Tag Archives: duathlon

A Lot of Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
10

Last Sunday was Duathlon day. I’ve been pretty ecstatic about the race ever since I got my own bike and I’ve been dying to see how well I would do. I’ve been running really hard and biking harder.  It was a very humbling moment for me last Sunday. I knew I could run hard and I knew that I could bike fairly well but when you put the two together, it all just gets messed up very much like a fruit salad gone wrong.

I came into the race last Sunday with a plan for running hard because I always thought that I could take a “break” while spinning on the bike. At the back of my head, I always knew that bike part of anything would be the easiest because you could just cruise along. This was a big misconception that would eventually hit the wind out of me, literally and figuratively, in a few minutes.

The race started off with a very easy 6 kilometer run. It was a 3k loop that we had to do twice. I wasn’t too hard but it had some inclines that we needed to climb. Nothing serious because I was able to compete the 6 kilometers in 31:51 minutes. It was a very good sub 6 pace. I ran hard and it felt great and exhausting. I went into transition panting and huffing and puffing like a mad diesel engine on steroids. I knew I had a good time but I feared that all that effort I put in might haunt me in the bike ride.

I took off my shoes and put on my cleats; strapped on my bandana and wore it under my helmet and I was out of transition.

I started off my 30 kilometer bike ride gasping for air and it was like that until the end. The thought of resting and catching my breath on the bike was no where to be seen. I started of with a steady speed of 25-30 kph. I could barely keep it up but I tried to. Even at that pace, a pace at which I thought I was doing well already, a multitude of bikes zoomed past me and left me in their dust. I could feel them zooming past me even if I was already doing 30 kph. I was a big humbling moment for me. I never thought biking was going to be as hard as it was last Sunday. It was a 6 loop course that was 5 kilometers long. The loop had an incline and it owned me. The incline owned me real real hard. Imagine Mckinley hills but a few degrees lower, and you’ll get to imagine how the incline was that we faced last Sunday. It was pure torture. Part of me wanted to go down and walk up the incline with my bike but that would have been the easy way. It was a struggle to finish the last 10 kilometers on the bike. I crawled to a 20-25 kph pace and it was disastrous. I ended up finishing my bike ride at 82 minutes. It wasn’t a good time. It wasn’t the time that I wanted because I wanted to finish the bike run at under 75 minutes. This just goes to show how much more saddle time I need to cover to make up for my lack of experience on the bike.

When I got back into transition, I racked up my bike, put on my shoes and started my run. The bike rack was arranged to have the age groupers beside each other and it was disheartening to see that when I got back, most of the guys from my age group were back already. The sight of a full bike rack was like seeing a free buffet on a full stomach. It was heartbreaking and hard to fathom.

I started out the 3 kilometer run easily. I am glad to report that the dreaded jello-legs did not haunt me but my run was slower than the first 3 kilometers. It must have been because of all the exhaustion. I kept and easy pace of around 6:30-7 I believe. I walked every water station. It was the longest 3 kilometers of my life.

That’s me crawling to the finish. Had it not been for my amazingly poor bike, I would have finished stronger.

It was a day of learning for me last Sunday. It was a lot of lessons learned the hard way.

  • As cliche as it sounds, respect the bike. I never knew bike riding could be this hard. I grew up riding my bike all the time around our village and never did I think that biking would turn out to be as hard as it was last Sunday.
  • I should practice transitioning more. I almost burned myself out in the first 6 kilometer run. I got a good time of 31 minutes but that left me all out of gas come bike time and I was lucky to even finish at 82 minutes. If I could manage to complete the a little bit slower at around 40 minutes, I might have enough energy come bike time to complete it at under 70 minutes. Slow but albeit fast and more respectable.
  • I should call out my number when I cross the finish line. I was marked as DNF in the final results. Yes. It is heartbreaking. I don’t mind it as much because the thought of me completing my first duathlon and learning a lot of stuff is already enough. It will be just icing on the cake if ever the results ever do get corrected.

Here’s to my next duathlon and here’s to hoping I do better next time. See you on the road!

Running: Duathlon Training

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
4

The plan is to be able to run 8 kilometers in under 45 minutes. That would be a rough pace of 5:40 minutes per kilometer. I think it is doable. I was able to do it once or twice already but it left me gasping for air right after. It left me panting like a pug on a hot day. How will this affect my 30 kilometer bike ride after blazing through the 8 kilometer run? I need another brick session to see how I will fare on race day.
Dog Tired after the 42k

Dog tired after a very fast 8 kilometer run

I need to improve my bike time too. I attacked the 30 kilometer distance last night to see how fast I could complete it. I had a 2.5 kilometer loop around Fort Bonifacio that I always rode around in and it was the perfect place. I wanted to finish the 30 kilometers at 70 minutes flat or better. I started out pretty good. Complete the first 10 kilometers at under 25 minutes. Everything went downhill after that. My legs felt tired so I couldn’t pedal as fast anymore and keep a high cadence. Traffic was building up which really forced me to slow down. I think I finished my 30 kilometers at around 75 – 80 minutes that night. I wish I could have gone faster but that was my best. With less traffic, I maybe able to bring that down to 74 minutes but my target is 70. I need to train more.

I’d see myself getting into this kind of position every time I feel strong winds blowing against my face.

Running after biking really hard is still a foreign concept to me. I don’t know how I’ll be able to pull off a sub25 4 kilometers after a sub45 8 kilometer run and a sub75 bike ride. This experience will be left to my imagination up until race day or until I get a decent brick area.

I fear the dreaded jello legs. In my research for finding the perfect photo for jello, I found a good exercise to prevent Jello Legs. But its for skiers.

Wish me luck!

The First Dimsum and Siomai Duathlon

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
10

The recently concluded Dimsum and Siomai Duathlon held last night was a smashing success. It was a run – bike – run format that proved to be challenging for the only participant that joined the event. It was composed of a 4 kilometer run, 20 kilometer bike and a final 2 kilometer run. It was held at the Ateneo de Manila Campus and an astounding number of zero spectators came to witness it.

I might be over sensationalizing my training session from last night but it was a big eye opener for me and my body. Even though it was just for training, I ran and biked it like it was a real race.

I started off with an easy 4 kilometer run around the campus. Since I had a good 2 kilometer route planned out already, that’s what I ran last night. I wanted to go all out in the first run session because when it was time to bike, I could easily just let the bike roll on its own if I got too tired. I ran all out. I completed the 4 kilometer run after 20:10 minutes. An amazing time. A blistering pace of 5 minutes per kilometer. Not bad. I need to make it faster though because I plan to do a sub 23 in the Unilab race on March 7.

I ended my run walking to my car. I opened my trunk and I started assembling my bike. Rear tire first and then the front tire. I put on my helmet and my cleats and I was off. I was stuck in transition for 4:04 minutes. Quite long by real duathlon standards because if it were a real race, I wouldn’t have needed to assemble my bike anymore.

I started off my bike by going around the campus. It was still busy around  the campus with all the cars and tricycles going around so I took a lot of caution. I started off pretty fast. There were times where my cyclometer would read 30+ kph and after a few seconds, I’d be out off breath. One thing I learned is that going over 30 doesn’t really help me right now because I can’t maintain it. Going up to more than 30 just takes too much from me and I’d need a lot of time to recover. I slow down. If I were just cruising at around 20-25, I would have traveled a little bit more with a lot less effort and a lot less panting. As expected, I was able to catch my breath from the run when I hoped into my bike. I finished the 20 kilometer ride around the campus after 54:52 minutes. Looked good to me because I was at least able to maintain a speed over 20 kph.

It was transition time again. I hopped off my bike and headed straight to my car. My legs were a little numb from all the biking but they got a little better after a few meters. I opened my trunk, disassembled my bike and I gently put them back in. Total transition time was 3:03 minutes. It could have been shorter because I tried to look for a water fountain before I started to run.

It was the final stretch at last. It was a very short and easy 2 kilometer run that separated me from becoming the first ever winner of the Dimsum and Siomai Duathlon. I started the run very slowly and cautiously. I have heard stories of legs turning into jello after long bike rides. I guess 20 kilometers aren’t enough to make my legs feel like jello or I must have taken too much time in transitioning that I somehow got some rest. I was slower in my run this time compared to the first 4 kilometers that I ran. I was tired and exhausted. I was spent and all out. Part of me wanted to walk but I didn’t want to disappoint the zero spectators that were waiting for me at the finish. After an agonizing 13:09 minutes, I finally finished the 2 kilometers and words alone could not express how tired I was after it.

It was a great run and bike for me last night and it sure proved to be a fun one. I am hoping to do better in an actual duathlon this March. Wish me luck guys!