Race Recap: Desert Classic Duathlon

Cold and rain was not at all what I expected this past weekend at the Desert Classic Duathlon in Scottsdale, Arizona. With the temps in the 80s when I left Hobbs I imagined beautiful weather in Arizona, wrong. About an hour inside of Arizona the rain began to fall. It quickly turned to snow once Flagstaff was in sight. I might have turned back for Hobbs if I knew that most of my time in Arizona would either contain rain or snow. I finally arrived in Scottsdale after a few days of driving.  After a late lunch and a stroll by packet pick-up I began to head toward the race sight. Did I mention this is where I would be sleeping for the night?! I was thankfully able to store my bike inside of the warm and cozy Trisports.com trailer out of the brutal weather (Thanks Tom and Shari). I folded up inside of my single cab pickup and slept exceptionally well for the circumstances. The Trisports.com and Phoenix Tri Club crews were unbelievably gracious. Once I settled in for the night it was becoming more of a reality that I had a race the next morning.

   Photos taken by Claire Moty

After an oatmeal bar I grabbed my bike from the Trisports.com trailer and rolled into the transition area. It was still cold and still wet. I knew this race attracted a number of professionals, but was surprised when I saw Jordan Rapp setting up his transition. Knowing I wouldn’t be the center of attention this weekend, or even on anyone’s radar, I quietly found an empty spot and racked my bike. My first duathlon and first race of 2011 was about to get underway. I stood on the front of the start line ready to give my legs an early season go. The pace started fast as expected and the field began to string out about two miles into the first run. Heading back to transition I was in about 25^th position. I was ready to get on my bike and see what I had. 3 miles into the 21 mile bike course I found myself in a fast pack and moving to the front of the field. Once we hit the five mile mark I hit the gas, pulling away from two seasoned athletes who were pushing the pace. I made a large gap pretty quickly and thought I would actually have a chance to make up some time. Without thinking I continued to increase my pace and the gap on the majority of the field. Around mile 12 I began to fatigue and started to think my move was maybe a bad idea. I settled into a pace and made it back to transition with only a few guys in front of me. It was time for run number two. The trails beat my legs all morning and I had fairly slow run times. I was disappointed at first (16th AG overall), but realized that I haven’t been training for strength to run on trails; I’ve been training for speed. I was convinced if the runs were on the road I would have been at the front of the pack. With the first race of the season down I’m happy with where my fitness is and glad I was able to support a Trisports.com event. Next stop Tucson for the Team Trisports.com training camp.

Great photo album of the day:http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/A_Desert_Duathlon_gallery_1904.html

Is it time to race? Already?!

Six more days until my first race of 2011 was all I could think about when I woke up this morning. I have never raced this early in the year before, so this should be an interesting weekend. It will be a duathlon, which will be a run, bike, run. The whole idea of me doing a duathlon(s) is to gain early season speed. Depending on how this weekend goes will decide if I will do another duathlon(s) before May. I am also looking to gain some fitness through the Team Trisports.com training camp in early March. With the help of some new training tools, thanks to Triposrts.com, I hope to speed the building process along.

I feel fairly confident about my run fitness right now. I have really set a strong base the last couple of months for my run and I’m happy with the early season results. The bike, on the other hand, is a different story. I have had a tougher time with my bike buildup in the last couple of months. After my race at the Jingle Bell Triathlon in December (2^nd overall) I was feeling good about where I was on the fitness scale. Feeling I could capitalize on my December performance, I started my buildup in mid-January. Since January I have a good week then a bad week. This weekend will really tell me where I stand and how much work needs to be done before my first triathlon in May. Since December I have also been working tirelessly on improving my swim. My swim times from last season were not quite on target and my performance in December was unbearable to recollect. With the help of a close friend and amazing swim coach I have learned my stroke has gone to crap, literally, in the last year or so. I’m finishing up on the finer details and about to start my big swim brick to get me back into swim shape. Looking at the glass half full, I have about three more months to get on track to where I need to be. With this amount of time to prepare I have no doubt I will be ready when May rolls around. All in all my fellow Trisports.com teammates are already racing for 2011 in 5ks up to half marathons or racing bicycles in Europe (Neil!). I think it’s time for me to dust off the race wheels.

Look for another blog in the next few days to read more about The Desert Classic Duathlon!

A Taste of Winter

After struggling through a very challenging week, weather wise, I am ready to get things rolling again! Last week was extremely tough and definitely ranks high on the “worst weather I have ever experienced scale.” Missing five solid days of swimming, due to pool closure, is just the beginning of this nightmare week. Temperatures were in the low-teens without the 20 mph wind chill. I did however; attempt a very chilly run Wednesday morning. I was tired of being cooped up inside and decided to face Mother Nature head-on. I had a light breeze and the temp was in the mid-teens. Not surprisingly, the weather won with me cutting the run 3 miles short. I’ve been cold several times in my life, but that was a totally different ball game. After this experience I decided not to be naive and stay inside until it warmed up. Sunday was my first outside ride in six days. In short, it was the warmest 45 degrees I have ever ridden in.

Starting up the new week yesterday, it was still a bit cold, but warming up. I took a chilly ride in the A.M. and was able to turn around and have a great run set in the afternoon. I didn’t hit my fastest times, but battling through the elements and a little fatigue I was left very satisfied with what went down on that solitary farm road. Another cold front is going to hit Wednesday, but it won’t last for long. By the weekend it will be in the high 60s, which leaves me very happy. The intense training sessions are becoming more important every day. The start of the season is among us and my first race is only two weeks away!

Ready to wave off the cold weather and say hello to the warmer months!

Safe training