Lake Effect (NO) Snowshoe Duathlon
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Lake Effect Snowshoe Duathlon 2006 results
Lake Effect Snowshoe Festival 2006 info
Lake Effect Snowshoe Duathlon 2006 Photo Slideshow
Well, it was fairly clear on the way out to Rochester that this would NOT be a snowshoe event. While we had 6 inches of snow in Albany (and I managed to get in two nights of snowshoe running this past week, woohoo!) the snow vanished on the way out west AND the forecast was calling for 40 degree weather and rain on Sunday.
The rain started a bit before lunchtime and, naturally, kicked in full force right around when I arrived at Webster Park for the race. Checked in, got my goodies, and wheeled the bike over to the transition area. Then I spent 20 minutes sitting in the car trying to remain somewhat dry. Not that there was a whole lot of advantage to that… within minutes of getting out of the car for the pre-race briefing we were all drenched, and I at least stayed drenched for the next 2 ½ hours.
The race consisted of a 2 mile trail run, then two 6.2 mile biking loops, and wrapped up with a 2nd 2 mile trail run. It was clear right from the start that the run was going to be very wet and very muddy… within my first few steps the mud tried to pull one of my shoes off (something which happened repeatedly during the runs!) We ran paths through the fields and then went into the woods – and things got pretty cool. Lots of up and down, two stream crossings, multiple areas where trails had become streams… 2 miles of wet, squishy, slippery, muddy fun. Couldn’t make great time – I had to keep taking different sections slow so I wouldn’t blow out a knee – but I had a good time running through the mud under the pine trees!
The riding was less fun… cold, wet, cold, hilly, cold… the route took us through the residential area surrounding the park and wasn’t terribly scenic or interesting in the rain. I had the option of stopping the ride after the first 6.2 mile loop and briefly considered it (my feet were getting pretty cold and the ride was getting a bit miserable) but I signed up to do the full du and by golly that’s what I decided to do. And my feet were even colder by the time I got off that bike…
As always my legs didn’t work terribly well when I started the 2nd run, but at least running warmed me back up. Of course, after almost 90 minutes on the course the trails were even more flooded (and having all the other runners go through ahead of me didn’t help… the trails were pretty churned up.) So the 2nd run took me a little longer… but after 1 hr 51 minutes I was the last person to cross the finish line (not long after a guy who did the race with his arm in a sling… OK, that was a little bit demoralizing.) A little over 20 minutes for the first run (10 minute miles - pretty darn good!), 61 minutes for the bike (not bad for 12.4 miles up and down hills on my heavy mountain bike) and then 25 minutes for the last run (not awful, considering that my legs took half a mile to get into running again and the course was a slippery mess!)
The race photographer from All Ages Photography did get pictures of me starting the first run, riding, and crossing the finish line – smiling at times (or was that a grimace) and bearing a remarkable resemblance to a drowned rat.
Originally I was going to pass on taking pictures at this one, but the running course was cool enough that I really wanted to get some shots of it… so after I packed up my bike I changed into a dry shirt and jacket and ran the course again, this time with my waterproof camera in hand. (Yes, you read that right. I ran the course again. Just to take pictures.) Later in the week I’ll get the pictures developed and post the good ones, along with the "official" race photos once I order them.
Of course, I can't wrap this up without saying how great the folks from Fleet Feet Sports and Yellowjacket Racing are... I've been very impressed at all three races I've done with them. All of the volunteers are fantastic (I don't know that I would have wanted to stand in the pouring rain for an hour yesterday directing riders at the turns!) and everyone involved is very encouraging - something which is especially nice for us "back of the pack" athletes. I definitely plan on doing more races with these folks, and I would say that anyone looking to try a duathlon cannot go wrong choosing to try one of Yellowjacket's events.
JMH
"still wringing the water out..."
Next up: The Saratoga Winterfest 5K Snowshoe Race. Or maybe the Saratoga Winterfest 5K trail race. Either way it will be a nice run in a pretty park.
2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 4 miles, 46 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min
