Race Result

Racer:	Amanda Shuman
Race:	Greeting of the Geese
Date:	Sunday, October 24, 2004
Location:	Upper Marlboro, MD
Race Type:	Duathlon - Sprint
Age Group:	Female 20 - 24
Time:	1:21:03
Overall Place:	64 / 185
Age Group Place:	1
Comment:	Cold, drizzly bike ride... but another award :)

Race Report:

Run1 (3mi?): 20:30 (7:00)
Bike (12mi?): 39:19 (17.8mph... EGAD worse than last year!)
Run2 (3mi?): 21:14 (7:11)
Total 1:21:03

Pre-race
I didn't taper. I didn't train much on the bike. I hadn't even gotten on my bike outdoors for a real ride in oh... nearly a month! But I have been doing a lot of running in prep for the marathon... so I was planning to have good runs. I wanted to PR in the race, but after a last minute bike course adjustment I really only wanted to do well on the 2 runs.

I woke up the morning on the race to a dark, cold rain. ICK. Was I really planning to bike in this sh*t? Pulled out rain gear and packed up car anyways... my dad was doing the race too, I felt bad since it was his first multisport event and the weather sucked so much.

Was disgusted that someone actually plasted the back wheel of their bike with presidential election signs for a particular candidate. Why on earth would anyone want to do something like that (I mean seriously, it's a good-natured race... keep the signs for rallies, geez).

Race:
Weather didn't improve much. It wasn't all-out raining for most of the event but it was a cold drizzle for about 75% of the time, but esp noticeable on the bike :(

1st Run:
Felt great despite a crappy warm up. I felt strong, comfortable and confident. Mostly thanks to the 18-20 mile runs I've recently done. 3 miles ain't nothing!

I passed two ladies right near the first transition (there were only about 4-5 ahead of me at that point).

T1/Bike: T1 took too long. I don't know what I was thinking but it sure seemed like forever. Anyways, at least I was warmed up for the bike... maybe??? I did see my dad finishing his first run as I went out for the bike. That was pretty cool.

The bike sucked. I took off my gloves during the first run cause I was too hot. Big mistake. Plain and simple I was cold, miserable, and my bike was making a funny noise the first couple miles. No, I still haven't bought a new bike and yes this one still has numerous problems. (The handlebar wrap coming off to reveal bare metal not only looks bad--it's also very cold to touch :( ). My hands were red and feet so wet they were numb-- despite the bike being only 12 miles long, I started looking forward to its end half way through! (see, I'm not kidding when I say I can't bike outside in the winter...and it's only the fall still)

T2/Run2:
Happy to running again. Very, very happy. I don't care if the first mile I was incredibly slow, I was just ecstatic to be warm again. Still finished only a minute and a few seconds slower than the first run, which was totally ok by me.

Finish:
As usual, had some left over, sprinted through the finish. Found my mother waiting for my father and me. Grabbed water and some WARM clothes from the transition. I took a picture of my dad finishing which was really cool :)

I was satisfied with my run times and with this season. I think I'm going to do some more dus next season and work on biking (I'm thinking of doing some road racing training to get faster there).

Oh, and my dad had so much fun at this event he wants to do more next year (after he gets a road bike of course :) ). Maybe I'll bring him out for some of our training rides...

Congrats and good luck to everyone else if I don't see you around anytime soon... I had fun this season training with you all (when I could and did!) and had a blast at Ratman and the Reston Tri. Maybe I'll see some of you around the gym this winter but I wouldnt count on the Saturday bike rides.

Best,
Amanda