ASTC Asian Duathlon Championship
Distance: 5K Run, 20K Bike, 2.5K Run
Time: 1:41 including transition (5K Run: 31 minutes, 20K Bike: 0:47, 2.5K Run: 16 minutes)
Date: November 25, 2012
Pace: 6K Run: 6:12 minute per kilometer, 30K Bike: 25.5 Km/hour, 3K Run: 6:24 minute per kilometer
Duathlon Hiatus
I’ve been absent from the duathlon scene for quite some time after joining the first two legs of Powerade Duathlon. The 3rd leg, I missed since I was out of the country and the last leg, I just wasn’t prepared and was simply struggling. It’s been months since I did well in actual run / duathlon event coming from a series of injuries and interrupted training. The next duathlon was set at Subic and its for the ASTC Asian Duathlon Championship, which is an International Triathlon Union (ITU) sanctioned event. I selected the shorter sprint distance which had the participants go through 5 Kilometer Run, 20 Kilometer Bike and 2.5 Kilometer Run of Subic’s scenic terrain. I had doubts on how well I would perform since I’ve been trying to find my running form and have yet to regain my consistency and endurance so a large part of the preparation was conditioning my heart and mind not to quit. So ready or not, here we come.
Recon Before the Storm
We were in Subic the day before the race so we did a bike reconnaissance mission going through the bike course of the race starting from our hotel Herbie’s until the U-turn slot in the area near the airport and back. I did enjoy biking the whole length of the course since most of the time I’m doing my training by going through several loops but this one was a full 20k+ course. I did find some hilly areas as part of the course but it was nice to test my leg strength against the inclines. We had the usual carbo loading session during at night and the not so early lights off for the next day.
Run Leg 1
The run course was simple which started from Canal Road and went all the way to Waterfront Road with the u-turn at the Lighthouse for the 2.5K mark and go through the same path to Canal Road then to the transition area in Remy Fields. Male age groupers in the sprint distance as part of the 7th wave of participants. It was really a flying start as people were sprinting. 500 meters into the race, I checked that my pace is around 4:30 minutes / kilometer so since this is just the first part, I shifted back to 5:30 minutes/ kilometer pace before eventually setting for a 6 minutes per kilometer pace stopping only for water breaks but was steady all throughout. The sun was already glaring at this time of the morning. I reached the transition area in 31 minutes. I had trouble with my bib though as one side fell of the race belt so took more time in the transition area trying to fix it.
Run Franckie Run
Bike Leg
The bike leg had the participants biking from the entrance of Remy Fields til the halfway point u-turn slot in the area by the airport. The bike course was scenic with the view of Subic Bay along the way. While I was fixing my bib, I didn’t notice that my rear brake was disaligned so when I started the bike leg, I was really struggling. No matter how I pedal, the speed is just within 20-22 kph. At first, I thought I just was tired from the fast run so there I was trying to endure the heavier gear. After 6 kilometers, I finally dismounted from my bike to see what’s wrong. I was thinking, it was either I had a flat tire or my brakes was not aligned. There is the problem, the rubber of the brakes was hitting the rear wheel which in effect added resistance to my pedals. I could just imagine how much time I would have saved had I detected the problem earlier but I guess there’s no time for that. After I realigned my breaks, it felt like flying as I went for a speed of 30 kph per hour or more for most part of the remaining 14K. This is the part I really enjoyed and was able to rally a decent bike split. I’m back in the race and not long after I was now back to the transition area depositing my bike for the last leg.
Bike… Bike… Bike…
Run Leg 2
The last leg was a 2.5 kilometer run from the transition area all the way to Waterfront Road with a u-turn in Jefferson Street and back to Canal Road for the Finish Line. I was still upbeat for finishing strong in the bike leg so after I deposited back my bike. I then went on to run and going at a steady yet fast pace. I went efficient on this leg as the only time I slowed down was the water station. It didn’t take long for me to be back in Canal Road and onward to the finish line. Duathlon # 3 complete.
5 – 20 – 2.5 Complete
ASTC Duathlon
Team Total Fitness
I haven’t seen the official time nor my rank but I was happy with this one. For all the struggles in the past few months, I’m just glad that I’m again closing on the 6 minute per kilometer run pace. Even with the glitch in the brakes, I think that the 30 kph bike pace is something just around the corner. I’ll need to suffer more for that. I’m just glad to be back in the duathlon scene.
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It was also a pleasure doing the duathlon event with Team Total Fitness and I think all of us were happy with our time and our finish. The racing season is almost over for me but I just can’t wait for the fresh set of races I get to do with the Team.
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