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.