Mohawk Towpath Byway Duathlon
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Mohawk Towpath Byway Duathlon info
2007 Mohawk Towpath Byway Duathlon results
I had a GREAT morning - 1 hr 55 min total... with some definite PR paces during the runs!
The Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway runs from the intersection of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers in Waterford out to the Stockade District in Schenectady, following roughly along the route of the old Erie Canal towpath. There are a variety of historical sites along the byway, as well as several parks and preserves, and the area has been designated as part of both the New York State Scenic Byway system and the National Scenic Byway system. A number of local organizations work together to maximize the recreational opportunities available to visitors to the Mohawk Byway.
The duathlon is held annually to increase awareness of the scenic and recreational opportunities along the byway, as well as bringing folks into the area who might not otherwise come to visit. I was attracted by both the fact that it's a du, which I like to do (boy, I'm clever...) and by the fact that it's only a half hour away from home. What a concept... get up at a fairly reasonable hour, drive for a relatively short time, and be in a race!
I was a bit surprised by all the activity when I arrived at Krause's in Clifton Park (race HQ, right on the Mohawk River.) Though as one person put it when we were all standing around waiting for things to begin - it was mainly "normal" people, with a few hard-core athletes thrown in. I saw a fair number of hybrid bikes complete with bar-mounted rear view mirrors...
Checked in, unpacked my gear and got set up at a good spot in transition, then wandered around for a bit (my version of warming up) checking out the view of the river and trying to figure out how chilly it was going to be. We had a lot of sun, but it was also pretty windy... no big deal on the run, but that can make for cold riding. I ended up opting for a long-sleeved shirt under short-sleeves. I also stretched a bit - ordinarily I wouldn't bother, given how slow I am, but I was feeling the effects of yesterday's 14 miler in the form of stiff legs and a tight left calf.
A few minutes before 9 AM the RD got us all together, and proceeded to talk and talk and talk, in a not terribly organized manner, while we stood around shivering and wanting the race to begin. But eventually he got through everything he needed to say, and we lined up at the start... and then it was time to run!
The 2.2 mile loop goes out the short road down to Krause's, then down Canal Road for about a mile. I had lots of company for the first part of the run, even at the back. The first mile was fairly level, and what a nice day for a run, even along the road. At White's Lane we turned left and started a steep climb to the top of the hill, about a quarter of a mile. We also hit the 1 mile marker, which I passed in just over an incredible 9 1/2 minutes! That gave me the motivation to run up the hill, rather than walk... at the top I took a brief walking break to catch my breath, then started off down Beach Road, which turned out to be downhill almost the entire way back. I made good time down the hill and ran down the road to transition, crossing the timing mats at 21 minutes... a pretty darn good pace for 2.2 miles!
Hopped on the bike and rode off down the road, enjoying the initial level stretch. Unfortunately, all too quickly we turned up a steep hill, and I had a chance to display my strength as I cranked past a couple of folks who had almost stalled out on the hill. After that I had some downhill to get to the main loop of the 16 mile ride, down along Riverview Road. The initial couple of miles weren't too bad, other than battling a constant headwind, and Vischer Ferry is a nice little town to ride through on a Sunday morning. Passed a few other riders along this stretch, which was a nice feeling.
Then the climbs started... again, I passed some folks who were struggling up the hills (I was struggling too, just slightly faster) along Sugar Hill Rd and Ray Rd. That stretch was tough, but it sure felt good when I reached the top of Ray Rd and turned onto Vischer Ferry Rd for a long stretch of downhill. Unfortunately, that's also where I started noticing a bump, bump, bump from my rear wheel. I ignored it for a while and considered just hoping it would be OK for the remaining 7 miles or so, but finally reached a point just before the turn onto Crescent Rd where I could pull over and check the wheel safely. And I was glad I did - my rear tire had popped loose from the rim and the tube was trying to squeeze out through the gap. So I deflated the tube, worked the tire back under the rim, and pumped it back up as best I could with my little hand pump... nowhere near full pressure, but enough to hopefully make it to the end of the ride. I'm glad I stopped - a blowout could have been catastrophic, and would have taken much longer to fix - and after a couple of minutes I was riding again.
The rest of the ride was a bit nerve-wracking, because I could feel the jolt every time I hit a bump or rough patch and was very concerned I would end up with flat. Pushed as hard as I safely could, and started passing people again. The last stretch was tough - a lot of uphill from miles 14 to 15 1/2 or so, where I tried to catch the guy in front of me... I'd get close on the hills, then he'd pull away on the flats. The final half mile was almost all downhill; I took that as fast as I dared and pulled back into transition after riding for about 72 minutes... pretty darn good, all things considered!
I always find it tough to go from riding to running, and today was no exception. Did my best to ease my legs back into running, gradually catching up to and passing the fellow in front of me on the steep hill. It felt like I was barely moving, which was a bit disappointing after my PR pace for the first running leg. But I also knew that I had a long downhill, and this race was short enough and my legs were fresh enough that I could afford to run hard... so I blazed down the hill as fast as I could (which I suspect still didn't look very fast!) A fellow and his son, both riding bikes up the hill, moved aside so I had a clear path, and called out "You rock!" to me as I went by... that felt good! Hit the bottom of the hill and knew I had only a tenth of a mile or so to go, so I pushed as hard as I could and crossed the finish at a total time of 1:54:54... an absolutely fantastic time, as far as I'm concerned!
I found out later that I did the second run in 20:48 - yes, a few seconds faster than the first run. In both cases my average pace was right around 9 1/2 min per mile, which is simply phenomenal - I haven't run at less than a 10 minute pace since 1998!
After packing up my gear, I headed over to the picnic area for some food, then headed back to the car to drive home. I briefly considered driving the bike course to get some pictures... but decided that between the clouds that had rolled in and the lack of safe places to stop and snap photos, I was better off skipping that.
All in all, an excellent day, and a race I'd definitely like to do again!
Next up: the Black Diamond Off Road Duathlon out in Fishers, NY... did the inaugural race in 2005, then had to skip last year's, so I'm definitely looking forward to "du"ing it again.
JMH
2007 EVENT TOTALS
Running 246.8 mi, 57 hr 43 min
Cycling 62.2 mi, 4 hr 31 min
Snowshoe 31.3 mi, 9 hr 11 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT
