Scottish Duathlon Championships : 27th March

Men came from the West (in tights). They travelled long and gathered at Stirling to compete at the highest level. They had worked hard through the toughest of winters. Struggled through adversity. On this cold morning they laughed in the face of British Summer Time and ate bananas. 5 Veteran Males that between them took the 19th, 20th, 22nd, 25th and 27th places in their age class. If only we'd chosen these as our lottery numbers ! Find out more as I (briefly) escape from the darkness of marathon training and into the welcoming light of multi-sport. 

The day was crisp, cold with only a light breeze. Most of us chose to travel from home early that morning with encouraging text messages exchanged. This was a 10k run : 37k cycle : 5k run format and it was the 2011 Scottish Championships. The big news for us was that we'd be competing in the same race as 2010 ITU Duathlon Champion and 2010 Ironman Lanzarote Champion Catriona Morrison. In truth I didn't really see much of her : she was 5 minutes faster than me over the 10k and another 8 mins faster on the bike. Superstar. So the Argyll group met with about an hour to go - Matt and Tim were deep into bike assembly and Stephen had already registered. I think all of us were keen to know what the others would wear but no-one was saying. The tights stayed on. The Stirling Club hosting the event run a children's race just before a duathlon-sprint distance which in turn is ahead of the Championship race. There are teams as well as individuals - which makes the event very inclusive. Eventually with 10m to go I undertook a short warm-up jog. 

Last weekend was the big mileage week in my marathon plan. The Sunday long-run turned out to be a 37.2k trail and road-run taking just over 3h. I was happy with the run at the time but it took a few days to recover from and the 45 year old knees were complaining - for the 1st time in this whole Paris Marathon campaign. So the warm up was somewhat creaky. You know what ? I don't think I'm eating enough salmon. Anyway it was decision time : tights to stay, long sleeve technical top is selected, light gloves and the Triathlon Scotland buff. The worry was how cold it might be on the bike. The 5 amigo's line up with John looking intense and dangerous, Matt already looks in pain (and we haven't started yet), Tim is zoning in and Stephen is winding us all up. The moment we start, and Cat Morrison disappears from view forever, the sun comes out and the men-in-tights are suddenly way way over-dressed. The crowd of runners surges forward and you get the impression that this race is at some "other level". On the same day Kelownagurl (Kelownagurl Tri's podcast : here) was running a half marathon in British Columbia and she observed that the quality of the field was far superior to her last outing of the same distance last summer. I guess she concluded that only "serious nutcases" would be training through the snows of winter for a March endurance event. I think she got that dead right. These particular "nutcases" were running past me in droves. John was close by, Stephen some way ahead already and Tim & Matt a little behind. About 500m from the start you hit a sharp incline :

A sharp incline - 4times !

Matt : no chance of frostbite here !

This is not funny. It's narrow and single-file going up. It's simply hard work. I think I got to the top just ahead of John and this set the pattern - for some reason I was able to cope with the uphills while he unfailingly overtook again on the downhill. This made for 2 very different race strategies. John has obvious skills from his orienteering background and it showed. Stephen had 300m into us by the first 2k and thereafter it was an occasional glimpse of Tim & Matt as we ran the 4 by 2.5k loops to complete the 1st run. By then it was obvious that this was a "full-on" event with very classy competition. It was also obvious that John and I were in some former life deeply conflicted Siamese twins. On the last descent (9.5k in) John really took off & opened a serious gap which I struggled to close. However as he approached T1 he started to prepare for the bike and lost a little momentum. I pounced ! We both crossed into T1 at exactly the same time. My T1 transition was only 7 seconds worse than Cat Morrison - how good is that ! You are also struck by how uncluttered T1 in duathlon is compared to triathlon - not a wetsuit in sight.

Tim - "in the zone" and taking out "324"

My beloved Specialized in hand I leave T1 ahead of John and get away fairly cleanly. I have no clue where I'm going as I haven't pre-driven the route. Fingers crossed. In no time John is powering past and looking really strong. Surely I have more to offer than this ? Dig in and try to get a rhythm going. The bike is responsive and seems to be flying. The route is like a ring-road connecting villages to Stirling. The surface is excellent and I'm hugging the painted white edge strip where I can. John is up ahead and closing on another competitor. But actually beyond this there are not a lot of cyclists in sight - they are long gone. I try to get the best line I can across the many roundabouts (this is a open road event) and note that I seem to be closing John down. Eventually this happens and we cross for the last time. The Garmin chirps every km and I'm pleased with progress. I make it through the 1st circuit and start final cycle loop. At 23km a real prize looms. "Yes" - those tights were a giveaway - but the number 400 confirms it. Stephen has been reeled in ! It takes real effort to get past him and we exchange supportive comments. I have to confess the next 10k are spent trying to work out what possible lead I could have as the second run starts. Deluded or what ? Context is provided by someone with solid carbon wheels who cruises past as if I were travelling at 20km/h instead of the 32km/h I was, until then, so proud of. It wasn't until later that it was suggested this might have been someone in a team - regardless it certainly showed a different level of cycling skill. Back to the drawing board.
In the distance I think I can see the uber-cyclist and have a sense of closing down some distance. However as I turn off the main road and back onto the University grounds it becomes clear this is an entirely different person ! Approaching T2 I somehow managed to get stuck behind a bus slowly trundling through the campus - which was deeply frustrating. T2 went smoothly but on leaving transition the legs feel characteristically heavy and dull - despite having stretched on the later bike descents. In utter horror I can glimpse Stephen arriving at T2 and figure I have a lead of maybe a minute. Over 5k that's a cushion of 12 secs per km - I realize the game's up.  I fully expect to be overhauled by the top of the slope but that doesn't happen. He's gaining - for sure - but even Stephen might be human. My 1st 1k was at 4:40 pace but the second was at 4:20 - which I'm pleased with. However the inevitable happens at approx 1.5k as Stephen powers past and he seems in great shape. There's no way I can go any faster so I just need to focus on my own race. It's impressive all the same. At around 1.8k you double back and have a chance to see those immediately behind you. John is there and looking characteristically solid and well within himself. Matt is next and urges me to try to catch Stephen but there's no way that will happen. Next is Tim - running with super form and clearly well on his way back from his injury. These are great guys and I think all of us took something worthwhile from the event. Tim's 1:10:01 for the cycle was testimony to long long hours on the turbo. Beware Mid-Argyll triathletes "The Force" is suddenly with Tim. I enjoyed the great food and the debriefing in cafe afterwards but what's with the fixation with my Planet X 50mm carbon wheels ? Hey guys, haven't you heard ? ..... it's not about the bike ! 
Following the duathlon our combined run distances (9 miles*5Aged Veterans = 45 Miles !) was dedicated to the Run for Japan Red Cross Appeal : see here.  It's no too late for you to do the same.    

Men In Tights (from the West)

While this was, of course, an exciting way to spend a Sunday the real drama of the week came the day previous. This was the day we travelled to Dumfries and met Tilly for the first time and while we've yet to have an unterrupted night's sleep since she came home she is utterly wonderful and such a welcome addition to our lives.  Not sure this view is shared by our two cats (Beazley and Squill) but hopefully they'll increasingly tolerate the "new arrival". Tilly is a Flat Coated Retreiver with razor sharp teeth and a very wonderful personality - I can now assure you it's not just tigger's who's bottom's are made out of springs. Dearly Beloved is attempting to train me not to lead this poor dog astray and to have a "confident, stable, assertive and serious demeanour" when I interact with Tilly. What are the chances of that I wonder ? Oh well, if I'm good maybe I'll get a biscuit too ? Hey what's the GI rating of dog biscuits ?