(picture from 2008)Brian's Beachside Boogie Duathlon - the multi-sport season opener in the Connecticut coastal region, was held this past Sunday at scenic Hammonasett State Park in Madison, Connecticut on a beautifully sunny but ridiculously windy and cool day. The race is smallish, being an opener, usually fielding 150-180 competitors, and the three-deep five-year age brackets make it easy to be noted for your efforts. Its also good to see the familiar faces, many who, you may never know their names, but you root each other on at a variety of race courses, year after year.
Race start was 9am and by 8am when I arrived the temps had only climbed into the mid-40's which would have been okay except for the steady wind, 10-15mph, with gusts up to 25mph. If you know Hammonasett, you know that its never a matter of if you'll have wind, it's only a matter of how much wind you'll have and what part of the beach park its hitting the most. Its a mixed trail/road event at each leg following a 2mile run, a double 5mile bike loop, and repeated 2 mile run. It has great familiarity factor; halfway through the race you know exactly what comes next throughout the rest of it and whatever starts to slip due to fatigue you can keep hold of or even add to because of the familiarity.
O'Grady, my good friend and competitor, his wife and 9 year-old grandson arrived about 8:20am. It was cold and windy yet O'Grady was in shorts and a single loose drift running shirt looking ever so macho. Registration, getting the bikes and gear into the transition area, standing in the porta-john line left only ~3-4min for a gentle jog warm up before the start, just enough to convince yourself to leave the extra layer with your fans. I did notice, waiting for the starting gun, that the field of competitors looked smaller than last year and very few were women. I commented to O'Grady that I might get to be considered a big fish in such a small pond today (we laughed).
After the first 25 yards I didn't try to keep up with O'Grady, he's got great running legs for his age (jab) but by the time the pack had gotten to the first turn at the back of the field, maybe 0.2-0.3miles in, I picked the woman in front of me as my rabbit, someone a bit faster than I could convince my body to go on its own to keep in sight. She was ~3 inches shorter, ~20lbs lighter but soft where I have muscles and about the same age. She looked at ease and was running what looked like a comfortable pace, so I kept her within 20-30 feet until we hit the transition area. Within another quarter of a mile, not even one mile in, the pace hurt, not in a crazy/can't sustain it way, but in a consistent way, the way I used to feel when I had someone pacing me during races when I first started competing a couple of years ago. That made me realize that even though I've been training and completed my second marathon recently, I haven't really pushed myself for a long, long time.
The marathon training all fall and winter had gotten me into a long and slow mindset that was hard to push myself out of. Just the day before this race I had run close to 10min/mile in a friendly 5K also at Hamonassett (Feed the Need), so running around 8:30's/mile, which was what I saw when we came back into transition with two miles knocked off, was not something I would have thought possible. Also during that first leg of the race, when the course allowed for O'Grady and I to pass by each other on the back loop, I marked my watch and then arriving at the same spot myself a bit later, I saw I was only four minutes behind him. Our bet was that he had to beat me by more than ten minutes, so I realized I was very much still in the running and it put some energy back into my step. I'm sure it quickened O'Grady's pace a bit too. (This is how friendly competition improves both our final times.)
2 mile run; 17min 20seconds (8:40/mile)
I took my time in transition, shedded another layer, got some liquids and headed out on the crushed rock trail. Throughout the first couple of miles I concentrated on the Zendurance (an awesome book for spiritual triathletes) advice of blending (becoming one with your bike, the frame and wheels mere extensions of your body's efforts) and keeping, as much as possible, a continuous even and constant cadence. The return along the paved road was fraught with a strong headwind. I cranked down to my easiest gear, assumed a modified aero position and passed almost a dozen folks with their fat-fat mountain bike tires (I have a hybrid bike, slimmer wheels). O'Grady, when we passed by each other (another loop), looked taxed but like he was having fun. The very back section is on hilly twisting single-track trails through the woods, but it was a great break from the wind and competition aspect and brought the focus of blending with the bike back in sharp.
1st 5mile bike loop; 23min 29sec (12.8 mph)
At the start of the second bike loop I found myself in a pack of eight or so, some moved on, some fell behind, but it was my first inkling that I was doing a competitive time for the day's crowd. That got me pumped a little and I aimed to make even more gains on the second loop. My split for the second loop was a little longer but tiredness and the wind, which was claiming so many, touched me very little. The last mile of the bike I poured it on passing at least 6 more.
2nd 5mile bike loop; 24min 00sec (12.5 mph)
A short transition this time, dump the bike and helmet and begin a slow jog towards the transition exit. I exchanged some friendly banter with a couple of 60+ male age groupers that quickly and effortlessly passed by chatting the whole way. I am so envious of them. I think - I want to be like that when I grow up. Left by myself, I noticed I had some brickiness in the legs (they feel like bricks each step), some fatigue, but I was relieved to be on the last leg of this first race. No rabbits in sight to chase this time (I was later told that I was the rabbit for someone else. Such is the karma of racing) but as I reached the back turn again, I recalled a good friend's pre-race advice reminding me to have fun. The sun was out, it had warmed up, I felt decent, if tired. This was spring, true spring and so many wonderful races to come this season. This made me break into a huge smile, at least half a dozen times, and that carried me through any sense of fatigue. (Smiling really can make you feel better.)
Again, I passed O'Grady when he had just 0.3 miles to go, me another whole mile, but, looking at my watch, I realized I was very likely going to win our bet. There's was no way he could gain much time in such a short distance and so long as I didn't trip and lay sprawled for more than two minutes, I could WIN! So at this point, no matter how I felt, I didn't yield one iota to any depleting messages my body was sending out, although I did make sure not to trip. At a ~9:30/mile pace, I wasn't going fast to anybody watching, but I was going steady. I bumped it up a bit for the last 0.1 mile, almost a finishing sprint and came in at 18min 33seconds (9:15/mile) for the last two miles and a final time of 1hour 23min 22sec. O'Grady graciously let met me in the finisher's chute to let me know I won our bet by ~2min!!!!
2 mile run; 18min 33seconds (9:15/mile)
Final; 1:23:57 run-17:12 --> bike-49:03 --> run-17:42
We were both tired and happy. His last year's time was 1:18 and this year was 1:16 and that was his goal. My only goal was winning the bet we had. We brought our picnic and our water bottles full of cheap champagne (from my win) over to the awards because O'Grady was hopeful about possibly placing (he was 5th in his age group last year). They read the women's results first and when they got to my age group, just to be sarcastic, I kept saying my name as they announced the names of first, second and third place finishers. O'Grady was ready to cuff me for it when we both realized that the announcer also said my name for third place. We exchanged a look of disbelief and then burst out laughing. No sooner did he finish laughing when he started teasing that this was gonna go to my head and now he'd never hear the end of it. So I took the suggestion and rubbed it in at every opportunity. He didn't place in his age group (70-75 year olds? Just kidding.) so that made my job even easier too. He loves the attention.
For my efforts I received a hand painted tile of a lighthouse/beach with an engraved bar that reads "Brian's Beachside Boogie 2009 - Age Group Champion" to show off. My kids are easily impressed. My husband too, and he's jealous when I place.
It was a good morning. I never expected it. Not that I broke any world records, but its a wonderful way to start the season. A wonderfully satisfying race!
... That's strange ... I just checked last year's times and #1 - they're almost identical to this year, and #2 - I placed 3rd in my age group last year too! I never knew. LOL. Too funny!
2008: 123rd/161 1:23:57 age group place 3/9 run-17:12 bike-49:03 run-17:42
2009: 108th/153 1:23:22 age group place 3/8 run-17:20 bike-47:29 run-18:33
