American Zofingen Short Course - Duathlon

Since I never trail run, this was pretty interesting. Some spots there wasn't much of a trail, so it was more like climbing a hill through the woods than running. According to my Garmin, about 1000 feet total elevation gain and loss. I walked a couple of steep spots since it seemed just as fast as running. Wore tri shorts a dri fit t-shirt and long sleeve under armor and was a little warm at the end.

Near the beginning, a runner in front of me warned me about a low hanging branch which was a good thing because I would have run into it since I had my head down watching my footing. Found out the runner who warned me was JeanneRoth from here on BT. Thanks Jeanne!!

Not much.

Took my time figuring out what to wear. It was in the 40's when the race started, but it felt like it was warming up. Wasn't sure if I felt warm because of the run, or if it was really that warm. Didn't want to be too warm on the bike for the long climbs, but then too cold on the fast descents. Decided to take off my under armor and t-shirt since they were pretty sweaty, and I put on a tri top and a long sleeve bike jersey over it. Stuck a beanie and leg warmers in my pockets in case I got cold. Put on some gloves.

Nothing. Slow, but I didn't mind because I wanted to take my time and dress right.

13.5 mph sounds awfully slow, but this was a very challenging bike course. 3500 ft elevation gain and loss according to Garmin. Just after exiting the park, you hit the first climb which was a 500 ft. climb in about a mile. The biggest climb was about 1200 ft. over 8 or 9 miles, but there were a couple of small downhills in that section.I climbed OK, but wish I had been a little faster on the descents. I was overly cautious because I was unfamiliar with the roads, there was some traffic because it was a beautiful Fall Sunday, plus I'm a big chicken. When I looked more closely at my ride on MotionBased, I found that I had a few miles where I averaged only 7 mph, and a couple miles where I averaged close to 30 mph.

The end of the bike was really hard because there really was no chance to rest a little and stretch to get ready for the 2nd run. About 500 ft. of climbing in the last 2 miles. The last couple hundred feet into transition were steep and on gravel, and my legs were trembling a little by the time I finished.

The long course people did 3 laps of this course! Wow!

nothing

Took my time to give my legs a little break. Changed back into a t-shirt since it was getting nice and warm.

Nothing

I didn't push it much and I walked a lot more on the 2nd run because my legs were pretty tired. Stopped and chatted briefly at the water stops. I also stopped to check on a woman who had stopped. She had some leg cramps, but she worked them out and ended up passing me. Thought I had made a wrong turn a couple of times because the course was pretty convoluted, some of the markings on the ground had been worn off, and I didn't see too many other people out there. Had a pretty good finish, and it was great to hear the people who had already finished clapping for me. Hard to believe I was 3rd in my age group on the 2nd run.

Again. I can't imagine doing 3 loops of this course like the long course people did.

nothing

Somehow, I was starving after the race, so I had a couple of bowls of chili. Had a nice chat with Anne who was the woman with the cramps on the 2nd run.


I'm slow and don't train enough.


A great race. Rumors are that this would be the last year, but I heard the RD say "see you next year" to some people as they were leaving.