Uncomfortably Numb -- A Big Sky Duathlon Race Report

June 11
Today's schedule called for a 1:15 run, all easy. I misread the schedule before going to sleep the night before and awoke thinking I had a 45 minute run. I didn't have time to do 1:15 in the morning, so I did 50 min in the morning and another 30 in the evening.

June 12

(Yes, I picked this photo for the quad definition. At least I admit it.)

Big Sky Duathlon: I prefer to overdress for cold weather, and I'm usually about the warmest dressed person in any race I enter. For whatever reason, I didn't bring my normal suitcase of clothing to this race, so I was stuck wearing a tri singlet with a short sleeve base layer underneath and a pair of shorts. Well, it turned out to be 45 degrees and raining for the race.

The run was interested because it included a 1/4 to 1/2 mile section on a dirt road that had become slick with mud following a day of rain. I had to run in the grass and slipped several times. I'm surprised my time is as fast as it was given the poor running surface, though maybe the organizers mis-measured the run distance.

While I was fine temperature-wise during the first run, I froze on the bike and could not get going. First my hands went numb, then my arms, and finally my feet. I came into T2 and had a slow transition because it took me a while to get my helmet undone and my shoes on due to barely functioning hands. The first mile of the second run was tough, too, but once I warmed up I felt better.

Stats:
5:44/mile for the first run (14:19 ... a bit under 3 miles)
24.8 mph (off a not so great 240 W average power ... 37:27 for 15 miles)
6:11/mile for the second run (15:25 ... I should have pushed myself harder here)
9th overall out of 200 or so