uphill, that the bridge going over the highway is steep going up and down.

This run was really crowded. The young guys

were in the last wave, so they could mow all us older people down. They would pass me with as little room as they could spare. I was mesmerized by some of the running style. One guy had almost no vertical motion whatsoever. It looked like his feet barely touched the ground.

I got done in 57:43. Not great, but O.K. Getting into transition, I found out that I wasn't supposed to check in my shoes and helmet. A stupid mistake. It isn't a race without something going wrong. When I got onto the bike course, it was crazy with people and the roads were wet. Riding fast on a technical course with lots of turns in the

rain is a new experience for me. I don't get to do it much in the desert. Again the map is deceptive in depicting the course. The ramps to the outside of the speedway are steep going up and down. As you approach the area near the tunnel under the highway there is a sharp turn. As you go under the highway, there is a 10-12 percent grade hill-just enough to really hurt. There is also a steep hill as you approach the dirt track. The section around the dirt track is mostly flat, but with a lot of turns. It was weird to go through the rain-soaked parking lot with no one there. The most treacherous part was coming back under the highway. You went down the 12 percent hill with a curve on the bottom going through the narrow tunnel. This scared me. You end up circling the track. The track surprisingly is not flat. You climb, then go downhill. The track has 45 degree embankments. I can't imagine racing a car and driving that embankment. I have to admire the skill of these race car drivers.

By the time I got to the second lap
of the bike, the rain was coming down steadily. My bike computer wasn't working at all, so I just went by my heart rate. I was cautious on the first lap because I was trying to avoid crashing and trying to stay out of the way of the riders going 25mph. Again they would pass with little room to spare. I was beginning to wish I was in a women's only race. The second lap it thinned out. By this time, it was the over 60 crowd and me. I had room to take the corners faster. I passed a 60 year old and then she passed me. These older racers are tough! I kind of found it annoying. Being by myself, I got the feeling I get sometimes when I am racing by myself-that I am lost and not going the right way. I figured most people would get done in two hours and I would be my myself. The curse of being slow. Finishing up inside the speedway, it was starting to get dark and the lights were on. The rain was driving into my eyes. I got done in 1:29:14.

The last 5k, the rain was coming down hard. My shoes were soaked and you couldn't avoid the rivers of water. My pace fell off and I was down to running ten minute miles with the older racers. I didn't really feel any pain in my legs, but I had no power. I had a hard time running up the ramps and bridges and at one point had to walk for a few seconds. When I was running over a bridge, I saw the paratriathlete wheeling her chair backwards over the bridge. I didn't feel so bad. I can't imagine what courage it would take to race a wheelchair in the rain. Finally I got inside the speedway to run to the finish line. Usually I don't smile when I finish a race, but I was so happy to see the finish, that I couldn't resist. I finished the run in 32:22. I felt a sense of accomplishment just finishing this race.

I usually learn something every race I do. This race I learned that you do the best with what you've got. If you are not an elite athlete, you race as hard as you can and hope for the best. I learned that local races are sometimes limited in complexity and competition. Local races are more fun in that people are more relaxed, but sometimes the course doesn't challenge you mentally and physically as in other places. This race I always had to be alert to what was coming instead of zoning out. It would have been nice to have more crowd support, but it was pouring rain. I also learned I could race my bike in the rain(though not as fast) and survive. I learned that a task that seems overwhelmingly difficult can be accomplished one small step at a time. Confidence is always a good thing. And so are bragging rights in doing a World Championship.