I was undecided on whether to register for the RJ Corman Duathlon because I really hadn't ridden my
"new" bike that much and I had a big work upgrade planned for the same weekend. But I seem to live an always on the move kind of life and I went ahead and committed to the race.
The start of the work upgrade on Friday afternoon took much longer than it should have due to some long file naming tendencies that some of my users seem to have, so I didn't get home until about 10:3o. I threw together my gear and jumped into bed for some pep talk reading of my 17 Hours to Glory book that my brother game me for my birthday. I was earplugs in and snoring by 11:30.
I was out of bed at 5:30 and finished getting my gear around and off we went. I had forgotten to pick up my packet on Wed/Thurs but they still let me pick up a shirt and my numbers, so whew, the race was still on.
Bike checked in, chip on leg, body marking done, and layered in warm clothes because it was really cold and I was ready to go.
The RJ Corman corporate headquarters is a beautiful, pristine venue. Both of the 5K runs were on Corman's personal property and what a nice 5K course to have in your backyard. There were a few hills but I thought the runs flowed really well. The bike was 15 or so miles and I will say that it almost kicked my butt on one hill. My home bike course has some pretty big hills and I have never felt like I might have to stop on a hill, but there was one that I just wasn't ready for and I was giving it my all so I wouldn't have to stop and push. I made it to the top of the hill still pedaling and was beyond relieved to see we were not going to ride the same route back.
The most I have consistently run since this whole adventure started is 5 miles and I have only run 6 miles once at the Bluegrass 10K in July. Plus I am a wimp, so I was a bit worried about the run. I kept thinking about the lead I had on a woman that seems to always kick my butt on the run in these triathlons, and the 17 Hours to Glory book. I kept moving forward at a steady pace and tried to catch up with people and telling myself that at least I wasn't in the lava fields of Kona cooking and that I could beat the little, wirey runner in my division. I held a steady pace and while it was definitely more effort than I can remember exerting in the last 20 years, it wasn't that bad. On the last 1/2 mile I didn't see any of my other age group competitors in sight, so I kept pushing and hoped I could keep the pace. And then in the last 300 yards this woman blasts past me. Shit, where did she come from. Is she in my age group? Crap...I didn't even try to stay with her because she was moving at a pace I just didn't have in me anymore.
Come to find out the last minute runner wasn't in my division and I ended up winning my age group and was 8th overall. Yahoo. TJ said I was in the main pack of women after the first run, but dropped back quite a bit during the bike, so I need to work on that leg. My "new" bike is definitely faster, but I'm not as strong on it yet and it has some shifter issues. So, it is a highly recommended, good race, on a fun and really beautiful course.
Thanks T for being my support crew.
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