Dirty Duathlon

 

I couldn't have planned it better than to cap off this year's racing with a sprint against kids and Old Man Winter.  I had signed up in the Expert Open category and all my competitors were teenagers.  Oh boy!  I was fixin' to get schooled!

The course was at Rope Mill and included 5.5 miles of the Mills trails (fast and flowy) for bike leg # 1, 3.3 miles of the Explorer Trails (fast and flowy) for the run leg, and 5.5 miles of the Avalanche trails (old school, rocky, rooty, grunt climbs) for bike leg #2. Although Hurricane Nicole had dumped a bunch of rain the day before, the SORBA volunteers had blown all the leaves off the trails and they drained well.  It was tacky and fast, with only a couple muddy spots.

The body wasn't quite ready for this fast and furious exertion level as I was still recovering both from the Death March Revival and Fall Invitational the week before and nursing a heel injury.  Heck, it probably wouldn't even be ready if I had fully rested and had no issues.  Despite this, I was ready to give'r as much as I could, and no doubt these GCA and NICA cycling kids were gonna push my limits.

The start was not chaotic and we all survived the slick bridge crossing over to the single track.  I was already anaerobic going up the first climb and graciously gave way to those behind.  The youngsters were very respectful as well as skilled in their passing.  Well, all but one who came close to taking my front wheel out as he just had to do a tail whip on the first descent ... kids will be kids.

📷:  Dashing Images

By the time I finished the Mills bike leg (0:25:16), I was just starting to get warmed up.  I was so grateful for the 60 degree weather, as it made it easy to tie my running shoes.  I chased a gel with some water and took off for the run.  I started off cautiously, wondering if my heel pain would flare up.  It was 17 days since the pain started and the pain had resolved 6 days ago, but I still stayed away from any running, fearful of the pain returning prior to the race. Fortunately, the heel was good the whole way. My heart rate soared (hadn't seen THOSE numbers in awhile) as I tried to keep a fairly quick pace.  

📷: Dashing Images

While running and trying to forget just how HARD I was breathing, I went through several mantras (pick yo damn feet up, quick steps, hankle -hinge at the ankle) that I had learned from my physical therapist, Meghan Guler, who also does gait analysis.  She has helped me immensely on this running journey, as I try to go from an imposter to an actual runner.  I ended up having my highest heart rate during the run.  I finished the run in 31:40, quickly transitioned back into my cycling shoes and headed out for the second bike leg on the Avalanche trails.  

These were more old school, narrow cut, with rocks and roots and punchy climbs/descents.  I grannied up the first climb, as my cycling legs were not quite ready.  Soon I found myself in a rhythm, following a fella with good line choice.  I rode behind him for a couple of miles, until I could see that he was struggling a bit on the climbs.  With about a mile to go, I passed him and then put my head down and gunned it to the finish.  This leg took 35:25 and with the transition times, I finished in 1:35.  I managed to eek out a 3rd place finish.

First and second place, Maxine Richards and Helen Rhymer had blazing fast times.  It was so good to see so many young women racing their bikes HARD.  I think the youth outgunned the adults today. 

Mountain Goat Adventures never disappoints.  Super comfy soft race t-shirt, plenty of useful schwag, reasonable pricing, and lots of prizing, in addition to the fun courses, makes me a repeat customer.