Race Report: Powerade National Duathlon Open '09

Waking up at 2:45 a.m. on a race day was 15 minutes earlier than my usual wake up time. I normally wake up at 3:00 a.m. on a marathon race day, but since this is the first time I'm competing in an official duathlon race, I thought I'd wake up earlier. Feeling sluggish upon opening my eyes, I felt my adrenalin shooting up at the mere thought of Powerade National Duathlon Open, which I was going to be part of.

After the normal race day preparation routines, my wife and I headed to MOA at exactly 4:00 a.m. The race registration and body markings were to start at 4:30 a.m. and since I always despised coming in late for a race and having problems looking for a parking space, leaving at 4:00 a.m. was just right for me.

The race wasn't going to start on time

We got to the venue at 4:40 a.m. and parked at Mcdonald's Macapagal Ave. There was no sign that a duathlon was going to be held at the venue as there wasn't any sign at all that a national race was scheduled that day at that place.

Worried that I went to the wrong venue, I called up a good friend, Retzel Orquiza, who was also competing and asked him if I got the venue right. He did confirm that I was correct and told me to just wait as the organizers were known to start their races late.

At around 5:00 a.m., some other racers started arriving one by one. Ronald, a fellow runner from takbo.ph, parked beside my car with his girlfriend. Noel with his wife Jude, from both Pinoymtbiker.org and takbo.ph, parked like 3 cars away. All three of us were competing.

The registration and body marking booth finally opened around 5:15 a.m., and Ronald and I were the first ones to register and had our arms and legs marked with our race numbers. The good thing about being marked the first is that you get to be video'd. hehe

After the registration and body marking, it was all waiting.

At around 7:00 a.m., when the race was supposed to have started, the line to the registration was still long, and it was evident that the race was a far cry from starting. Romy Doctolero, a friend from Pinoymtbiker.org, was among those who  lined up at the registration only to find out that his name wasn't on the list even if he registered weeks prior to the actual race day. His problem was shared by several others and they were told there might be possibilities they wouldn't be allowed to compete. This raised a howl of disagreement from a lot of participants. In the end, they were allowed into the race.

At 8:00 a.m., the race was still a no-go. The only thing on time was the heat of the sun. It was already scorching my body even before the race started, and my legs were starting to get sore from all the waiting and standing up. People were already complaining. I would have been at the venue by more than 3 hours then. Many wondered if the race was still going to push through.

At 8:05, people started shouting and complaining, and this probably forced the organizers to let the program roll. There was a short race briefing done by a girl who didn't even have a microphone, not even a megaphone. She was just shouting at the top of her lungs and I hardly understood her.

At around 8:15 a.m., people were asked to get inside the starting line. Finally, we were about to start. Then a gun went off which caught a lot of racers by surprise. The race just started!

1st leg - 7K run

My run on the first leg began smoothly. I was at the rear part of the pack and since I wasn't comfortable with it, I started moving ahead slowly. When I got into the middle pack, I stayed there and paced myself.

The run route was great. The road was all by ourselves and there were more than enough  water stations handing out water and Powerades to the racers. It was turning out not so bad at all.

The run route took the racers on a part of Macapagal Ave. It was split into a 4K and 3K loop to complete a 7K route. I ran the first 3K at an average pace of 5:15 and realized I was running too fast and decided to slow down to a 6:05 on the next 3K, then sprinted to a 4:49 on the last 1K of the first run. I finished the first run at 38:47 and by then almost a hundred runners have already started doing the bike leg.

After transitioning for 1 minute and 33 seconds, I was off to the bike leg myself.

The Bike Leg - 30kms ( 6 loops of 5+K ) 

I started out strong in the bike, which I consider my strength. In a few seconds upon mounting my bike, I sprinted to 25kph, then maxed at 35.6kph. I overtook a lot of riders both in roadbikes and MTBs. I  was comfortable with my pace, and was poised to zoom past a lot more riders at the first loop. Then, an error....

Two riders accidentally covered the U-Turn sign on the first loop and I missed it. I rode towards the starting line and was surprised not to see anyone ahead or behind me. Then I realized I must have taken the wrong route. A policeman confirmed this when I asked him if I took the right race route. He pointed me back. It was a mistake which would haunt me at the latter part of the race. I went back almost a kilometer and was fuming mad at myself for wasting 2 kilometers of effort in error.

When I got back to the race pack, those whom I overtook earlier already was in the middle of their second loop. I played catch up and pushed my zoom mode. I didn't think of the 2nd run anymore as I thought they would be as exhausted as I would be when we finish the bike leg. I chose my targets efficiently, and one by one I overtook them.

The headwind was harsh from my 3rd loop onwards and I stayed at the aero position about 90% of the whole bike leg. I saw the struggles of those who were using MTBs. The struggle was also similar with those who were using roadbikes without aero bars. They were feeling the full impact of the headwind and couldn't  do anything about it.  As I rode past them, I egged them on, telling them that somehow, the bike leg will be over.

At the end of my second loop, I caught up with more than 50% of those who were behind me before I made the error. At the end of my 3rd loop, I overtook them all again, plus a few more others. I paced myself at loop 4 and spinted on loop 5, averaging 32kph. I pushed the bike at 36 kph on the last loop and finished the bike leg at 1:06:52, with an average speed of 29.7kph. I rode 33.8kms, 3K more than the 30K race distance...

The ones I didn't catch up were the really strong riders. Retzel and Noel zoomed past me, they both must have averaged more than 32kph. 

I tried to remove my shoes while still on the bike to have a quick transition, but was asked to dismount from my bike even before I pulled my feet out of my bike shoes. I ran to the transition area with my shoes loose and almost slipped.

The second run - 4K to the finish line

I transitioned to run again in 43.6 seconds. I intended to be in the front pack going to the finish line.

I did "unofficial" duathlons with friends before and was used to the bike to run transition. Upon exiting the transition area, I felt confident when I started running the last 4K.

I was at pace 5:25 on the first 200 meters of the second run, then suddenly, I felt as if all my energy spilled out of my body. I wasn't as strong as I intended to be. Then I realized, it was the heat.

When my friends and I did duathlons, these wereover and done with before 7:00 a.m. Most of the time, it was 20K bike and 5K run mini-race which we start off at around 6:00 a.m. The absence of heat made us think that we were doing it right.

After the first 500 meters of the 2nd run, I slowed down to a walk. Suddenly, the water station located 1 kilometer from the start appeared  too far. I had a water bottle with me and tried drinking water to rehydrate myself and get back into the race...I wasn't able to. It just made me feel bloated and heavy.

I walked and ran the last 4K and chatted with some "walkers" along the way. I wasn't alone in walking, if that's any consolation. A lot of racers felt the heat and I was one of them. The effort I made in catching up the racers during the bike leg slowly started to haunt me. My energy was sapped and there was no amount of water or sports beans that could bring it back.

The racers I smoked during the bike leg slowly caught up with me one by one. I wasn't going to let my bike lead result to nothing and I painfully did a walk-run on last 2K. I caught up again with the others and that time I wouldn't give up my lead. There were a lot of racers behind me, and I said to myself there wasn't a chance they'd still catch up with me.

On the last 200 meters before the finish line. I sprinted to a 5:15 and got short by around 50 meters. Walked for 20 meters and when I saw the others were sprinting to overtake me, I gave it one last push and sprinted until the finish line.

It was all over....

I just completed my first official duathlon!

All the irritations I felt for the disorganizations in the early part of the race were nothing compared to the euphoria I felt when I crossed the finish line. The heat took its toll on me and a lot of others, but the determination to finish was stronger for us. Others had cramps as early as the first run, but continued on to finish. The warriors in the heart of the finishers got the better of them and resulted to arms raised at the 42nd kilometer of the race. That's what racing and competing is all about...

I still haven't made up my mind if I'd still join a duathlon this year or concentrate on triathlons, but one thing is sure, I'm doing this again...when? I don't know....