Season Opener

Today was my first multisport event of the 2012 season. The Spring Into Summer Sedalia Duathlon is a good one to start the season. It's a low key race, shorter distances and just a really well run event without a lot of pressure. My buddy, Terry, and I have done this event several times and were looking forward to it again. Sedalia is about 2 hours away from KC. Kathy (Terry's wife) decided to brave the early start to the day and join us! The primary motivation was lunch at Mazzio's after the race, but - hey - whatever it takes, right? I was at their house a bit before 5 to load the car and head out. Terry greeted me with some unfortunate news - apparently when he was swapping out my wheels for his race wheels last night, my cassette broke! For those of you non-cyclists, a cassette is pretty important! Without a cassette, you have nothing to move the chain - you don't go anywhere. Ruh-roh! Terry already had a back-up plan in place. My brother (who just decided to do the race last night) was bringing the rear wheel off of his tri bike. Whew. Still need to figure out a solution, but for now, we focus on the race. I don't really get too worked up about these things. I just trust they will be resolved. If it was my "A race" for the season, I might have a different outlook. Well, there's no "might" about it - I would be concerned. haha We piled in the car and were on the road just slightly after 5. As we drove, I spent time thinking through the goals Coach Liz and I talked about. I was feeling well-rested, hydrated, ready. Now then, let's discuss the weather. For the past couple weeks we have had the most beautiful weather here in KC, one would almost start to feel like they lived in San Diego. Of course, that all changes race day. A bit of a storm blew through yesterday and brought us some delightfully hot, humid, windy conditions for today. I'm not quite adjusted to training in 80-90s yet, let alone with high humidity. So, here we go - acclimation time! We got to Cloverdell Park a little past 7 and met up with Bill and Kim. I told my brother about this race a while back, but he's been pretty busy with getting work lined up and adapting to Ironman training, so spaced that the race was actually this weekend. He happened to call me last night around 5 to see what my training plan was for today - it's a race, buddy! He decided to do it - yes, this is his first multisport event. Go Bill! While Terry worked on my wheel, Bill and I started setting up transition areas. We all went over to packet pick up together. Bill got signed up and we got our packets and an orange tie dye shirt! haha I now have Navy, Bright Green and Orange Sedalia Du shirts...all tie dye! Back to transition to do a quick warm up on the bike and make sure everything was shifting properly and see how the legs were. Legs didn't feel too bad, but it was steamy out there and I was very aware of the wind! Back to transition again, put on the running shoes and went out for a quick run. I feel good. I'm ready! The race starts with a pre-race meeting to go over the details of the course. And then, without delay, the gun sounds and we're off. For those who don't know, a duathlon is RUN-BIKE-RUN. Who signs up for an event where you have to run twice? Dumb people! haha My coach sent me a little reminder the other day that Duathlons hurt and you have to mentally prepare for the pain. Well, I thought I was prepared, but...well...I started the first run, trying not to get caught up in the speed of the pack. Stay controlled. The run goes immediately down a hill, sharp right turn and a gradual uphill for the next mile (?) until you hit another right turn onto the Katy trail. It certainly gets you winded and you just want it to stop. I kept getting passed by a girl who would get right over in front of me and then stop and walk. I just love that! It's kinda like having your car set on cruise control and someone making you turn it off - then speeding up when you get next to them - etc...you finally either have to step on it or drop back. I chose to step on it a bit and didn't see her again. I was so happy to turn onto the Katy trail and get a little shade. Before I knew it, I was onto a paved trail around the lake and back into the park. Kathy and Kim were sitting at a shelter waiting for us. I made what felt like a pretty quick transition to the bike and made my way to the mount/dismount line, only to realize all these other peeps were just riding right from the bike racks. Darn it - I should've done that! Once on the bike, you go up that same hill - thankfully it passes much more quickly than when you're on foot. I just tried to let my legs adjust to pedaling for a few minutes. I'm not sure why I always forget how hilly this race is, but I do. This time, I'm writing about it in my race report for coach. That way when I prep for next year, perhaps I'll be more mentally ready for those boogers! So, none of the hills are so steep you have to stand up (well except maybe the hill back into the park), they just keep you from findind a groove and falling into a rythym on the bike. It didn't help that it was a pretty windy day as well and I know it's not possible, but it just felt like we never got a break. I always think about wind when I train as more resistance and good training. I also know that I'm not as affected by smaller peeps in the wind, so I try to pretend it's an advantage for me! :-) I just tried not to spend it too much, but was eager for the pain to end. Back to transition and the legs were really feeling spent. I changed back to the running shoes and heading out the opposite direction this time - the 2nd run is a reverse loop of the first run. I started to run and realized that the ball of my right foot and my 2nd/3rd toes hurt so bad and didn't want to bend at all. I've had surgery on both of my feet (the right one in 09 and the left in 2000), so it could have to do with that. I don't know for sure what happened or if it's a combination of things, but it hurt so badly I didn't even want to walk on it. I kept trudging at a very slow pace and couldn't put pressure right on it so then it was hurting the outside of my leg too. Ughhh....what is happening here? Anyway, boy this run was toasty. You are on the Katy trail with some shade for the first part and then just out on the asphalt (thankfully more downhill than up at that point!!). I just could not wait to see the sign for the park. Sadly when you hook a left into the park, there is that lovely hill. It HURTS SO badly! I wanted to just lay down on the grass right there and have someone hoist me up the hill. Once up it, I was able to kinda pick it up a little, but was nearly out of gas. I might also remind you of the wind and sadly we had the headwind and the hill at the finish. Terry, Kathy and Kim were all waiting at the finish, cheering me through the shoot! SO HAPPY TO BE DONE! I grabbed a drink and tried to walk it out, but my foot was really bothering me. We ended up walking down towards the hill to wait for Bill and cheer him on at that tough point. We just chilled in the shade and tried to cool down a bit. After a little bit, we see him turning the corner. Go Bill! Go! It's so hard right there, after a tough day. We were all cheering him up the hill and into the finish. Very proud of him for doing this race and finishing strong on a day that would've been much easier to skip it! haha Terry had a strong finish! Sadly, his age group is so competitive he didn't end up placing. Bill actually won 1st place in the Clydesdale division - WOOT! And I managed to get 2nd in my age group!!!

A good day of racing. It was about 10:15 when all was said and done and cars were loaded back up. So, we chilled for a little bit at the park while waiting for Mazzio's to open. Kathy and Kim were ready to eat! :-) After a fun (and yum) lunch of pizza, we all headed home. I just wanted a shower! So, a great start to the 2012 season for me. I hope to just continue building on that right through November 3rd!!!