Report: Race 2

Welcome to the report on race two - a darn sight more punctual than the last one!
This Sunday just gone I took part in the Dunsfold Duathlon. Billed as a good introduction to Duathlon racing, it consisted of a 4.5 km run, a 15 km cycle, and finished with another 4.5 km run. Both runs were a single lap, while the cycling was three laps around a slightly longer course.
Dunsfold park is an interesting venue to compete at. A private airfield during the working week, it's not easy to find being tucked away in the Surrey countryside down unsignposted lanes. From the moment you drive through the gates there are hints that something more interesting might happen here. Is this the filming location for a popular BBC motoring show? Could be...
We started off near what you could call the turn-in for the "Second to Last Bend" on one of two runways heading roughly North-East, and almost immediately veered away from the well-known test track route to follow a service road. It was here we first saw that our race course was also being used as a driving school. Fortunately the reasonably-priced cars seemed to be keeping their distance, and frankly I had my attention occupied by the race. Without my normal pace-man Iain I was finding it difficult to hit a rhythm, and just had to settle for keeping one of my competitors within sight.
About a third of the way round this first lap an air ambulance decided to land about ten yards from the course. Dramatic enough to be slightly distracting, and impressively loud, but they seemed to be training rather than rescuing anyone I'm pleased to say.
Approaching Chicago, the course pinched together, almost forming a figure of eight. Here is where the slow coaches like me get to see the properly fast people who are already half a kilometre or more ahead. We then ran across some strange rusty red iron plates bolted to the ground (old fuel tanks? missile silos? the Stig's underground home?), then around Hammerhead, past the Follow-Through and you hit the straight back to the start/finish line and the transition station. It's here that you realise that what looks like a very flat course on TV actually has some slopes!
Into the transition area, on with the bike helmet (safety first! plus it's a rule in all these competitions) wheel the bike out and hop on less than gracefully, struggle with the straps on my right pedal, manage to get it sorted before going round Gambon.
Here's where I'm a bit more confident. I know I'm not an Olympic cyclist, but I'm a better cyclist than a runner. I've got the strength, and it's just a matter of keeping the pedals going round and round and try to be in the right gear. Three laps is a good distance, it's enough but not too much. I even got down on the drop handlebars for a couple of patches! Through this leg I'm pleased to say the only people who passed me were the leaders, and they were lapping me. I passed quite a few people, and I think I probably made up a few places I lost during the run.
All too soon the cycling leg was over. Wheel bike into the transition, off with helmet and gloves, out onto the running track again for the final leg. Jo shouts that I'm making good time, which gives me a bit of a boost. And at least this is the last section! My legs aren't feeling as positive as my brain though. They feel like rubber, heavy rubber at that. The wind seems to have picked up, and my only comfort is seeing my fellow competitors are finding it just as difficult, most adopting a kind of waddle as they coax numb muscles into something approaching a jog.
This last leg really was very difficult. It felt like I was going about half the speed I managed on the first run. Just keeping going was a battle, the number of times I wanted to stop and walk was horrible. The weird thing was, I wasn't out of breath, it was purely the dead, aching legs. I don't know how I found the energy to keep going, but I did, and I even passed a few more people (after having been passed by a few at the beginning of this lap, most of whom I'd passed on the bike).
Coming out of the Follow-Through, around the tyre wall (wrong side) and onto the straight towards the finish line. I knew this was where I should put on a bit of speed, and I tried, but I had no idea if it was making any difference. Several people pulled away from me, or passed me. I managed to accelerate a tiny amount and the finish line finally started to get a little bit closer. All I was thinking was I wanted to finish in under 90 minutes to beat my published goal. I had no idea how close I was, and couldn't bear the thought of missing it by a few seconds.
Finally I saw Jo waiting for me, and just further on the finish line with the clock: one hour, twenty something minutes - the rest was a blur. I was going to make it! I crossed the line feeling exhausted and elated at the same time.
Final result: 1:24:00
Official results and photos here.
Two races down, four to go. Dunsfold Duathlon adds 24km, making 34km in total. Come back soon for details of next month's challenge, and please visit my sponsorship site and donate some money!