SPRING CLASSIC DUATHLON Race Report

Race #2 of the season! I originally signed up for this race because I was told that the Beaver Freezer was filled and I could not get in. I was so excited about starting the season off in April (vs. May or June in the last two years), that I signed up for this race right away. I then found out I could race in the Beaver Freezer, so much to my excitement I would start the race season off with back-to-back race weekends.

The Spring Classic Duathlon is a 5krun-15mile bike-5k run event. About 300 athletes showed up to compete on a beautiful day (not a cloud in the sky, 60-70degree weather, perfect!)! I knew there would be some fast guys out here (especially on the bike), so my goal was to go out pretty fast on the first run and try to start the bike off with a lead.... ialso had my Dad, Mom, uncle Scott, aunt Jeannette, cousin April and teammate Andy taking pics on the course, so I wanted to impress impress impress!

Run#1- 16:54 (5:26 pace, fastest of the field) - As planned I took the lead from the get-go. One guy from Eugene (jeremy tolman) came with me and we ran side by side introducing ourselves as we set the pace. A guy on a bike rolled by and told us that we were stretching out our lead......good! After the turnaround I picked up the pace a little and ran the third mile in 5:17. That gave me about a 10 second lead over Jeremy and 40+ seconds on the rest of the field. (i dont run a lot of open 5k races anymore, incidently this first 5k was a new PR for me at the distance, by about 35 seconds)

t1- :52 (fastest of the field)- I was excited to enter the transition area with the lead and hear my family cheering me on. Everything went smoothly except for mounting my bike. Leaving transition was a little bit of a hill so I was a little wobbly jumping on the bike with my shoes clipped in, but made it on and took off

bike- 37:24 (24mph, 5th fastest)- This was the fun part. I knew i had anywhere from a 30 seconds to 1minute on 2nd and 3rd place. But I also knew there were some strong riders (especially the Ironheads) that could lay down the hammer on the bike. I was out on my Fuji CF1 time trial bike, tucked into the aero position, cranking away as hard as I could. It was fun having the lead motorcycle in front of me (sometimes she would drop back and ride behind me). I really felt like an "elite" for the first time. There were two turnarounds on the Course which all took place along marine drive. Oddly there were sections of headwinds and then tailwinds in both directions (oddly to most people, but not to anyone used to racing or biking on that road along the Columbia river). Since I was by myself I was setting my own pace hoping i was riding fast enough. I looked back probably 10 times on the 15mile bike and each time was suprised to see nobody back there.

t2- :56 (2nd fastes)- I was so stoked to come into the second transition with everyone cheering me on and knowing that I held everyone off the entire ride. I could hear the announcer on the speaker telling the spectators that I was the first rider coming in....(2nd time I really felt like an "elite") The dismount was coming down a hill, so I was extra careful but smooth. Racked my bike, got the helmet off (no frozen hands this time!) and threw on my shoes and was off!

run#2- 18:07 (5:50 pace, fastest of the field)- Took off running pretty sure that I had this one in the bag. About 200meters into the run both calves wanted to cramp up on me. I pleaded with them to be good and just took it kind of easy that first mile. Right when my calves were not complaining anymore a stiff headwind hit me. It was a little tough to keep my pace and the second mile was 6:05. After the turnaround I saw my buddy Matt Wolpert was a minute or so behind me. Slapped some skin with him as we ran by eachother. I knew I had the race won now and the final mile was just all the adrenaline and telling other racers "good job" as they headed the other way. A lot of athletes gave me props and commented that nobody was in sight. I saw a few of my teammates Tobin, Rob, bob & Karen. And as I came to the final turn before the finish line I high fived my family members.

First win of the season and just one of hopefully a few others to come! I won by 1:41 to second place. Also, my Pops pointed out, my race # was 14 and my finish time was 1:14:14...LOL. AA Sports put on a great event as they always do. I saw my coach midway into the bike course. He had rode out there with Jerry and I think he was releiving himself when I saw him by the way he was hiding from me in the bushes (thanks for the chuckle and for showing up Coach!). I want to thank all my family for coming out to support me, you guys definitely give me that extra little bit to push myself to the limits when you show up to my races!

Next race- Napa Valley 1/2 Iron.................