Diss Duathlon

Sunday 6th April - Diss, Norfolk. 5 km run, 30 km bike, 5 km run.

For me this was more than just an easy duathlon. This was to be my first multisport race since my operation back in January 2013. I knew my running was strong, probably better than it has every been with the combination of gym based strength work and off road running, so i was feeling pretty good about the race. Looking ahead to this seasons "A" races, i needed to know that my body was robust enough to deal with the demands of harder, longer races. So for a short race i needed to push myself hard to test it. The event is held at Diss High School and has all the hallmarks of a little local race, cheap, well run and a range of ages and abilities. However on arrival something didn't add up, there seemed to be a lot of carbon coming out of peoples cars and even a few GB age grouper track suits. A little more competitive than i thought it would be, turns out that the following week are the national duathlon championships and a few people were using this event as a last hard training day. 

Transition set up always feels odd for a duathlon, a little sparse. And then there's the not having to put on a wetsuit, all seems very odd. Warm up completed and it was time to go. A three wave race, set off five minutes apart, me in wave two. The first few hundred meters is always just about getting into a rhythm, waiting for my Garmin to gather enough data to tell me if i've set off to quickly. I felt pretty good and settled into a comfortable pace resisting the urge to chase those that came past me. At the beep of the first kilometer i could see i had set out quickly, but i felt good and was well within my race pace heart rate, so kept going. 

By the end of the second kilometer i was starting to reel in a couple people, maybe those who had set out a little quick. But as i'd set out to run a negative split this wasn't surprising. Another check of my pace showed i was well within my target pace of 4:00 min/km, but again i trusted my body. I felt good and my watch also backed me up, my heart rate still within its working range. Coming into the 5th kilometer my pace was good and i was a little excited as i knew this would be a personal best 5 km, so i kept the pace high.

Coming into transition i knew i was about to head into my strongest discipline, and having not raced on my TT bike since 2012 i was thirsty for it. Knowing i had a tail wind for the first part of the three lap bike course i got to work quickly, down onto the drops, upto 92 rpm and held steady. This is the part i like, the chase. Knowing that there are people behind you trying to catch you pushes you, and as you catch people from earlier waves it gives you constant targets to aim for. I checked off race numbers as i overtook people, seeing if they were from my wave and therefore, age group. Lap 1 passed really quickly and i felt good. 

I quickly started to recognise parts of the course, knowing where i could get extra time, using my gears better remembering which corners the wind hit you on. Feeling excited to be racing again not even a short rain shower dampened my spirits, however the dirty roads from farm traffic and rain gave me a brief thought about how much cleaning all this kit was going to need afterwards. Moving into the third lap i was trying to calculate how hard to push and how much to leave in the tank for running. I kept the pace high, focusing on not loosing any speed on the ever more familiar dips and turns. My pacing working well, every lap about 30 seconds quicker than the previous i came into T2 with great energy looking forward to the final run. 

A familiar problem soon arose coming out of transition, my right calf struggling to adapt to its new role was desperate to cramp on me. I ran flat footed, trying to avoid toeing off too hard to set it off, hoping that it would settle down after a few minutes. 1500 m in and it was back to business. I could see a single competitor in the distance, too far to catch and behind no one to be seen. This second run then was to be a mental challange. Not only was i going for a good time, but i was also racing those in the wave behind me to whom i gave 5 minutes. I ran against these ghost competitors using them to keep me working hard. By this stage my heart rate was reading inaccurately as my strap had slipped during transition, no time to fiddle with it i trusted my body and the pacing plan i had set out. trying to keep to an average of sub 4:10 min/km i ran on, counting down the distance. with 1500 m to go i gave a final push, opening up my stride. The school gates in sight i kept working hard until i was over every timing mat. I knew i was outside the top five as i had secretly been hoping but it was an honest performance and i knew i couldn't have done better. A few minutes wait to check who was in that 5 minute gap before confirming i'd come 9th overall, 4th in my age group. Job done, chuffed, time for treats. As a side note, this is the third time i've now done this race and i really recommend it to anyone looking for an early season test event. It's cheap to enter there's a great field of ability and i've always enjoyed competing here.

Human Race Events - Trailman

On the 15th of March I took part in the fourth run in the winter off road series run by Human Race Events, Trailman. This 13 km off road run in Kent was postponed due to flooding, from its original date in February. I ran the race with a friend of mine who's a far better runner and who was in training for a 50 mile ultra trail run 3 weeks later. So we both agreed that this race should be fast but not full out; "let's not get silly here, lets just enjoy it.", were the words that we both completely ignored.

We set off at an excitable pace and it soon became apparent that we had set out very fast. My suspicions were first aroused when my watch signaled the first kilometer in 3:30. This and the fact that we were both still in first and second place. We stuck with it, expecting the crowd to rush past us at any minute, only it didn't. I've never lead a field before but the feeling is amazing. A mix of excitement and a little fear of being caught, much how a fox might feel. With slightly less severe consequences. The course was a lot more natural in the way it flowed than the previous two events. Previously the races were at army facilities designed for training, in one case off road vehicle testing so the hills were short, steep and back to back, allowing little time to rest between. At Trailman the course was a more natural cross-country run, with flowing hills that were more spread out but took longer to scale. The ground was a mix of surface, the grass still damp in places from dew, most of the trail was dried 4x4 track which at the bottom of the dips in the shade was still water logged in places. This added to the challenge and sure enough 3 km in the young snapper behind me made his move and passed us sticking a few metres ahead of us right up until the half way point. As we passed the start finish area for the second part of the 'figure 8' course we were passed by a second runner. At this point I had one thought; "we've done half the race at the front here, we can do this. But I'll have to beat Chris to place third".

About 8 km in was the toughest climb of the race. It was not just the longest but the muddiest climb of the day, making grip extremely tough. At one point the best option was to hike up as running clearly was too wasteful. Chris slowed up, uncharacteristically and let me past. We didn't need to exchange words for me to know something was up. I took the lead, trusting that if he could and wanted to, he'd catch me but he was soon passed by another competator any my running turned defensive. At the top I told myself: "you've 4 km to go, you're in third, you've come this far. You will not loose this place. Shut up legs". Calculating that I might not have a sprint left in me I thought id try another tactic and along the slight plateau strode out a bit to try and drop the guy behind me 5 meters became 10, then 20. Approaching the long decent between kilometres 9 & 10 I chose to test my new found leg strength and see if all that gym work would pay off, and kept the pace down the muddy slope. Success, I looked back at the bottom and couldn't see him any more. With a couple kilometres of rough up and down to go I just kept steady, checking in front and behind to assess my pace. With a watch check at 11.5 km I told myself that's it, just over six minutes to go. Hold on! I could see the finish area that I would be looping round to, just one last drop and slight climb in the field opposite. I could see the guy ahead of me, well out of range to consider a charge. A quick look back to confirm my position was safe, "you've got this." The only part of the whole race I actually enjoyed, while doing it. The last 500 m was an easy downhill to the finish, crossing the line in 59 min 43 seconds in 3rd place.