Sunday, September 10, 2006

Evil Wind, DaisyDuc explained & GLE report!



Well the evil wind off Lake Erie today made for a duathlon instead of a tri. I must admit a small part of me was disappointed yet this morning as the wind howled and I saw the white caps the weak swimmer in me was quite relieved that I would not be swimming in those waves. Yet, even as this made me relieved I was slightly concerned about my knee with my IT Band and running further on this new terrain.

Jodi, my hubby and I got up there early Saturday to hit the expo and the race meeting which was cool because I finally got to meet Tri-Eric and his wife in person for the first time, as well as TriFrog and some of the other Cleveland Tri Club peeps out up there.

I suppose I should mention that there was a debate going on to where my name 'DaisyDuc' orininated from. So here is the story, folks....which a few may not know. I gave myself the name DaisyDuc or rather Daisy Duck after my little red Ducati motorcycle. You see most Ducati owners refer to there Ducati's as Ducks so I just had to come up with a cute first name. I decided on Donald Duck's girlfriend, Daisy Duck, who was a woman who knew her mind, and it just seemed to fitting, so hence DaisyDuc.

After the meeting we headed to the pasta dinner and then out for some ice cream which was a bad idea. I had been planning to try not to eat dairy for 24 hours prior to the race, yet I am such an ice cream sucker that I decided, what the heck. I try not to write about this all the time as it definitely gets old (BELIEVE ME!!) but again the stomach acted up during the race. Next long day, I swear I will behave for certain, heck I really need to revamp my entire nutrition.

However the ice cream trip led to a nice drive over the bike course where we had the oppportunity to scope everything out and see how flat the course was. We talked about how fast it was going to be since it was so flat...boy, were we mistaken!

Sunday after getting up early we got the word that it would be a du and start early. At the very back Jodi and I started the run. I liked some parts like the packed sand along the beach and the grassy trails, yet the deep sand was killer. It was tough to start in the back as it was incredibly hard to pass people with the tight course. Knee did not feel too bad. Run one time 24:42-7:58 pace.

T1 uneventful -1:05

I hopped on the bike and quickly realized that this wind was not going to make for a fast race. I passed a few and got passed by several more although I think only 2 were females...2 too many for me though!! I drank water from the aerobars during the ride which worked out well. I need to practice stretching more often as the low bad pain really set in my mile 15 and it seemed to late. Finally I made it back in at 1:20:59 at an 18.4 mph pace.

T2-uneventful as well -1:04

10K race- legs a little tired but doing well. I wanted to make sure I saved enough for the second half so I took it easy for the first 5 K. There was some seriously deep sand at some points which definitely slowed the times down. About the time the second 5K started the stomach issues were kicking in with a vengeance. Every time I pushed alittle I started to wonder if I would make it to a bathroom. So I felt like I was holding back, but finishing without a problem was much more important than finishing the 10K faster. Knee ached but I think my Aleve was helping immensely. 10K 55:04-8:53 pace.

Total time 2:42:52, which put me at 5/12 in my age group. My performance could have been better, yet given the conditions, not too bad. Jodi and I rode home with elevated knees and ice packs from yet another enjoyable day of racing!

6 comments:

E-Speed said...

Awwe poor elevated knees!

Great job in tough conditions!

Eric said...

Great job. I know you didn't look happy but I just get excited when I see people I know finishing or on course.

Aimee has been dealing with stomach issues as well during her marathon training so you are not alone. If you want to talk with her about it let me know. She does a fiber taper before big training days.

Way to stick with the race and I think you did great.

Papa Louie said...

I remember running that race for the first time last year and vowed if I ever do it again I would practice running on sand to help mentally prepare for that hard run. You got to say something more than 'uneventful' in T1 & T2. Say something like I blew a kiss to my husband while he watched me fall on my butt when I tried to put my shoes on.

Trifrog said...

Great job out there yesterday.

I actually though it was Duck until I learned you had a Ducati. But I didn't know that's what the bikes were called.

We all could have used some of that extra hp in that wind yesterday...

Afternoon Tea With Oranges said...

Way to tough it out - great job on the race. I hope your knee gets better soon. I've been doing stretches for my IT band and it has helped tremendously.

OK - you are probably gonna laugh at me - but I have to tell you had no idea your name was pronounced like "Daisy Duck". Being from the south, where the "Dukes of Hazzard", "General Lee", and "Daisy Duke" are icons - I have been calling you "Daisy Duke"!! I thought it was a great name - you are blonde and pretty just like her!!!

qcmier said...

Nice job at the race.

I hear you about the ice cream and dairy before a race or big training day. And please don't follow my nutritional training or diet plans either. I'm on the See food diet.