RUNNING SCARED - Cannon Wells Duathlon Re-cap

After scanning the participant list for the Cannon Wells Duathlon last night, I knew it would be a tough race to hit the podium at, much less win.  Although no super-pro/elites were listed, there were a handful of top notch guys and podium contenders.  There would be Dennis Dane (18th overall/2nd AG at Tri Championships in 09), Paul Donnelly (a couple top 3 tri finishes, several various length running wins on his race resume), Randy Peterson--very experienced, very fast, often top of his AG, to name a few.  Dane was picked by Jerry MacNeil (http://www.minnesotatrinews.com/) as the one to beat.  Jerry is a total guru of the sport, knows who wins, and has very colorful commentary at the races he 'calls'.  Could we call him the Chris Berman of triathlon? Howard Cosell?  Anyway, on with the recap...

RUN 1- Out-n-back 2 miles. It started pretty quick with a slightly bigger gentleman leading the way.  I don't mean fat, just bigger than the usual guy you'd see scorching the asphalt.  Despite his size, he was FAST.  He lead us for about a 1/3 of a mile, then a couple other guys, running side-by-side, took over the lead and stayed there the rest of the way.  I was keeping my eye on Dennis Dane -- he was right along side/just behind me the whole first run.  I hit T1 in 3rd position.
RUN 1= 11:32 (5:46 pace)

T2- I had trouble again this year.  Why?  Everything was wet, I don't know--no excuse--I was just slow.  I entered it in 3rd, exited in 4th.
T2= 52 seconds

BIKE- A 14 mile loop with an out-n-back section in it.  We started out on a paved bike path, then zig-zagged down to a road that pretty much went around the lake along the shore.  You could tell with the flooding just a couple days ago that some of the road was under water at one point, then receeded, leaving some of the bottom of the lake behind.  Sand, weeds, wood chips, etc.  The 3 guys out in front of me had about a 1/3 to half mile lead.  I decided that I should just ride hard and try to catch them.  I think I may have vurped (that's a vomit burp) in the process.  Ok, I didn't, but felt like I was going to.  My plan was to pass them ASAP and set the tone for the rest of the race.  I was about to pass Dane, then we hit a section of wash up from the lake and I ended up getting his rooster tail of water, sand, and what ever else as I had to file in behind him for a few seconds as there ended up being just a narrow strip of road with only a little debris on it.  I backed off, waited, then passed him when it was clear.  The other two guys I caught by mile 2.  Then I really hammered.  Again, I was on the verge of tossing my cookies, but I couldn't let up the pace.  I figured if I can get to T2 with a big gap, I would be "out of sight, out of mind" for anyone chasing.  On the out-n-back section, once I turned around, I realized my lead wasn't too big.  This was around mile 9 of 14.  I went harder.  After a few miles, I got to the last section of the bike loop: 2 miles of less than smooth paved trail.  They're probably pretty nice to ride with a mountain or cross bike, but not for a tri-bike.  My mountain bike experience came in handy, but I wished that I had raced road on cobbles before.  I hadn't so I just took the hits and pounded it hoping it would slow the others down more than it did me. 
BIKE = 34:53 (24.1 mph)

T2- 41 seconds. I'm fine with that. My fingers were numb and it was tough to get my shoes on, but I got out of T2 as fast as I could.

RUN 2 (aka the RUNNING SCARED section) - This is a 3 mile loop that is mostly on a paved bike trail.  The first half is the same 1.5 miles that the bike starts on.  I left T2, suffering.  But that was my overall feeling--my stomach, lungs, feet.  My legs felt ok as they got to do something other than crank the pedals.  I started as fast as I could tolerate, breathing obscenely loud.  Its no secret--I am not that fast of a runner.  I need a cushion for the final section/run of a multisport race.  When I hit the run in a tri, or Run 2 in a du, I run like I am being chased with a chainsaw.  I run scared.   I have to.  I know whoever gets off their bike next, and after that, and maybe after that, is probably gaining on me.  After the first couple of turns and curves I couldn't see anyone, but I didn't let that comfort me.  I didn't look back anymore, but instead, I asked volunteers along the course if they could see anyone.  The last person I asked was about 1/4 mile from the finish and she squinted then said, "I cannnnnn't...well, they are way back."  I looked at my watch, knew I wasn't lighting up the trail with a course record so I relaxed just a bit, knocked my breathing down from obscene to just heavy and ran in smiling.  I ended up with the 3rd fastest second run so that was nice.
RUN 2=18:42 (6:14 pace)

TOTAL TIME = 1:06:37 = 1st overall.

Donnelly and Dane were the next two to finish, in that order.  NICE RACE GUYS!!!

The 2010 multisport season couldn't have ended better.  Many Tri-Rochester members were there and all raced very well, winning some stuff in the drawings, and some even placing in their AG's--taking home some hardware!  Its not really about that--its about having fun, hanging out with friends, playing like you did when you were a kid, right...  Its about so much more too, but if it pays off in other ways that's just a bonus. 

Full Results of the Cannon Wells Duathlon are HERE
Results from the Cannon Wells 8.5 mile run are HERE

Other racing news from today:  Tri-Rochester members, and mega multisport superstar couple Ann and Joe Moyer rocked it at the NEW Osceola Duathlon. Joe was 2nd overall and Ann won her AG by exactly 7 minutes. What?!?!  7 minutes!  Check out the results by clicking THIS