Unlike most races, getting a good transition spot at Kew has massive advantages as it limits the distance you have to run on bitumen covered in loose gravel in bare feet (or socks). Last time we raced at Kew (2 years ago), a bad transition spot cost me 2nd place, so I was very keen to rack my bike early.
Once parked, I set about getting the bikes and gear ready when my bike pump stopped working. Luckily the people parked next to us lent me theirs. With the tyres fully pumped up and all the gear in a backpack I rode back to the registration area to pick up my race kit. Doing this I discovered that aero helmets do not work very well when wearing backpacks.
After getting my race kit, applying the race numbers (and a quick toilet stop), I put my backpack on and took off for my warm up ride (again suffering the backpack, aero helmet problem). The driveway out of the Boathouse carpark is extremely steep and because my tri-bike is still new I keep forgetting which way the gear levers go. So after several incompetent gear changes, my chain came off. I am pedaling in futility, going nowhere, half way up an extremely steep hill - needless to say I crashed. Luckily a soft backpack comes in handy in these situations and I took half the impact on my backpack, the other half on my left knee - but importantly the bike was OK.
I dusted myself off, checked the bike and then continued on my warm up ride. I would usually do a 10km ride before a duathlon, but due to my anxiety over the transition spot, I reduced the warm up to 4km. When I finally arrived at transition to check in my bike, it was nearly half full. Luckily most people were too lazy to walk up to the 'good' end of transition and there were still a couple of reasonable spots available. Feeling very relieved I then headed to the medical to get my knee cleaned up (they were a little surprised to be treating someone before the race).
I had decided not to have my usual energy gel 10 mins before the race as I'd read this was not considered a good idea. Unfortunately with all the early morning incidents, I'd forgotten to eat my usual pre-race energy bar 1 hour before the event. But I'd had breakfast and a banana, so it should be OK.
The only members of the triathlon club racing were Courtney, Jeremy & Elaine, Sally was acting as Technical Official and Los came down to cheer on Jeremy. Peter and Bill had just raced in the Age Group World Championships in Beijing the weekend before and had not made it back to Melbourne yet. Martine decided the Kew course was too difficult and Jan decided to skip the race at the last moment. I'm not sure what the Howard's excuse was, but I expect it had something to do with the difficulty of the course.
A Sprint Duathlon is 5km run / 20km bike / 3km run. Kew Boulevard does not have any big hills, but it also does not have any flat sections, so you are either going up or down. This applies to both the run and the ride. In fact the worst hill is on the run and we run up that hill 4 times.
The first 5km run is 2 laps (each lap containing the nasty hill). I took the first lap conservatively and then picked up my pace a little on the 2nd lap. This seemed to work well as I drew in sight of competitors that would usually be further ahead at the end of the run. I also had a good lead on Courtney which was something I didn't expect.
I passed a competitor called Aurel on the first lap (of 4) on the bike. Usually I would not pass him till near the end of the bike leg (if at all), so this was a good sign. Aurel has beaten me in every Duathlon, but I've been getting closer. However Aurel has been noticing my improvement and picked up the pace as soon as he saw me pass. Sadly I was not able to pull out of sight and only had a small lead heading into the last run (this was not helped by dropping my chain on the last lap). Running to my bike rack in transition I saw my sunglasses lying next to my runners and cap, which was strange because I alway wear my sunnies on the bike (looks better in the photos). However when I tried to put them on, I discovered I was already wearing mine, these were an identical pair owned by the competitor whose bike rack was next to mine (more time lost).
It took one and half laps (of 2) in the final run for Aurel to catch me. But the hills on the run had destroyed my legs and I had nothing left for a final effort, so he beat me yet again. The good news is that Aurel has moved up an age bracket this season, so it did not affect my place within my age group. The bad news is that David Meade (triathlon & duathlon legend) turned up (he is in my age group) and he won the race overall (a long way ahead of me). But I still managed to score 3rd in my age group, 2 minutes ahead of Courtney who was 4th. I think that is my biggest win over Courtney, but the course suits me better. I expect Courtney will be much tougher to beat at the next race in Richmond which is flat and fast.
Jeremy came 7th in his age group and Elaine won her age group yet again - 3rd time in a row. Elaine only has to finish the last race at Richmond to secure the series win - this usually involves a trophy and sports gear from series sponsor Brooks. It will be the third time Elaine has won the series.
Overall my race went fairly well. My first run was good on a tough course and my second run was only 2 secs a km slower which is probably my best effort to date. The average power on the bike leg was 276 watts (6 watts higher than Somers), but I actually feel I was too conservative and could of ridden harder - the faster than usual 2nd run probably confirms this.
There is only a two week gap to the last Duathlon in Richmond, so this week I have been training hard to try and find some more speed. I ran 17km on Tuesday and am planning to do another Moneghetti Fartlek session this afternoon. The Richmond Duathlon is a week before the Melbourne Marathon and I'm hoping this will keep some of the faster competitors away, allowing me to score a podium in what will be the Victorian State Championships.
On a side note, my weight has dropped further to 77kg (I'd prefer 80). So this morning's shopping included donuts, muffins, Tim Tams and potato chips.
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