Before I started this race I checked last years results and was shocked by how fast the run splits were. I was very happy it was ‘only’ a training race.
I finished my 2 hour bike ride on saturday with an ok feeling in the legs. Instead of having a bit of a rest we drove around half Belgium to get stuff that we usually don’t have time for. checked out the ‘skinfit’ shop in Nokere for some running stuff for Reiny, then to Oudenaarde for a different time trail saddle, followed by a stop at ‘de berghut’ in Hamme where we met my mum and dad. Around 5:30 pm we arrived in Venray, about 10km from Horst aan de Maas where the NK/EK duathlon championships were on the 17th of April. Check in, go to registration, get numbers, go to pasta party, have a chat to Diedrik and Els who were also racing and get some rest. I didn’t sleep very well, never do really, first night in a hotelbed.
When the alarm finally went off I just grabbed my stuff and went downstairs for dinner with Reiny. Brekkie was great, but because I was racing I tried to stick to the usual cereal and milk. Couldn’t resist the krentenbollen so had a couple of them.
I only had to check my bike in before 9 am so it was kind of a chill morning. In Transition it felt a bit funny not having to leave my nr on the bike to put on after the swim.. Seriously had the idea there was something missing :-S
Last minute I decided to race in my Nike victory shoes. tried them a couple of weeks ago during a track training and loved them. Fast racing shoe if you’re used to Nike air zoom elite.
We started at 9 am together with all the pro women. first we had to run 6 laps of 2,5km then ride 3 laps of 20 and a bit km and finish with 3 laps running of 2,5km. At the start the pro’s took off immediately. after about half a lap I saw someone running in front of me at a slightly faster pace than I wanted to do so I closed the gap and tried to stay with her. it was either that or running by myself. we were making a good time coming through in 11:30 after 1 lap. about a minute faster than my goal. I tried to work together with her but she was just a bit stronger than me and had to sit behind her until we came to T1. I took of my shoes, grabbed my energybars and helmet and started the bike leg. I made sure I wasn’t going all out because I wanted to do a 2nd decent run. goal was under 40 min. After the 1st lap on the bike in noticed the wind started to pick up a bit. But I was passing some women which was good. It felt like I was racing a crit more than doing a time trail. but i realized that was the same for everyone. Wouldn’t race with a tt bike again, too many corners. next time i’ll just put some aero bars on my road bike. In the 2nd and 3rd lap I passed a couple more women and I was hoping none of them would pass me on the next run. At T2 I quickly put my bike and helmet back and started my 7,5km final run. My hamstrings were really pulling at the beginning but that slowly went away. calves started giving me some trouble, but it was only a couple of km’s to go so it wasn’t too hard to deal with. I finished in 3 hours 42 min and 27 seconds. before the race I told Reiny I would be happy with 3 hours 50 and stoked if I would go under 3 hours 45..
Looking back though, I should of gone a little bit harder on the bike. my bike leg was ok but I reckon I could of done 3-4 min faster and I don’t think it would of affected my 2nd run much. my times were: 15 km run: 1:10:20 62km bike: 1:49:41 7,5km run: 39:45 and I got a first place in my age group, was the only one though ;-)
I’m getting a bit more confident that I will do well in Rapperwil, it’s only a good 6 weeks away from now and it will be my 1st chance to qualify for the 70.3 worlds in Las Vegas this year. should be fun!
Mooi, mooi.. verstandige race :)
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