B's Galena Duathlon Race Report Card...

This is the third straight year I have raced the Galena Duathlon which is located in the extreme northwest Mississippi river valley region of Illinois and by far this year was the most challenging of all because of the very strong constant 20-25mph winds out of the WNW with gust’s getting 30+mph which were in your face the whole 16.8 mile hilly biking route. But then again all the athletes’ racing in the tri & du had to deal with this weather element also…

I arrived to Galena Friday afternoon to settle in before a very early start to race day on Saturday morning. I was more than happy to help out Kateri and her sister via the phone with some pre-race preparation and about the logistics of race day morning parking & bus transfer from downtown Galena up to Apple Canyon Lake 17 miles away. I wasn’t able to meet them for dinner but I found out from Kateri they had a great meal at a restaurant I have always wanted to try in downtown Galena.

My alarm went off much too early Saturday morning as I loaded up the car to drive up to the lake to drop-off my tri-bike at transition number one. The pre-sunrise is very majestic & peaceful in the rolling hills of the region of Illinois plus I get a chance to pre-drive the biking course twice to learn every little bit of it for race day knowledge. After the tri-bike drop-off I headed back to Galena to transition number two to drop-off my running gear for the second run and I was very lucky this year to find a parking spot in this area so all I had to do was wait in line for the buses to arrive from the remote parking region to take us up to the lake. Well wouldn’t you know it as I was sitting down in the bus sure enough its Kateri and her sister Lynne I spotted. I was very happy to see her on the bus and as we chatted the long bus ride went by quickly.

After we all got dropped off at Apple Canyon Lake to get ready for the race day events which is where I was able to help prep Kateri’s and Lynne’s bikes for the climb out of the transition one which is about 300 feet upwards out of the lake region at about a 7 percent climb, a challenging first climb. I prepped my bike for the last time with proper fluids and gels in the flask on the steering stem for easier consumption while out on the bike course. We then waited around the swim starting area to get out of the strong sunlight and watched the first swim wave leave at 9am sharp and we watch a few more waves take to the open water. At about 9:20am I wished Kateri and Lynne a great race & told them I would see them at the finish line post race area later. As I walked up the hill about a half mile away it was then that I noticed how really strong the wind was that day, it wouldn’t be a variable on the 1st & 2nd run but it was going to be in our face the whole bike ride portion.

My duathlon wave started at 9:55am which was to be a rolling downhill with a turnaround back up the same road and onto the transition area. Since I have done this race before I knew not to go out too fast on the 7% grade rolling downhill’s but where the turnaround was this year was completely further away than last years turnaround plus it was about 150 feet up a 8% climb. I kept my HR aerobic after the opening run and as I got to my tri-bike my Garmin 305 indicated a 2.49mile run (verified with other garmin duathletes after the race)…just as I thought it was long! I had an ok-to-slow transition time as I carried my tri-bike out of the pebbly/gravel transition area across the exit chip mat…

I clipped into my pedals and off up the hill I went out of transition one focusing once again on parceling out my energy to last the event distance, meaning staying just below the an-aerobic zone but once I got to the top of the hill my competitive cycling legs unfortunately took over my mind power with the strong headwinds and hills I realized about 15 minutes into the bike portion that I was totally an-aerobic & in the HR red zone (Kateri said I passed her in the opening miles of the bike portion as she gave me a positive shout out but I do not remember seeing and/or hearing her) I was so in the zone I heard/saw nothing around me because I was on a mission to tear up this bike course, those opening miles on the bike were just a blur. I finally regained my senses due to my right calf cramping up going up one of the many hills we needed to climb as I stood up on the pedals to stomp my climbing gears which forced me really quickly to adjust my riding style and pace if I was going to last the distance. At that point I realized just how much a rider had to fight the wind going both up the hills and even going down the hills. With my 6’4" body frame and Zipp wheels on I felt like a main sail on a sailboat out there even while tucked in the most aero position. The wind literally wanted to push you back up a hill and down the other side you just rode up…

During the whole bike ride I was passing a lot of people similar to last year but it took much more effort for me to do that this year. Last year not a single person passed me on the biking portion and this year I was passed by one person at about mile 8, I received the courteous on the left shout out from the women whom eventually won her age group in the F45-49 triathlon race. She provided words of encouragement to me as she zipped right by me and I returned the courteous also to her, she walked away from me on the bike like I was standing still :-)

Every time I would attempt to climb a hill out of the saddle my right calf would cramp-up immediately so back in the saddle it was for me every time…I repeated this process on 6 more hill climb attempts. On a different note I realized that over the bike course I had seen a lot of people either walking their bikes up the hills or with flat tires on their bikes, in previous years I have never seen this. So I was more than happy to see the transition area ahead with the get-off your bike zone as I call it. As I hit the brakes and un-clipped my right shoe both my right hamstring and right calf cramped up in a big, big way. I hoppled into the transition area two it only worsened…

I hung my tri-bike on the rack and took a seat on the grass to take off my cycling shoes and put on my running shoes while my right hamstring was fighting me about this simple procedure. I put on my coolmax cap and grabbed a gel & electrolyte elixir drink and stood up to start running out of transition the hamstring was much better but my legs were really tight from the strong effort parceled out on the bike. As you exit the transition here the crowds are enthusiastic which was great needed for the last 4.3 mile run plus the "wall" hill hits you right in the face at that moment at an 8.5% grade climb for about a third of a mile. After you hit the crest of this you turn left for another 5% climb for about another third of a mile. The rest of the way up was between 1 to 3% of a climb till the turnaround point so once you turn 180 degrees there its all downhill till the finishline. During this run I had various leg cramps in both hamstrings and calves but nothing that didn’t go away after a quick stride adjustment. On the run down the hill I saw Kateri running very strongly towards the uphill turnaround and we exchanged cheers to each other my running legs returned with about a mile to go as I cruised down the big hill and sprinted across the finishline in 1:57:38

I ended up finishing 27th Overall out of 223 finishing duathletes and in my AG M45-49 I finished 5th out of 25 racers. I was the 13th fastest duathlete cyclist (average 17.7mph) out there that day which saved my lackluster running performances. My average HR for the event was 151bpm with a max HR in the opening biking miles at 161bpm. As a reference point my 2007 bike leg time was 53:54 (7th bike overall) and this year it was 56:51 due to the winds and other variables.

After I drank my recovery drink, changed into some clean clothes and attempted to eat some food I finally found Kateri & Lynne in the post-race celebration area. We shared our experiences of the day, had some more food plus I was very glad to hear that they both enjoyed the event it was a privilege & honor to be able to spend some time with them both that day. I wished them both a safe trip home and I then packed up my car for the return trip home also.

Now that I had a few days to reflect on Saturdays duathlon race I did leave everything I had on the course that day based on my current fitness level. Last year was my quickest year at 1:49:22 but the first run was short last year (1.8 miles) and there were no winds to deal with also like this year. I plan on returning in 2009 yet again :-)

Thanks for reading the long winded report ;-)

b