Race Report: Hagerstown Duathlon

After six long, cold, and mostly boring months, it was finally time to get out and stretch the legs. This was my third year doing the Hagerstown Duathlon, but the course was substantially changed this year, for reasons I have not been able to figure out (more on that in a bit).

Pete and I packed up our bikes and gear and were out the door by 6:30am. The ride was roughly an hour, but when we got to the race site, it looked like we were the first ones there, so we decided to drive the bike course. When we were driving back into the park after the course preview, we came across a different pavilion than the one used in previous years for T1...and there were already hundreds of cars. I guess they changed the course. This was the first of many "changes" that the race director never mentioned in any of his correspondence.

We signed in, racked our bikes, and headed out to warm-up. The temperature at race time was brisk: 50 degrees, cloudy, and 20-30mph wind gusts. We toed the line with about 200 other racers, but I'd say 1/3 of them were there to run the open 5k (a mass start for both the duathlon and 5k combined...also never mentioned in the pre-race information. This was bound to lead to confusion). Both the first run and final 5k were on a multi-loop course, and the 10 mile bike was one large loop.

Leg 1: 2 mile run

After blasting through the first mile around 6 minutes, I realized that I needed to back off that pace if I wanted to survive. The wind was really strong, and I knew that any chance of a quick bike split was already out the window, so I focused on maintaining my heart rate zone, and pushed through. I came into T-1 right on 14:00, so the pace was about right. "Helmet...glasses...shoes...go!"

Leg 2: 10 mile bike

The bike course rings three sides of a park, mostly false flats, with the last leg coming up on some rollers before entering T-2. Probably the best way to describe these three-sides of the course would be "strong side gusts, head-wind, strong side gusts". The winds were not consistent, so when a strong gust came along, you were forced to lean hard into the wind...but seconds later it would abruptly end, and you were caught leaning into nothingness. I nearly came off my bike on several different occasions. Definitely not optimal racing conditions, but I knew everyone else was struggling too. For the first time I can remember, I was actually looking forward to getting off my bike and starting the final run. As usual, my chip malfunctioned and missed me crossing the mat into T-2 (can I run just one race where this doesn't happen??!). This meant the 50 seconds or so I spent in T-2 got added to my bike split. I checked the Garmin after the race, and it said my actual split was 31:05, or 19.2mph. I can live with that, given the conditions.

Leg 3: 5k run

Same circuit as the first 2-mile leg, except with a switchback and a fork. Both of these locations were marked by volunteers who looked even more confused than the racers. Twice I ran in which I believed to be the correct direction, after asking aloud "which way?", and both times the volunteers got it wrong and redirected my path after the fact. Not a good way to finish strong. According to my Garmin, the 5k course was about 0.1 miles short, so the 3 miles took me around 22:45.

AG Place: 3 of 19 racers
Overall Place: 18 of 116 racers

Some thoughts:

-Even though I'm 29 years old until late August, I have to follow the stupid USAT rules and race in the 30-34 age group (they base your "race age" on how old you are Dec 31st of the calendar year). The 30-34 AG is usually the big dogs, and this race was no exception. Nearly all of the racers who finished ahead of me were over 30, most being in their 40s. Pretty impressive stuff.

-I went as hard as I could after T-1 on both the bike and the second run, and I wasn't even close to gassed when I crossed the finish line. To put it in perspective, I went home after the race, swam 2500 yards, and then rode a hard 50-mile bike ride the following day. This is completely a product of the "aerobic-only" training I have been doing; zero threshold or speed work. I know that this was only a C-race, but it was very frustrating not having an extra gear to work with, especially on the final 5k. Going fast usually has a direct effect on the "fun" factor. Nothing really I can do about that, as speed training isn't going to help me much (or at all) for my later season goals. But next year, I'll probably keep the races shorter and the tempo cranked up.

- Odds and ends: No idea why the race director changed up the course. The set-up in previous years was a simple out-and-back run, a loop bike, and another out-and-back run. Simple for the racers to understand, fun and fast, and no conflicting traffic. This year, with all the confusion, a good number of people failed to even race the required number of laps, resulting in times they didn't even come close to earning. This wasn't a product of cheating, but just a really poorly thought-out course. Next year I will be asking about the course in advance, and if things look like they are going to play out in the same fashion, I will find another race to start my season. Also, the company hired to take photos of the event SUCKED. They took photos of the start line, T1, and then the Finish. All three of these locations were within about 50 feet of each other, which is a testament to how lazy the idiots with the cameras were. How hard it is to take a few photos on the course for once? I guess they will find out when no one bothers to buy a photo of themselves putting on their helmet or taking off their shoes.