Kew Duathlon

Kew Boulevard is a tough course. Only one nasty hill on the run (that you do 4 times), but there is no flat - you are either climbing or descending.

We arrived early (just before 6:30am) and scored a great park in the Studley Park Boathouse carpark right next to the Race Village (next best parking spots were almost 1km away). This made registration, pre-race toilet stops and warmups so much easier. Getting the bike warmup out of the way early at Kew has the extra benefit of scoring a good transition spot. At Kew the bike racks are setup in one very long line. The closer you can rack to the top end of transition, the less distance you have to run in socks (or bare feet) on very rough ground (road with loose gravel). Elaine decided to tackle this problem by putting on her bike shoes in transition (instead of having them attached to the bike) and as a result has wrecked the cleats on her shoes (in addition to having slow transition times).

I've had back issues all week, and it seemed to get worse as the week progressed. Race morning I could barely run, but I knew if I managed to get everything warmed up I'd be OK. During the warmup run it started to loosen up. I decided to test running up the hill which is on a narrow, single track, cross country trail. Any sudden change of direction to avoid exposed roots or muddy ground caused spikes of pain - not very confidence inspiring.

The aforementioned single track hill is located about 1km into the run leg (and again at the 3km mark). It is almost impossible to pass competitors up this hill (about 200m long), so getting a good position before the hill is important. With this in mind, I witnessed the fastest ever start to a Duathlon (and they usually start ridicously fast). Watching the runners ahead dart through the chicane from the carpark to the dirt trail was like watching formula one cars - they all took the corners at unbelievable speed with no slowing down whatsoever. After 500m or so I started picking off a few competitors, but the pace still slowed dramatically once we reached the hill. Too many competitors ahead of me that got too carried away with the fast start and could not maintain the effort up the hill. Rather than be annoyed, I was quite thankful for ease in pace. My main aim for the race was to beat friends Aurel and Martin, Martin was behind me and Aurel was only 2 competitors ahead of me - so the slightly slower pace came as a welcome relief. Once atop the hill I was able to find a good pace and rhythm. Aurel and I exchanged positions a few times until I finally established a small gap in the last kilometre.

With both Aurel and Martin behind me (and neither Peter racing), I wondered if I could maintain focus on the bike (no one to chase). Luckily a rider passed me in the first few hundred metres, he had been shadowing me on the run and now we would complete the bike leg together. He was faster on the downhills and I was faster than the climbs, so we continually exchanged positions. With transition being at the top of a hill, I led into T2, but as soon as I dismounted I discovered a major issue with my foot. It felt like somebody had dropped a piano on it. My initial thought was that it was either a stress fracture or a really bad cramp, either way I wasn't sure what I had done to cause this problem.

My immediate instinct was to pull out of the race, but the knowledge that I had a good lead over Aurel and Martin encouraged me to keep going. The pain slowly disappated and on the second lap I no longer felt any discomfort. But the run itself was very slow, probably my worst ever run off the bike in a Duathlon (or any race). Several hours after the race the pain has returned. It feels like I have strained the muscles in my foot. Possibly a consequence of still running in my 5 year old racing flats or the affects of running on a rough cross country track. I bought replacement racing flats about 2 years ago, but have continued to use my old ones that just feel so comfortable. Ironically my back feels better now that it did before the race and I have not noticed any issues with my injured knee.

Elaine had a good race, especially considering she's been sick for the last 2 weeks. Once again she won her age group. I scored a third place in my age group, my third 3rd place on this course from 3 attempts.  Martin won his age group but unfortunately Aurel didn't make the podium. An ex-pro triathlete Jan Rehula (won the bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics) raced in the M3539 category (luckily he's younger than me) and won his age group, but only managed 7th place overall.

Comparing my results to last season (same course, same date). First run was 4m08s pace compared to 4m12s last year. Bike was 34.7kph compared to 33.7kph last year. Disappointingly my second run was 4m35s compared to 4m14s last year - I'm hoping this is purely due to my foot injury.

As for the new Cobb Saddle, before the race I lowered the front fractionally. The new seat was definitely better than any of my previous saddles. I still seemed to experience sore bits, but they never escalated like they used to. I think I need a lot longer ride to get a better idea. Elaine's saddle felt a little better, but she also wore new Rocket Science tri-shorts, so it is difficult to determine whether it was a result of the shorts or the saddle.