Bath House Duathlon, White Rock 5/20/2012

2 + 9.5 + 2 miles

$75 is expensive for the distance: $60 reg + $12 lic + fee
but this one fits my schedule.

_start
I looked at the small field and decided to start up front--it took little effort to hold 6:00 pace for 200 meters.  I asked big-bicep to my left how fast he would run.  "Slow."  Next thing I knew he and a shirtless kid led the race.  I hovered around 5th place.  Tracking placement was easy at such small race.

_T1
Everything went as planned except I forgot to hit Garmin's button.  I felt top-5 was mine to lose despite my weak bike.

_crash
I remembered to leave the bike shoes clipped and unstrapped but unclipped the left shoe in effort to wiggle the foot in.  I decided to take it safe and came to a complete stop but forgot to unclip right shoe and crashed at 0 mph.  The chain came off.

I lost 110 seconds while competition flew by.  My multi-sport bike crash rate was now 50%.  Sigh....

I was racing against athletes with uneven strength.  We pass each other at the few hills around the lake.  The lap around the lake made it easy to spot each other.  I was confident in reeling in more runners at the final leg.

_T2
Barefoot hurt running on rough surface.  I had 2nd thought about my decision to park near transition exit--parking near entrance would involve higher downhill difficulties.

_2 miles to go
Running out of transition was easier than expected.  Maybe I didn't bike hard enough.

I passed a few runners before counting the leaders at the out-and-back run.  15-year-old Zach had the race in the bag.  30 seconds behind him was a 30-year-old making no progress.

I thought about Seth's sub-6:00 running pace again.  I was inspired watching him at Frost Fanny.  There's no reason I couldn't run like that.

Biff got his cowbell out telling me I was doing OK.  This time he wasn't lying.  Biff could've done well at this race, but family obligations came first.

I timed the final pass before 1-mile mark such that Jamie Pennington had to take an extra step at the turnaround.  I thought I got him for good.  Then he sneakily re-took the lead.  It was maddening that I couldn't close the gap.  Jamie had eyes on his back and responded to my surges.  He eventually beat me by 2 seconds @ 11th over all.

Post-race was poorly run: award took a long time, the advertised recovery fruits were missing, splits will probably never be available, email communication was frustrating--David Hartwig felt like one of those MIT bots who pretend to be human.

result:
Goal:  < 1 hr.  7:00 pace run + 20 mph bike + transition.
Actual: 58:16

Per Garmin 305, the final mile was in low 6:00's.  I want be in the low 5's.

fantasy speed:
   400m: 56 seconds (Duane's best)
   5k: 19 min (20-minute seemed too realistic)
   marathon: 3 hr (Lance Armstrong first marathon)

Katy 5k Thursday 5/10/2012

I trained through this annual race.  The only change to weekly routine was replacing Tuesday Yasso 800 with 1 mile tempo.

I arrived Reverchon Park 2.5 hrs before the start and went apartment shopping.  The high-rises on Turtle Creek were a different world than West Plano suburb: concierge, porter, valet, dog walkers.  I fantasized high-cost but low-maintenance living.  This is opposite of what I worked toward.

I warmed up and stretched in the rec center.  Everything below the neck felt flexible--a good spine days.  Pain-freeness is wonderful and addictive.

I missed the staging that started at 6:30 pace.  I climbed over the barrier and position myself next to a nurse from England shooting for 20:00 finish.  I set my GPS pacer for 20:33.  Close enough.  33 seconds seemed trivial to overcome; yet 10-second-per-mile felt unbridgeable.  Weird.

First mile went as planned.  I gained then bled just enough distance at end of the climb near halfway--amazing considering my limited experience with 5K.

Final mile was a struggle.  I was afraid to hammer.  I finally picked up the pace when 3-mile mark came in sight.  I had too much left at the end.  I recalled being more of a real man when paceline skating was a semi-weekly ritual.

I missed Timo while yapping with the nurse I failed to chase down.  Timo finished couple minutes behind me.  We missed each other.

Luke's Locker held a Nike Free 3 demo.  Nike lasts still didn't like my wide feet.  It reminded me of Micah True (Caballo Blanco)'s autopsy.  I wondered if I had cardiomyopathy.

It was ChihYang's birthday.  I thought about how his diabetes influenced both of our athletic lives.  I thought about Candy's big race in 3 days.  She was living out my dream.

Weather was great.  The buffet was great.  I had 3 goat cheese soft tacos.

#'s
morning weight: 141 lb.
result: 20:28 @ 6:34 pace.  PR
shoes: Green Silence