Devil Dog Duathlon

Today my wife, Amy, and I competed in the Devil Dog Duathlon at Camp Pendleton, CA. Let me just say, I love this race! This is the 3rd time I have competed in it, last time was in 2005. It's very well run, the transition area is huge (no fighting for space), the course is decent, and the price can't be beat (especially for me, since I am Active Duty stationed at Camp P, it was free for me). The race is a 5K run, 30K bike and 5K run. The run has a slight 1/2 mi uphill grade to the turnaround. The bike course is mostly flat with a couple of short rollers.

The weather was perfect today. It was a bit cool when we rolled out of the house at 7am, pays to live close to the venue. By the time we got to the race, got our registration packets and set-up our transition areas, it had warmed up nicely. Also helped that the mild Santa Ana winds we had been experiencing had died down. I was a bit disappointed that we ran out of time to get a good warm-up in. By the time we set up transition and made one last pre-race potty visit it was already 8am and the race started at 8:30. Just enough time to roll out on the bike to make sure my gears were set and then get in a quick 1/2 mi jog in with about 3-4 strides thrown in.

First 5K was solid. I stayed toward the front of the pack, about 10-12 deep from the leaders. I forgot my Garmin, so I was running bare-wristed, which was a bit unsettling. When we hit the turnaround I asked the young kid running next to me the time. He never gave me a split, but said that we were currently running a 5:31 pace, we were going slightly downhill. I rolled into transition at about 18 minutes on the nuts.

Quick transition and then off onto the bike. This was my first time on the bike since November or December of last year. I had been riding 1-2 times per week, following the CrossFit Endurance WODs. Now that I had shifted focus to the 50-miler in May, I dropped the bike. I had been meaning to get back on it, just never got around to it. Anyway, I took off really well and felt great for the first half. I only got passed by one guy and he was part of a relay, but he was flying. I could hear his disc wheel coming up on my 6, I love that sound, gotta get me one of those some day. After the turn around, I could feel my legs starting to load up. I hit an Accel Gel (yummy!) and dug in. On the return trip, I wasn't able to continue to fend people off. About 5 1/2 miles from the bike finish I was passed by Julie Ertel, 2008 US Olympic Trials Champion. I kept her in my sights for the rest of the ride, but was also passed by a few other men and finally another female with about 1/4 mile to go. I don't know my exact bike split, but it was close to 46:00.

I zipped into transition and got out onto the final 5K run as fast as I could. My legs were a bit heavy, but considering I haven't done a brick workout since April of last year, I was pleasantly surprised at how fast I came out of transition. I picked off 3 or 4 of the faster cyclists within the first 1/2 mile and then set my sights on Ms. Ertel. At the turnaround she was about 25m ahead of me. She gave an encouraging "Lookin' strong" (or something like that) as we went by each other. I passed two other guys with 1/2 mi to go and was closing in on the Olympian. I had planned to catch up to her and say "Let me see your kick." but apparently she had already decided she was going to show it to me. She picked up the pace and I did all I could to hang on and not get totally dropped. I think she ended up besting me by about 4 seconds. Final 5K time was right aroud 18:30.

These results aren't official, as I said, I forgot my watch. My finish time was 1:25:40 and I placed 2nd overall for military competitors, 2nd overall in the military 35-39 age group (the guy that beat me is also from my Battalion. Way to go 1st MSOB, represent!) and for the Overall I think I came in around 12th or so. I'll have to wait for the Official results to be posted.

Amy had a great morning also. Bear in mind, her training plan has been exclusively CrossFit 4-5 times per week. She does no additional running. She has not been on her triathlon bike in nearly 4 1/2 years! She went into this race with no serious goals, just put up a good showing, and that she did. Her first 5K was 27:00, she hit the bike in about 1:03 and finished off the 2nd 5K in 30:00 for a finish time of 2:04. This is probably right around the same finish time she would have had 5 years ago while following a traditional endurance/multisport training program. I am very proud of her. She continually proves that hard work in the CF gym will pay dividends in all facets of life. Hmmm...if I could get her to add in a little CrossFit Endurance...look out!

It was a great morning. Legs feel a little tight, but neither of us were shattered after the race. Actually we both commented that we felt great. Hopefully I will still have some pop in my legs for tomorrow night's flag football double header.