Queensland Duathlon Championships - Race Report

Race Details:     
Day/Date: 9/08/2015
Distance: 5KM run/20KM Bike/2.5Km Run
Race Start: 7:30AM
Race Number:   239

Race Plan & Goal:
My goal for this race was to have a strong run and stay in contact with the front pack for the whole race. Hopefully ending up in a podium finish for my second race of the season. First time at this course and I am looking forward to racing against Luke Harvey again, to see how we both have trained during winter – this will be a good test for bike leg against Luke as this is his strength.Staying Warm before the race will be a very important issue as the weather is predicted to be single digits.

Preparation for the race
The preparation started a couple of days ago with hydration and eating the correctly before and after training. After last week’s race being hindered by cramping in the legs I am loading up on Magnesium and will have my Salvital the day before drinking at least two litres to make - I know that it won’t be very hot but I want to have a good race as it Race 1 for the QLD Nissan State Championships and points are up for grabs…..so I am not taking any chances.   

We arrive at the track around 5.50am and it was as predicted……freezing, had to even wear my gloves to carry the bike to the race registration.

Transition set up
by the time we walked to the venue, set the bike up then registered I had arrived a bit later than normal into the transition and found myself with limited spots available to rack and set up transition. I found a small gap in between bikes and not wasting any time (still FREEZING) set up my shoes but this time I put 1x 600mL bottle of Endura Lemon lime Re-hydration into the cage. I decided not to have any gels on my bike because I was testing how my body would react without them and as it was colder than normal thought this was a better idea to test rather than a hot day.

Briefing for race
Race briefing was 5 minutes before race start and it was basically just going over how many laps and where to go. I understood the course and I was ready to race. The weather was still very cold but I had decided to just race in my tri suit, my thoughts where by the time I start running I will warm up pretty quick, so I dropped the extra layers and made my way to the start line with my Endura Raspberry Gel. 

Run & Start
My goal was to try and stick as close to the front group as possible if not be leading by the end of the second lap. My positioning on the line wasn’t the best as I had a street pedestrian barriers and some poles to run in-between before I had a clear path way down the starting chute.

The start line was the first time I was with my competitors so it was a good chance to see who will be competing – Luke Harvey, Alex Young, David Pinto, Mitchel Bradbrook, Max Dennerstein and others but the calibre of runners in this field I knew it was going to be quick.

As predicted the run was once again a fast start, but again my brief with Toby he re-enforced last week’s brief and told me to control myself in the first 1km then start to get into the race and as this plan worked well last week I again found myself in control and at the first corner in a top 10 position – David and Mitch had blown away in front to lead the boys out into the run leg.

As we came to start the 2nd lap of the run I was in with the chase pack and was determined to get the leaders. I felt really strong and started to lift the race rate and as the second lap was running out of time I started to put in harder to try and gain on David and continued to move through the pack until I found myself in 2nd position coming into transition – this was giving me a better chance at placing.   Transition 1 – My transition was a little bit slow today coming in at 2nd and coming out in about 4th or 5th I knew that I had to have a good bike and catch back up – I didn’t feel slow but maybe they were just quicker….transition was completed with a good mount even though it was an uphill incline.

Bike Leg
I got my shoes on quickly after the first little rise, once they were on I was gaining on the other racers. By the first U-turn I could see 2nd and after the first quarter of the lap I was behind Luke and in 2nd place. I felt as if I was riding really well, cornering well and had really good gear selection throughout the course…was feeling very strong but knew Alex Young was in the field behind me and he can ride….so had to keep up the pace. On the last lap and coming into transition 2, I was passed by two people (Sadler and Young – which was no surprise given their riding experience).

I knew that I had to stay in touch with them on the final stages of this leg to give me any chance of a podium finish – I knew this was going to be hard but I had to dig deep, as much as it hurt they put some distance into me.

Transition 2
My second transition was much better once my bike was racked I was putting my shoes on took off my helmet and grabbed my race belt and was in pursuit of Sadler and Young first then was after Luke – this was not going to be easy.

Run
Coming into the run leg and out T2 Sadler was only just ahead of me and Young a little further ahead of him. After the first corner I had passed Sadler and was gaining on Young and I was feeling really strong, so good that when I ran up alongside Young I told him to “Come with me”, thinking nothing more than if we worked together we would have a better chance to catch Luke. Once we were out the back and Young hadn’t “Come with me.” I decided to try and put some distance in-between all of us and try to gain Luke on my own. Coming down a little bit of a downhill was the perfect place the leg speed went up and I started to pull away down and around the U-turn and back up the hill hard. Once I had a bit of a gap I just had to hold it, I could see Luke just down the hill so I knew I had to dig deep once again to try and close the gap between Luke and I but I was running out of time and distance in the race.

I could see the finish line as I came around the last bend all that was left was the famous sprint finish to the line to take out 1st Place for my age and 2nd place overall. I was very satisfied with the race outcome and again will look at the race to take out the positives and look for more potential growth.

Times for Race – Run-16.29        Bike- 31.38          Run- 9.34         Overall: 57.42
Result - 2nd Male Overall
16-17 years State Champion

Summary
Today was testing conditions and completely reversed to last week’s heat – arriving at the course with 5 degree temperature was a first. Took on the Ride with a new found aggression and it paid off…..this was my best ride in race….probably ever. The running was composed and felt strong and considering I attempted the bike without a Gel found to have enough power in the final stages of the race to hold onto 2nd and felt strong.

Again thanks to Toby and my SCTA family and support crew and to all the sponsors of the SCTA / HCAUS Junior Scholarship

I was very happy with taking out 1st place for my category and an overall 2nd place behind Luke….this is going to be a great season ahead and I can’t wait until we have a swim leg as well.