Hel of a Du

Helotes, TX 12/14/2008. I love endurance racing of all types. I love how they keep me active, fit, and healthy, but after this race I found what I really like about them is the race day camaraderie that is shared among friends. So even though this was my best race of 2008, none of my training partners participated, making a very lonely experience.

Hel of a Du involes a 3.5 mile run, 25 mile bike, and another 3.5 mile run. Lisa's sister was in town and they wanted to take Sunday to shop for wedding dresses. I figured that while they were trying on wedding dresses, the duathlon would be a perfect little get away for me and the guys, but none of the guys I ride bikes with were interested in a road duathlon. So I was off to the race all by my lonesome.

After what seemed like an eternity of listening in on the conversations of the people around me, the race finally started. I started out at an unusually fast pace for a duathlon, and was able to hold it until about mile 2.5. At that point was a very steep hill which sucked the life out of me. It took me a long while to recover, and I was passed by a few people. What made me happy about this run was that there were not any huge errors. I didn't run off course, or twist an ankle. I felt very strong.

Once on the bike, I did not feel as strong as I had in some of the other recent races in which I competed. The wind was very strong, and most of the bike leg involved a gradual up hill. I was chasing a smaller guy riding a time trial bike for 16 miles, but I could not quite catch him. At around 16 miles, the course turned to some steep, sustained climbing, and the guy dropped me on the climb.

During the final run, I was completly by myself. One runner that was obviously part of a relay team ran by me like I wasn't even moving. I could tell she did not just finish biking 25 miles. Other than that, I did not see one other competetor, only race volunteers at the aid stations.

After the race, I hung around for a little bit to see if they were going to post results, but with nobody to talk to, I quickly got bored and left. I ended up finishing 17th with a time of 2:15:40, which makes this one of my best races of the year. I just wish I had someone to share it with.