USAT National Long Course Duathlon Championships....Race Report

When USAT announced that the 2012 Long Course Duathlon Nationals would be held in Cambridge, MD at the Blackwater Duathlon, the race immediately went onto the 2012 schedule but it turned out that it would be only one week before Eagleman 70.3m. Hmmm....two "A" races in two weeks and a month after IM St George.  As posted before training since IM has really just been maintenance so the goal for these two races was to come in fresh off  St George.

The Nationals Duathlon course was a 10km run, 70km bike and a final 10km run, all pancake flat on the Eastern Shore but with an almost guaranteed wind. Having ridden the course the previous two weekends, I knew which way the winds would be coming from and planned the race strategy accordingly.  Looking at the field in the weeks leading up to the race, it looked like a who's who of Duathlon but to be honest being 4th in the 30-34 age group last year down at Powerman Alabama had me thinking that the podium was within reach in the 35-39 AG this year.

Heading to T1 Photo Courtesy: Sarah Banks

Race morning the wind was calm and with temperatures hovering around 60 degrees it was almost too good.  At 7:00am I was off  with the first wave (males 39 and under) and set about trying to settle into a fast but comfortable pace.  A lead group of about 7 guys (including some professionals) pushed hard from the gun and it was the first decision of the day....go?stay?go?stay?  In the end I stayed at my pace and that left me in no-man's land not with the front 7 but away from the main field.  At least I set my own pace and could run my own race.  Surprisingly with little speed work since IM the 5:35min/mile pace felt a hard but comfortable pace and just after the 5km point I caught up with a couple of others who had tailed off the front pack.  The course was an out and back with the back having a headwind and the three of us kept on pushing to T1.  Looking back I feel I could have perhaps pushed that return leg a bit faster but the comfort of the small group was sure to pay dividends on the 2nd run.

I entered T1 in 8th after a 35:25mins (5:43min/miles) 10km run.

Duathlon transitions are nice and easy without the hassle of a wetsuit and it was out quickly onto the 70km (43.3 mile bike) on the Parvilla Cycle & Multisport supplied Guru CR9.01.  Again the course was an out and back for 2 laps, with the back having the headwind.  This meant that we were all flying out of T1 with the wind at our backs.  The plan was to stick to my Peaks Coaching Group approved power strategy, averaging 256 watts throughout, an Intensity Factor of 0.85 and minimizing the Variation Index.  Flat courses make this task much easier and I hit the first 17.75km turnaround averaging 261 watts.  In that time I had kept a few guys within view as "rabbits" and had passed a couple of riders while also being passed by a couple.  The return leg into the headwind was much the same....averaging 257 watts but at a slower speed.  The Intensity Factor was right there at 0.85 (based upon my FTP of 300 watts) and the Variation Index was hovering at 1.02 (within 2% of the average power at all times).  This power output was giving me a 24MPH average and turned around for the 2nd lap feeling good despite the wind having kicked in as it always does on the Shore.

Due to the nature of the course the 2nd lap was pretty much a replica of the first - average power at 256watts.  Nutritionally I was spot on with Hammer Nutrition Electrolytes, Fizz (made into a 450 calorie bottle with CarboPro) and a Hammer Gel just 20mins from finishing the bike.  The last few miles I had a fellow 35-39 AG'er gradually catch and pass me and I kept him close as we came into T2.  I knew that I was sitting 2nd in AG as the leader of the race overall although being my age was a Professional so wouldn't be included in the National results.

Coming into T2  Photo Courtesy: Bobbi Whisman

Bike Time 1hr 48mins (24.0MPH) and 9th overall.

Rounding the last corner   Photo Courtesy: Sarah Banks

Heading out onto the 2nd 10km run I felt good and had a couple of runners immediately in my sights, including the 35-39 AG'er that had passed in the final few miles of the bike.  Within the first mile I had successfully passed him to take the lead and made a purposeful effort to increase the pace as I passed.  Surprising even myself I actually increased my pace from the 1st mile consecutively to the 5km turnaround.  At that point I could see the gap to 2nd place and had just 5km to go to take 1st place and the National Championship!  The headwind took it's toll and with the pace ever so gradually slowing, I passed one more runner to cross the line in 3hr 4mins 52secs for 9th overall and 1st in in the 35-39 Age Group.

2nd Run Time 38:54mins (6:17min/miles) 10km run

Crossing the line as National Champion for Age Group 35-39 Photo Courtesy: Bobbi Whisman

So, 2012 National Age Group Champion for the Long Course Duathlon......it's pretty cool to be able to say that but honestly it is even better to be back racing at a high level after a 2011 season that was disappointing.  And above all, it gives me some confidence heading into Eagleman 70.3 this coming weekend.

B&A Trail Half Marathon 2011....Race Report

Wow, this came round quick! As the first race of what is going to be a long season, this was half marathon was always going to be interesting. In previous posts I have stated that training has been a bit sporadic so far this year and with big races late on in the season, the first few months of 2011 have really been a base building. So yesterday I got the first race done and dusted and it turned out pretty much like I thought it might.

Race conditions for a half-marathon were spot on, a chance of showers and almost ideal temperatures. The pre-race build up had gone well although I didn't really taper at all with an hour run two days before and a group ride of 50miles the day before. I had however, been using Hammer Nutrition's Race Day Boost to aid in the buffering of lactic acid, increasing glycogen storage and increase time at anaerobic threshold. It was the first time using the product and besides the slightly odd taste, it goes down pretty well. What would the results bring on race day though?


The Thousand Yard Stare!


A quick banana hammer gel with 30mins to go till race start and then a warm-up. For this half-marathon there wasn't much of a gameplan, I knew that I hadn't put in as many miles as last year by this point but had done plenty of tempo. So with that in my mind I went at the gun and wanted to hang onto the leaders for as long as possible. For the 4miles I was sitting in 2nd and pushing out 5:45's with the leader pulling away down the trail. I knew he was rocking and had settled on protecting 2nd place.





Between mile 4 and 5, the runner in 3rd gradually came up alongside and over the next mile we ran together. It was at the turnaround and coming up the only hill on the course that he pulled ahead to which I couldn't respond. By this time I had settled into a 6:00min/mile pace and actually felt okay considering the lack of big training miles in the legs.

The good thing was that I wasn't dying and the chase pack was more lone wolves than a pack. It's always good to know that you have a gap. Coming back up the trail is fun as you get to see all the other racers heading to the turnaround, I don't know what would possess some people to go shirtless on a rainy, cold Sunday morning!

Coming up around mile 11, I heard some footsteps from behind and gradually I was caught for 3rd. By now the 6:00min pace had begun to get a bit harder but I was still in 4th with 5th a good distance behind.

With the rain starting again, I crossed the line in 1hour 19mins 06secs for 4th place. It was a 6:02/mile pace and although slower (by 2.5mins) than last year it was a good test for the early season. With the duathlon long course nationals in three weeks time, it bodes well that the leg speed for the two brutal 10kms should be there.




Now for the Hammer Nutrition review.....well the gels are a given, I've been using them for years but this was the first time using Race Day Boost and I have to say I was impressed. The main effect I found was that once I settled into my race pace (which was at 6:00min/miles on this day)after the initial starting surge, I was able to stay there for entire race. It definitely increased the time that I spent at threshold with no drop-off towards the end of the race and enabled me to race to the top five and the age-group win. I'm looking forward to seeing the benefits for the A races later in the season.

Race Season Finally Here......

At last the signs of Spring are here and so is the race season. As per usual I am starting my season off with the B&A Trail half marathon which takes place on Sunday. I have been running this race for the past 5 years or so and it really is a good way to get an initial feedback on how the training over the past few months has gone.

I'm not really sure what I will get on Sunday as training has certainly been a bit up and down since the start of the year. Fortunately I have had a solid run base over the past 5 weeks and I am hoping that those weeks will pull me through. Last year I came third overall with a 1hr 16mins time and to get that again I would be well pleased. That time this year may be a little out of reach but we will see.

All training at the moment is building towards the first A race of the year at the end of March with the Duathlon "Long" Course Nationals in Alabama. This means a big focus on shorter threshold and tempo efforts rather than the longer endurance sessions. Once Nationals is gone then it is into the longer races for the rest of the year.....

Can't wait to get going......

Duathlon Nationals - Race Report

As nice as the weather was on Saturday in Richmond it was as bad on Sunday....typically the race was on Sunday morning! A light drizzle greeted us in transition and a high of about 60 degrees....I think Sarah was wishing it was more like Saturday, which was sunny and 85 and we were watching the off-road duathlon while sitting outside the deli with a coffee and a smoothie!

So Sunday started with the obligatory 5AM wake-up call and we got down to transition at about 6AM. With only about 375 racers the queues for timing chips and marking weren't too bad and by 6:30AM I was beginning to warm-up for the 7:00AM start. I was in the first wave of Men 39 and under.

So off we went blazing down the wet grass hill......the run course was a bit bizarre. The run was on a mix of trail and pavement and was completely different to the run of the off-road duathlon (I guess they were using the trail for the bike course) and also from the Worlds last year. With the addition of the rain the run course was muddy in parts but nothing which wasn't runnable, although it probably did slow times slightly. I got caught behind a few slower runners at the start and had to wait for a wider section of the course but before long the field had sorted itself out and we were over the pedestrian bridge and onto the trail.


The first run was two 5km laps and was essentially an out and back course, which once the two later waves had started made for a cramped run in some places. Coming through the first lap in 18:25mins I was generally pleased as the 5km/10km speedwork hasn't been a huge priority and I wasn't too far back from the leaders. Onto the second lap and this was where we encountered some of the traffic from the other waves.....overall it was actually a fun course with lots of switchbacks, bridge crossings and a climb back up to transition. Coming into T1 I was in 6th place and ready to roll on the bike.

I had decided to go with the disc wheel as I generally thought that it would be good preparation for the 1/2 Ironman this coming weekend. In hindsight with the weather conditions and the technical bike course it probably would have been better to stick with the HED 60.



Much of the bike course was similar to the World's and again like the run was an out and back course of 10km that we covered four times. The cool part of the course was the switchback climb out of transition that we did every lap. The rain had made the roads slippery particularly around the more technical section of the course near the lakes and park. The leaves and general "green" muck didn't help and I saw a number of people wipe out on the tight turns. After almost going down on the first lap I decided that caution would be the best strategy and just took it nice and easy around the turns for the rest of the race. Due to the course being only 10km in length the later laps were a bit crazy with every rider being out on the course and it made for interesting passing manoeuvres! In terms of my actual ride, it was ok. I felt as though I could never get it fully cranking but I think that may have been more the style of course rather than my legs. I know that I only got passed by a couple of riders and with the 6th best bike leg in age group it couldn't have been too bad.



Coming into T2 I was 5th in age group and there were a few guys ahead that were within catching distance. Out onto the last 5km run and another lap around Belle Island and the trails. Within the first mile I caught the guy in front and typically he was in the 20-24AG and then before the turnaround I caught another 25-29AG guy, I was moving up overall but not within the age group. The second run was good and I felt strong and posted a 18:53min lap, which was 2nd in AG and 9th overall. That gave me a 2hrs 6mins 35secs time and a 16th overall place and 5th in age group. (The winner in my age group who was also 1st overall did 2hrs 2mins).



All in all it was a consistent race and a good warm-up for this weekend's Devilman triathlon. I will have a full week of taper behind me, which should help. Hopefully I will feel better on the bike (the course is generally flat and fast, although can be very windy) and am aiming for a sub 4hrs 30mins time.

A big shout-out has to go to Sarah who also braved the rain and cold weather on Sunday and did a great job being Team Banks Sherpa, photographer and cheer squad! It wasn't the best of conditions to spectate in....I'm sure she is looking forward to the summer races even more now!

Duathlon Nationals.........

Sunday brings the first "multisport" race of the year at the Short Course Duathlon Nationals down in Richmond, VA. Obviously Short Course is a relative term but in this case it means a 10km run, a 40km bike and a 5km run. It should be a good race and a great test of fitness as I head into the "money-making" part of the season with THE BIG RACE in less than 45 days.

The course is based on the World Championship course from last October (read race report here) and as such should be quite a fast and technical race. The first run is 2 x 5km laps and then the 40km bike is 4 x 10km laps. The final run is a single lap of the 5km course. From a spectator perspective it should be amazing as they will be able to see the race plenty of times over the 2hours (or so). Due to the nature of the bike course I will probably go with the HED 60 wheels rather than the disc on the rear but I will have both with me and will make a race day decision after pre-riding on Saturday.

In addition to the "on-road" championships, the off-road duathlon nationals are also taking place on the Saturday and Sarah and I will probably try and catch some of that and re-live my mountain biking days!

So how do I feel going into the race? Well, training has been great the past month, I am just finishing up a strong four-week build phase and have posted both monthly and weekly training bests in terms of time and mileage. Fortunately the training has been quality as well as quantity with no junk miles thrown in! So that being said I am not exactly rested but feel ready to race and to see where the training has got me. I have my first triathlon next week at the New Jersey Devilman (1/2 Ironman) and after Sunday the week will be taper time.

Blight of the Neighborhood....

Today was finally the day that I always dread.....yep it was yard work day and in particularly grass cutting day. Sarah does a great job with our garden in terms of plants, flowers, bushes and trees and it is the envy of the neighbors. The grass (and weeds within the grass) on the other hand is my domain....and probably isn't the envy of the neighbors!

For the past few weeks I have dreaded hearing the humming drone of mowers around the neighborhood....our grass (and weeds within the grass) grew taller and taller and I was finding the very best excuses not to get out and mow it. Weekdays are always out as a) the daylight is short b) I need to go running/cycling (delete as appropriate) and c) it's the last thing I want to do after a work day and a workout!

So weekends it is and luckily the past few have been unkind from a weather point of view in that it has generally been wet during the afternoons after getting back from a ride.....obviously I can't cut the grass if it is still wet!

Today though was the day that the grass had to be cut....all the neighbors had cut theirs and it was only our garden that was left looking like a Wildlife Refuge. So despite going out for a nice 70mile club ride down to the beach (in 75 degree weather!) I couldn't prolong it anymore and after lunch the mower made its first appearance of 2008....the first of many especially during this late part of spring and early summer. Fortunately the weather was great and I could at least work on the tan at the same time.

I don't claim to be much of grass expert but I do know that our grass probably has much more weed than actual grass. Off to the garden store we went and promptly came back with enough stuff to make our grass look like Wimbledon's Centre Court. Or rather to look like Centre Court if I actually knew what to do with the feed, seed and other stuff that I have.....

Timing is of the utmost importance because as of next weekend the triathlon season starts in earnest with the Duathlon Nationals in Richmond, VA. The weekend after that is the first 1/2 Ironman of the year in New Jersey....which means that our grass won't get anymore love until at least May 10! By then it will look like the Jungles of Borneo and we will be able to start looking for various long thought extinct animals!

I therefore have a cunning plan! Hopefully some rain will come either tomorrow or Monday (after riding of course) and then I can spread the magical feed and weed product onto the grass sometime on Tuesday and Wednesday....probably by moonlight! and then voila, by the time May 10 comes around the grass should actually be grass and the weeds will be missing in action. Or so it says on the package!

It all sounds great but I have my doubts.....our neighbor last year put down some feed and weed chemicals which burnt and killed his whole lawn forcing him to completely re-seed....now that did look like a blight on the neighborhood. Lets keep the fingers crossed because we all know that triathletes don't have time to re-seed!

ITU World Duathlon Championships - Race Report

In a slightly odd scenario I found myself toeing the line on Sunday at 7:30AM in the red, white and blue of the United States of America getting ready to start the first run of the World Long-Course Duathlon Championships. Having qualified back in July at the Blackwater Traverse Duathlon this was only my second ever duathlon and it was a World Championships :-)

We had headed down to Richmond, VA on the Friday night to enable me to get up on Saturday morning and pre-ride the course. The bike course was rumored to be technical, rolling and on a poor road surface.....some had decided to forgo their tri-bikes and go with a road bike. Riding the course on Saturday morning I could see why some people decided a road bike set-up might be better but in the long-run I felt that the tri-bike was by far the better and faster option. I did however, shy away from using the disc-wheel and went with the deep HED's instead. The course was 19km long and was to be covered 4 times. Although technical and rough, it looked as though it would be fun and certainly not a typical tri/du bike course.

The rest of Saturday was pretty much just an R&R session, doing the usual pre-race check-in's and athlete meetings etc. With Team Banks in attendance we all headed off for the race pasta buffet and let's just say that some Team Banks members made the most of the buffet (including chocolate cake!)....I won't mention names but a clue would include the words Banks, Mr, Senior. After watching the first half of the Terps against Virginia, it was to bed for an early rise on Sunday morning.

Fortunately, the transition area was literally only a 5 min walk from the hotel and so there was no pre-race jitters about getting stuck in traffic. After quickly setting up my transition items (in the dark!) it was off for a quick warm-up and then into the starting area for the 7:30AM start of the age-group men - no waves just all of us at once.


The first run was two-loops of the course for a total of 15km. As per usual in duathlon the first run was blazing fast and you feel like shouting out to everyone just to remind them that we do have a 50mile bike and another 7.5km run to go! The run course was great and featured some cobbles, bridges and the final 3.5km was along the canal walk area. Coming through the first lap in 27mins 17secs I was in 5th place in AG and about 35th overall and after making up a few overall places on the 2nd lap at 27mins 59secs I was heading out onto the bike in 5th AG and 32nd overall. The 15km run had me done in 55mins 16secs (5:56min/miles) and funnily enough is my quickest 15km ever.....having only done a hilly 15km previously it wasn't too hard to beat.

Going out onto the bike is never nice in duathlon.....the legs are completely trashed from the first run and it normally takes me a good 20mins or so to get the feel for the bike legs. In that 20mins though you are still pushing real hard which makes it doubly tough! As previously stated the bike course was 4 loops and 76km...on real rough roads. Not only did the actual effort of cycling hurt but the road surface was also beating you up. My aim was to push as hard as possible to get some kind of gauge on what my fitness is for the 70.3M race in three weeks. I certainly did push hard (or it felt like it anyway) and my laps time were surprisingly consistent with the middle two laps being slightly quicker than the 1st and 4th. Due to the nature of the course and the rough roads, the overall speed wasn't exactly "white-hot" at 21.6 MPH but it was 7th quickest in AG and 41st overall.

With the bike done in 2hrs 11mins and 3hrs 6mins gone in the race, it was "only" the 2nd run and 7.5km remaining. Now this is where duathlon gets real tough and everything can fall apart and in a hurry.....the legs have already blitzed 15km and then cycled for over 2 hours and now they need to drag a tired body around for another 7.5km (4.66miles). Running out of transition I didn't feel too bad and it was nice to free-fall down the hill towards the canal. However, with all downhills you eventually have to head back up and on the small loop to the bridge the legs began to feel decidedly heavy! I felt that I was running so slowly and was hoping that some liquids at the aid station would help somewhat.....they didn't. So with about 6km left in the race I felt as though I was hanging on and hoping not to completely fall apart and get the dreaded "bonk" that can make you walk home. Fortunately, although feeling real slow and seemingly hanging on, I was still "plodding" along and was able to keep moving. Knowing that the 2nd run was relatively "short" helped, and I even managed to pass some people. The final hill was negotiated and then it was the final 100 meters into the finish area......just about breaking 3hrs 40mins for 7th in AG and 28th overall (out of 350 racers). Looking back at my 2nd run time, it was no-where near as bad as I felt and I was still able to bash out 6:51min/miles. I think that the 2nd run of a duathlon always feels slower that it really is because it is relative to the 1st run which is as fast as your usual stand alone running race pace.

Overall the race was great and I am pleased to finish 7th in AG and 28th overall....perhaps I should do more Duathlon's! (I will be back in Richmond in April for the Duathlon Nationals). So not only was it a cool race but the day was a huge training effort before Clearwater and that's the big goal for the end-of-season. Two more weeks of hard training before the taper and 70.3M race and then I'm done for the season.....then we start looking forward to next season!

You've been struck by...you've been struck by.....

A damn cold. Yep, on Monday I duly awoke with a sore throat, which continued into Tuesday and transformed into a full-blown cold on Wednesday. Now on Friday I still have it and feel as though my head is about to blow apart. Fortunately, this week was a recovery week from a training point of view and hopefully the cold will have receded enough to allow full training for the next few weeks as I build towards the next major goal on Oct 21st at the Duathlon World's.

It feels pretty odd to catch a cold when the temperatures are in the 80's and the sun has been shining, but there you go! Perhaps I managed to collect the virus from the race last weekend, you never know what is in some of the waters that we swim in (probably don't what to know to be fully honest!)

Well, I still have the 15km Larry Noel road race on Sunday and hopefully I will be back to full breathing capabilities for that race, after all there is a $100 prize on the line for 1st place. If not, then perhaps the hard run will be able to clear the system. Sarah is also making her long-awaited US running debut on Sunday in the adjoining 3km race. I'll let you know how she gets on.