Ashbourne 2006 (8th April)
Race: 12k/40k4k Duathlon
Course: Hilly, off road-ish 1st run, VERY hilly bike, flat 2nd run
Conditions: Very cold, pretty windy and over-cast. Still some snow on top of highest climbs
Well, I came into the race with many factors to take on board. It was to be a training race, so I’d not tapered, though I had experimented with a couple of things during the week to see how it effected the race. A late night beforehand and a rubbish journey up on the Friday meant that race prep wasn’t at its highest level…. Thank goodness it wasn’t a big “Goal” race for me and there was nothing to stress about.
I’d driven the bike course in semi-darkness the evening before and came away quite looking forward to it, as there were either long steady-to-steep climbs followed by sharp technical descents…. Nothing in the way of flats really….. the run course however was going to be learn-as-you-go and with the lake looking, shall we say…. A LONG WAY ROUND it was going to be interesting.
With my recent illness and lingering chest problems I’d decided to make sure I didn’t go all out early on the run. I managed to stick well within sight of the leaders for the first 6-7k’s but when the really hilly sections on the other side of the lake kicked in I just couldn’t keep up their pace and they moved out of sight. I really need to get used to digging a little deeper into the pain in future……
After what seamed like an eternity on the run (that lake really doesn’t make it any easier as all the time you can see how far you STILL have to go!) I hit transition in about 6 or 7th place I think. My chest had held back most of its gunk and I felt OK all things considered. Once onto the bike and cold feet somehow into my shoes and I set about trying to reel in the leaders, who I had seen were just under 2 minutes in front. I felt OK on the bike, but I’ve not done any top end stuff yet this year, leaving it much later than in previous years and I can really tell the difference its made in my lack of power. I’d pulled back 3 places after the first 20 minutes, when Dave Brown and another guy came by. Dave is riding well at the moment, but we normally have good little battles on the bike, but not right now. He slowly pulled away and would end up putting more than 2 minutes into me…… OUCH!!!! The bike leg, was relentless in its rolling hills and rubbish road surfaces, but I was quite enjoying it on the whole. A couple of really good steep climbs came and went, but once again I could tell that my legs weren’t up to scratch today and I couldn’t find a pace I’d normally like to. Looking at my HR I was amazed to see that I was barely above 140 bpm… a normal race pace would see me in the mid 150-160’s!!! why this was the case, I’m not sure, I was certainly breathing hard enough on the whole……. Consoling myself with the knowledge that the last 3-4k was about as flat as it got in the race, I was somewhat putout to be confronted by a fierce headwind as I hit this section! Its same for everyone I guess, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to be less than amused by it.
One of my early passers (along with Dave) had remained in my sites along with Paul Mountford for most of the final 10k on the bike and I was determined to try and catch them both back on the run. A surprisingly (compared to my recent races) quick transition from me, saw me leave T2 with Paul and I began to pull away after about 200m, with my legs thankfully feeling pretty good….the time would as normal prove I was running slower than it felt, but isn’t that always the case with the 2nd run ha ha!!! I could see the leader in the distance but he was well away, probably about a kilometre in front, but 4th place was only about 300m ahead so that was my first target. I just kept running and tried to focus on my pace and not think or listen out for anyone else behind me. I finally caught 4th with about 700m or so to go and put a little surge in to try and drop him ASAP… I’d be grateful for this gap sooner than I thought.
Coming through the trees near transition I could see the finish and the sharp right turn to the finishing shoot. Skipping gracefully over a puddle on the apex of the bend I landed on the grass to…. WHOOPS….. do a perfect Jurgen Klinsmen impression and go skidding across the mud with less than 20m to go. In my haste to get back on my feet, I managed a brilliant McHammer “Running Man” impression with ZERO grip on my shoes. Finally after what was probably only 10 seconds, but felt like 60, I was steady on my feet and chuckling my way slowly over the finish line.
4th place, was fairly satisfying all things considered and mentally, it was good to do such a tough race and in those conditions too. But there were a few questions raised that need to be thought through and addressed in time for Edinburgh. My cycling has been my strongest leg over the past 3 years, so it needs to get back to and then exceed previous levels if I’m to compete for 1st’s again soon.
Toby, who won the race put in a fantastic performance and the improvement he’s making shows how hard he must be working. There’s a lot of good duathletes around at the moment so the national champs will be very interesting indeed.