2009 Fat Rabbit International, Sprint Duathlon

I just finished cleaning two bikes (including chains), two pairs of running shoes, one pair of cycling cleats, two helmets, two water bottles, and various other racing paraphernalia. My hands are so dry I can feel the skin stretch on the palms and fingers when I spread them out. I think the Starbucks is finally wearing off and the Elliot Ness is starting to kick in. I'm tired.

Mrs. P and I raced the Sprint Duathlon at the Fat Rabbit International Multi-sport Festival this morning at Alum Creek. We both did very well. The official results have yet to be posted online, but there was a post-race awards ceremony during which we found out that she finished third in her AG while I finished second in mine. My unofficial time was 1:15 and some change, which is nearly two minutes faster than last year.

The day started out early (as usual for race day) with my alarm going off at 3:30 AM. It took the second alarm to get me out of bed five minutes later. After a quick shower, it was time for breakfast: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had made the day before. I usually eat PB&J toast at home so this wasn't too far a departure. I was trying some new peanut butter though, JIF Natural PB. It's not as natural as Smucker's, but requires no refrigeration. Some of the extra ingredients are palm oil, sugar, and molasses. I still prefer just peanuts and salt. A quick check of the Weather Channel showed no signs of rain until later in the day, so I was optimistic about having a good race day.

We arrived at Alum Creek early, and though it was very much still dark, I was surprised to see how many people had arrived already. After picking up our race packets and chips, we went back to the Jeep to prep the bikes to be taken over to transition. Body marking was taking place just outside of the transition area and I must say that the woman who marked me had wonderful penmanship. Her number formations were spot on! Thanks for making me look good Marker Lady! Once inside transition, we found our racking spots easily enough. Fat Rabbit uses long racks and your spot coincides with your race number. Since we registered together, we were consecutive numbers and racked next to each other. I also noticed

the duathletes were all grouped together in our area on rack E.

Now that the most important pre-race item was completed (transition was to close at 6:30), it was time for the second most important item, finding a toilet! The first restroom I tried was full. There wasn't a line yet, but I wasn't keen on waiting when there were other locations to try. I did a warm-up run down the parking lot to the north end where there is another restroom. And since there was no one parked in the vicinity yet, I thought my chances would be good for finding it less inhabited. My instinct was correct and I had a happy restroom visit.

Finally ready to race, I jogged back to the Jeep where we took some pre-race photos.

Notice the textbook number

formation.

You can't see Mrs. P's body marking, but that's OK because it all wore off anyway!

As we were waiting, I was looking around at the clouds and noticing how dark they were getting.I distinctly recalled no rain in the forecast for the morning, but I'm beginning to become more than a little skeptical. Not five minutes after that the first raindrops began to fall. They were followed by many more!

It was all umbrellas and scrambling

for the tents for a while.

My offerings to the rain gods during training were not enough to stave of race day rain.

There was enough rain to get the grass pretty wet and soak everything in transition. But, when given rain, make rainbows right? Not! Just be prepared to get wet and have soggy socks. So with that in mind it was time to head over to the start.

I was struck by two things upon reaching the starting area. One, how many triathletes there were. I mean, it seemed like there were more than normal. And two, how few duathletes were there. I don't think I've seen a smaller duathlon field. Maybe the tri field was so large because people were switching over? (Like what I'm doing this season.)

I ceded myself towards the front and by the time we reached the end of the beach and turned into the woods for a short trail section, the field had strung out. I was running fifth heading onto the trail and maintained it to the turn around point one mile out. Even though I was hearing footsteps behind me, I was able to finish the first run in fifth place. Transition went smoothly as I had no problem finding the correct rack (E for Epcot) and locating my bike. Shoes off. Cleats on. Helmet on. And I was heading for transition exit.

I felt really good on the first few miles of the bike. A little too good? Possibly. I was pushing harder than I normally would. This race is so short and as it's the only duathlon I'm doing this season I wanted to push hard and see what would happen. I was still feeling good until about half way across a bridge crossing Alum Creek Reservoir. We were heading east and had a direct headwind. I knew when I was seeing fewer 19's and 20's for speed and more 16's and 17's that I was losing steam. But I pressed on, not worrying about the people passing me, but about going faster than I did one year ago. After all, that was my goal, to beat 1:16:56.

My bike leg was decent, with an average speed a little over 18.5 mph. The course was slightly rolling with a good climb towards the end. The wind was there, but it could have been worse. There were a few stinky roadkill areas, but nothing horrific. My biggest beef was with the people drafting. It wasn't everyone, but the one's who were doing it were working together to illegally decrease their bike time. That's a time penalty if you get caught. I hope they got caught. But I doubt they did.

Rolling into T2, I was ready to make a statement on the run. Racked the bike. Helmet off. Cleats off. Shoes back on. And I was motoring out of transition. I mean I was cruising. It was like a Tuesday night speed session. I knew I couldn't maintain that kind of crazy pace so I backed off eventually. There weren't a lot of people ahead of me but I passed one on the sidewalk at the beach and another on the trail section. A few more back out on the road. I was beginning to wonder if I would have a repeat of Wendy's where I would not be passed on the run. With about a mile or so to go I heard footsteps again. This fellow was behind me heading out of transition and had been pacing off of me to that point. Then he put a pass on me. "Go get 'em," I shouted. He responded by yelling for me to keep up with him. I didn't think that was going to happen so I let him go. For a little bit. The run headed back into the park, around a bend, and into the parking lot. I had got my breath back and was soon pulling him back in. But not quick enough. He finished about 15 seconds ahead of me. No big loss though as he was a sprint tri competitor and wouldn't affect my overall placing.

We chatted for a bit outside the finish area, then he was off to find his wife who was a spectator somewhere, and I was off to find mine, who was an athlete out on the course somewhere. I jogged and walked backward along the run course for a little over a mile before I saw her coming around a bend. She did NOT have her happy face on. Her knee was giving her problems again and she was in a lot of pain. But with just a couple walking breaks, she pushed through to the finish, beating her time from last year by nearly 15 minutes. That's huge! Completing endurance events is great for those who are physically gifted and have an easy time doing it. The true inspiration comes from the people who don't have such an easy time getting from the start line to the finish line. Congratulations to Mrs. P for gritting it out and whooping her time from last year like a red headed step-child. (No offense intended to red headed step children.)

After packing up and attending the awards presentation, it was time for some post-race photos.

I think I'll call this one "Self Portrait For Two From the Hood of a Car."

Mrs. P showcasing her plaque like a Price is Right model!

Sorry for the long post but I felt like being meticulous in my recounting. Hopefully I'll follow this up soon with the official results once their posted.