As I turn 35 this summer, I'm now in a new AG ... and am probably officially going to be comparatively worse for the next 15 years or so (unless I really kick my own ass into gear which ... trying).
Or better people are starting to show up and race the short course at Barkin' Dog. That could also be a possibility.
I'm not entirely sure I actually slept the night before, but I woke up fairly exhausted but on time (hooray!) to leave the house and go race. We got routed to a different parking lot this year, so it was almost a good mile walk down to transition. Since I have the state parks pass ... I should have just driven into the park and parked in the boating area ... maybe next time ...
Got set up, grabbed my packet ... and ended up finding a few Skirt sisters in Samm and Cassie. It was Cassie's first ever duathlon, so we helped explain some stuff, give advice ... tell her not to worry about the hill of death in the middle of the bike course ... the usual.
After that, it was a lot of standing around and waiting as the short course women were the absolute last wave to go off, but go off we did.
Start. I'm with all the crazy lime, Samm is in the Runners Roost kit to my right (if looking at photo; actually off my left shoulder), and there's a sliver of Cassie in a Stargaze Happy Girl on the other side of me.
Run 1:
The fact that I had to walk a bit up the hill of the first 2K run told me it was going to be a rough day as I'm pretty sure I didn't have to do the last time I did this race back in 2016. Dangit.
I also swear we ran a bit further down the sidewalk than that year, but that could have been my own perception due to struggling lungs already. Great.
Rounding the corner back to transition.
Time: 11:18 (4th division, 23rd gender, 48th overall)
T1:
Fairly uneventful, as per usual.
Time: :58 (2nd, 9th, 23rd)
Bike:
I forget exactly when Samm passed me on the run, but pass me she did. However, I was able to pass her back a few miles into the bike course. I hadn't ridden outside much leading into the race, but I wanted to push it on the bike, so push it I did.
I was able to see where Samm was on the backside of the tower loop - she was going in as I was coming out, so I knew she wasn't too far behind. I saw Cassie just about to turn up the giant hill of death as I turned back onto the main part of the park road, so I knew she was doing okay as well.
Unfortunately for me, no fastest AG bike split ... and that's okay, as I did the best as I could have done on that day.
Like a boss. Also lopsided helmet due to the buff I was wearing underneath for my ears. Oops.
Time: 38:56 (3rd, 20th, 40th)
T2:
Once again, in, out, gone as best I could.
"High"-fiving a little girl leaving transition. Why not, right? Also I look really tall as a result ...
Time: 1:11 (2nd, 20th, 37th)
Run 2:
Run 2 was a struggle and a half. I was heading over to the hill when I saw Samm come into trans, so I knew it was probably only going to be a matter of time until she caught me. I was walking way more than I would have liked, too.
(clearly hit my race goal of "pace well." clearly.)
Racing Underground changed up the run course this year to avoid extra foot traffic on the main park road, turning it into a straight out-and-back on the trails. I'm not sure whether I liked this more or less or neither.
In any case, my first mile was pretty slow AF (12:something), mostly due to me not being able to breathe.
Samm caught me not too long after that, and we stuck together for most of the rest of the run. She told me she was having some struggles herself - not knowing if she'd actually be able to finish the race. So, we mutually helped each other out - I helped her just keep going in general, and she helped me to a killer neg split (mile 2 11:something, mile 3 10:something).
We were nearing the part where we needed to turn off the path and head up the road to the finish when she had it and I didn't quite, so we split up and she beat me by about 45 seconds (to take third in our AG).
Time: 34:35 (4th, 36th, 67th)
Overall Stats:
Time: 1:27:00
4/5 division (F35-39)
23/60 gender
48/107 overall
Post-race selfie. My thoughts exactly.
The real reason I race: Flippin' Flapjacks.
Samm and I hung out a bit afterward, eating our pancakes, and then we biked back up to our cars. I packed up and busted ass to drive back into the park, as I wanted to try to see Cassie finish. We saw her starting up the hill on the second run as we were running down to the finish, so I knew there'd be a chance.
Unfortunately, I saw her walking back to trans with her pancakes as I drove into the parking lot. I was able to chat with her a bit post-race, though, to see how it went and all of that. She tripped at one point on the second run, so she had a bit of road rash from that, and her bike got tipped over in trans so her derailleur was a bit screwed up, making shifting difficult, but she survived and is not totally done with multisport for good, so I'm calling it a win.
*********
And, since I've done this race thrice now, it's comparison time!
Time 2014: 1:27:28
Time 2016: 1:21:31
Time 2018: 1:27:00
Difference: quite a bit slower than 2016, but still faster than the first time. And the first time had arguably the easiest bike out of all of them. Not complaining since I totally wasn't really trained.
Run 1 2014: 10:14
Run 1 2016: 10:32
Run 1 2018: 11:18
Difference: so slow. I'M WORKING ON IT.
T1 2014: 1:10
T1 2016: 1:02
T1 2018: :58
Difference: well, I keep improving at something. Also, this might be my first ever sub-:60 transition time. Score!
Bike 2014: 42:56
Bike 2016: 38:10
Bike 2018: 38:56
Difference: wow, this is where I lost the least time. I'm kind of impressed, honestly. I think it's just a lot of accumulated bike miles in my legs. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
T2 2014: 1:09
T2 2016: 1:04
T2 2018: 1:11
Difference: ... and I lost time here. *shrugs*
Run 2 2014: 31:57
Run 2 2016: 30:41
Run 2 2018: 34:35
Difference: a lot. The other area where I bled a lot of time. Again, working on it.
I'm considering doing this race again next year (as I really do enjoy it), but as a relay with Samm. I guess she really wants one of the AG champion pint glasses (which I got in 2014), and they only go one deep for short course (unlike long course, where they go three deep). She would run and I would bike. I think we would crush it, so that's probably next year. Watch out for Team Skirt!
Great job!!!!
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