Race Report: Off Road Duathlon Weert

I completed my first race in the Netherlands today in Weert, a small town about 27 km south of Eindhoven. The course was a 5km trail run (2 laps of 2.5km), a 26km mountain bike ride (4 laps of 6.5km), and a second run of 2.5km. The weather report was for 55 degrees F with a chance of rain. So in typical Dutch fashion it rained all morning and into the afternoon.

I don't have a car, so my plan was to take the train from Eindhoven to Weert and ride my bike from the Weert station to the race site. The trains allow you to travel with your bike if you buy a bike day pass for €6. My race didn't start until 1:00pm, so I got to the station in time for the 11:32 train. The trip is only about 15 minutes, so I was hoping to have over an hour to arrive, check in, get set up, and warm up. When I got to the train platform there was a train, but no one could board. The train pulled away with no one on it. Then another train pulled in and the same thing happened. I saw a group of three women and a man with mountain bikes and asked them if they were also going to Weert. They were, so I just followed them. We finally got onto a train at 12:02. We were pretty crammed on...the bike area isn't huge.

We arrived in Weert close to 12:25. I followed them as they stopped at their hotel and dropped off their overnight bags, then we rode towards the race site. We arrived about 10 minutes later and I went to pick up my number from registration. I finally got to the transition area (parc-ferme) at 12:44. I set up quickly and was ready for the start. A short time later we were off.

The run course was a mixture of surfaces - dirt (mud) trail, crushed gravel, deep sand, and wood chips. The first lap went by without incident. I felt good and felt like I was exerting myself - just a little bit uncomfortable. Throughout the first lap there was passing and repassing...alot of position changes. By the end of lap one I was in a familiar place between groups and running alone.

The second lap was a little more difficult, I developed a stitch in my side and tried to breathe it out and press it out - neither worked. I just pushed through and hoped it would go away on the bike. I got into transition with a 7:35/mile average.

T1 was fairly quick. I got my shoes changed, put my helmet on, and put my CamelBak on for the bike ride.

The very first section of the bike route sent us through a thick sand pit...not great for the transmission. The trail was pretty typical singletrack - similar to my home MTB course - Kickapoo Park near Danville, IL - although this was more flat. There was a mixture of surfaces similar to the run course and a couple of areas of ups and downs, but mostly flat. The rain was a big factor, I was muddy from head to toe. The first lap of the bike was similar to the run with passing, re-passing, etc. but again I rode most of the four laps alone, between groups. Towards the end of my 3rd lap I was passed by some very fast riders...the head of the race, I think. My back started to hurt during lap 3 and lasted through the end of the ride. I finished the ride in about 1:21.

T2 was pretty quick...I didn't time it, but I was in and out pretty quickly.

I was feeling the effects of the ride as usual, but was moving pretty well on the second run. As I went up and down a couple of the small hills on the run course I felt the familiar and unwelcome beginnings of my hated nemesis, the hamstring cramp. I pushed through, but knew I would have to ease up to keep myself from seizing up. Normally it strikes my right leg, but this time I was feeling it in both legs. Towards the end of the run there was an uphill section with a switchback to a downhill section. Just before starting the uphill I felt my legs start to seize. I walked the uphill and half the downhill, hoping to save myself the agony of a full on cramp up. It seemed to work, although I hated losing the time.

I hit the finish just after the clock ticked over 2 hours. Overall I was satisfied with the day. I didn't know the course, the competitive level, or what to expect. So I felt good to get started with racing in a new country.

A few differences from US races:

- No post-race food.

- No shirts.

- No goody bags.

- No splits in the results...you only get your total time, overall place, and age group place.

- Much broader age groups: 18, 20, 24, 40, 50, and 60

- Coed post-race showers

Genneper Parken

I took an easy run to and through Genneper Parken this morning. The weather was cool and a little bit rainy, but it felt really good.

Since arriving in the Netherlands earlier this week I have had horrible sleeping problems. My body just isn't ready to make a 7 hour change yet. I've woken up between 3 and 5 am the past few nights and just cannot get back to sleep. I'm hoping today's run will knock me out later.

Life Gets in the Way

Wow. I haven't done a damn thing fitness-wise in too long.

Between working full-days, finishing up projects at the house nights and weekends, getting everything ready to move overseas, I just don't have enough time left to run, bike, or swim.

I'm at the stage where I might get a workout in and then enough time passes until the next one that I have to battle soreness...again and again.

I will be happy to get to our new home and get settled in. I'm looking forward to discovering new routes to run, riding the miles and miles of bike paths that the Netherlands has to offer, and getting into the water of a world-class zwemcentrum.

I long ago found some races to do when I get to the Netherlands. It's part of my strategy to ease the transition into Dutch life - bring along the familiar. I just hope I get back into shape by then.

Iron Abe 2010

Yesterday morning I got up early and drove to Springfield, IL to take part in the Springfield Tri Fest. There are three races that make up the tri fest - a kids race on Saturday and sprint and Olympic distance events on Sunday. I chose to race the Olympic distance despite my lack of hard training.

I packed my transition bag and got my bike ready to go on Saturday night. I had a load of laundry in the dryer which included my race socks. And in the course of getting everything ready I somehow neglected to get my socks out of the laundry and pack them in my bag...big mistake.

The early morning drive was quick. I was happy to see that the temperature was in the low 70s. We've had weeks of 90+ temperatures with very high humidity, but the forecast for Sunday was overcast with cooler temps...good race conditions.

I arrived, checked in, and got to transition in just a few minutes. Set-up was fast thanks to the numbered racks.

I got to the swim start, watched the first wave go off, and waited for my wave to start. The swim was decent. Lake temperature was 85 and the water felt good. I sighted every few strokes to make sure I was swimming straight for each buoy. This was very helpful and I avoided zigzagging as I've done in longer open water swims in the past. For the first third of the swim I relaxed and went at a moderate pace to let myself get loose. In the middle third I started swimming harder, and when I made the last turn to head back to shore I was swimming strong. During the swim portion of the race the heavily overcast sky transformed and bright sunshine began to heat up the morning air. So much for comfortable racing conditions...
I came out of the water, looked at my watch and saw 28-something minutes for the .9 miles. I'm not a fast swimmer and I was happy with the result. I also felt like I had plenty of energy for the rest of the race. My swim split was officially 29:24 - including the run up to T1.

T1 was quick. I was on my bike in just over a minute. (1:06)

My approach to the bike portion of the race was to push hard, but not my hardest. I'm usually tempted to ride too hard and my run suffers. I felt good heading out onto the course.

The first few miles ticked by and except for my AeroDrink bottle rattling out of its holder on a bumpy section, I got into a nice cadence and held my speed around 20mph. The longest sections of the bike course were U-shaped with a tailwind out and headwind back. I made sure to get as much free speed from the tailwind sections as possible to counter the challenge of the headwinds.

About halfway through the bike section I Schlecked my chain off the big ring and had to stop and put it back on...I probably lost a minute slowing, stopping, fixing, and getting back up to speed. I came into T2 after and hour and fifteen minutes, right at my goal.

T2 was decent. One minute twelve seconds to rack the bike, drop the helmet, race belt, hat, swap shoes, and I was running (minus my socks). I've run a race once before without socks and my feet were not happy about it...that day it was a split-second, but calculated decision. This day it was an oversight.

I exited T2 hoping to hold a steady and "comfortable" pace. In past races this has been right around 8:30/mi. But in past races I had better run fitness coming in. My running has suffered lately as I prepare to move overseas. I have mostly been doing 4 mile runs a couple times a week...basically maintenance - if that. I hit mile 1 in 8:40 and was content with that pace. Miles 2 and 3 were the same pace and I was hoping just to hold on through the second half of the run.

As the run continued the heat became more and more of an issue. Fortunately there were plenty of water stations placed throughout the run. I would take water at each one, walk and drink half the cup and pour the other half over my head or down my back.

At water stop/mile marker 4 I started to really notice the pain from my shoe rubbing on my left achilles. As I walked through the water stop I reached down to run my finger between my shoe and my foot where it was rubbing. As I picked my foot up off the ground my hamstring clenched into a massive cramp. I quickly straightened my leg out to try and stop the cramp, but it persisted. I would straighten, stretch, and as soon as I relaxed it would seize up again. I spent a solid three minutes trying to work that cramp out. Finally it stopped and I walked down the road and around the last turnaround cone to finish the last 2.2 miles of the run.

On mile 5 of the run I split running and walking more evenly. I was hot and tired with a painful blister and a sore hamstring. I knew I was approaching the final mile of the run and I decided to run the whole thing. Strangely, the blister was more painful walking than running. I crossed the finish line at 2:47:35, about 9 minutes slower than I had hoped for.


My shoe post-race:

I already have a permanent pair of socks in my Triathlon bag, just in case.

Photos courtesy of HardyBreed

Xterra Scales Lake

Wow. This race course really kicked my ass.

Xterra Scales Lake is a sprint distance event - .5 mile swim/11 mile MTB/3.4 mile Trail Run - in Boonville, IN. I've done other off-road races, both triathlons and trail runs, and I've never been so surprised by the difficulty of a course.

The swim was standard enough, a half mile in a lake. I was happy with my swim, my time, and my place coming out of the water. I thought the bike would be my strong event, as it has been in the past - both on and off road. But within a few minutes of starting the bike leg it was clear I was going to struggle.

The course at Scales Lake features many, many short severe uphills. It's a two loop course of 5.5 miles, so at least I knew what to expect the second time around (I didn't have time to try to pre-ride the course). There were some downhill sections, but certainly not enough to match the uphill sections. Many people passed me on the first loop...I felt like I my exertion was through the roof for the first 2.5 miles. The second loop was hard, but I had my effort under control and finally got off the bike...I usually love the MTB.

The run course was a mixture of more up and down hill sections interspersed with some road sections. It was also very difficult terrain (it would have been nearly impossible if wet or muddy). After my effort on the bike I had to walk the hills and try to run the flats...there weren't enough flats so I walked quite a bit.

I finished in 2:23. I don't have my splits yet, official results haven't been posted. But I didn't do anywhere near what I hoped for going into this race...hopefully the next one is better.

Capital City Biathlon

Saturday May 29th was the Capital City Biathlon in Springfield, IL. Instead of the traditional Run-Bike-Run duathlon, the format for this race is Run-Bike. I'd never raced this format before and I was looking forward to being able to ride all-out on the bike without having to worry about a second run.

I've raced this course before as part of various Springfield races...Iron Horse, Iron Abe, and Stoneman Sprint. The race director is Bill Winberg, same as for the other Springfield events, and he does a very thorough job. I like the professional touches, like assigned spaces on the bike racks. It helps to keep the transition area well organized.

The race started on time at 7:30. We were split into three waves starting on 3 minute intervals. The first wave consisted of teams, clydesdales, and athenas. The second wave was all men, and the last wave was all women.

I started off at what I thought was a comfortable run pace and was very surprised at the one mile mark to see seven minutes just tick over. I normally run slower than that, but have run this pace or faster in shorter duathlon runs. Into the second mile a runner just a ahead of me dropped one of his bike gloves and I stopped to pick it up thinking I would give it back to him if I caught up to him or saw him after the turnaround. I never caught up and didn't recognize him coming back the other way, so I carried the stupid glove with me for the whole run.

My second mile split was 7:35 and I was starting to get pretty hot. I could tell I was slowing a bit and I ran the last 1.1 miles in around 9 minutes. My total for the run was 23:43. I was happy with that as my goal time was 24 minutes for the 5K.

I hit the transition area and was on my bike in under a minute.

The bike course is relatively flat. There are some rolling hills, but we're in Central Illinois, so they don't last long. My goal was to maintain a 20mph pace on the bike and come in around 1:10 for the entire race.

The park road out to the bike course was bumpy and pretty torn up, but I was getting my speed up and shifted up onto the big ring. My legs felt fresh even after the run, so I started to push a little bit harder and my speedometer was showing 22, 23, 24 mph for parts of the first miles of the ride.

I started to pass a few people, then a few more as I got into a good pedaling rhythm.

There was a little bit of a headwind that blew for the last couple of miles before the bike turnaround, but I knew it would help on the return trip.

I was counting down the miles to go as they ticked by on my cycle computer. I tried to give just a little bit more each time I saw my speed. I knew that I could ride as hard as I wanted and when I was done with the ride, I was done with the race.

As I hit the last turn and headed back into the park I could tell that I was well within my goal time. I could see the finish and gave one last extra effort through to the line. I stopped my watch and saw 1:08:06, which I was satisfied with. I was hoping to finish at least in the middle of my age group, and ended up 6th out of 24, and was 32nd overall out of about 200 who started the race.

I bettered my overall goal by almost two minutes, beat my run goal and managed a 20.7mph average on the bike - all in all a satisfying result.


Photos courtesy of HardyBreed

My Xterra Race Map

View Xterra Race Map in a larger map

Xterra Utah is a goal.