31st APPLE DUATHLON -- A PEACH OF A RACE

Saturday May 25th had the running of the 31st APPLE DUATHLON in Sartell, Minnesota.  A well respected race, it has hosted the USAT Duathlon National Championships in past years, and was a USAT section qualifier for the ITU Worlds this year. Approximately 450 signed up for the event, interestingly there were about 50 entrants over the age of 60.  The lengths were 5k, 33k, 5k.  The podium awards consist of a polished red granite apple, symbolic of the granite mining in the area.

This has been an awkward spring for Minnesota, with the ice staying in the lake well into late April.  The forecast was for 50 degrees and showers, slightly warmer than the local lake temperatures.  At least it was a duathlon and not a triathlon.   And, it did not rain on our parade, but remained cool, overcast with some winds but conducive for fast times.

I had scouted out the competition in the M65-69 age group and noticed that Kerry Mayer was entered.  We had a close race at the USAT duathlon nationals last year in Tuscon.  He outran me on both legs but my bike split compensated giving me a 12 second win.  Could I be as lucky again?  Chatting before the race start, I asked him about his running background only to find out his personal best marathon was a 2:21.  Mine was a 2:35.  Explains his run advantage.  Thankfully he doesn't like to swim.

Mike McDowell/Kerry Mayer/Ben Ewers

The over 50 crowd was the last wave to start and Kerry exceeded my expectations taking a 1 minute lead into transition.  It took me until mile 17 to catch him on the bike, meaning that unless he blew up (not likely in such a relatively short race) I was angling for second place.  We entered transition 2 at about the same time but I came out way behind him (later discovered he was 20 seconds faster in the transition).  Whatever chance I had of mind overcoming matter and keeping up with him was lost in the transition.  Overall I had a good race, beating my own course record set 2 years ago by 3 minutes.  Kerry broke it by 5 minutes.

While discussing our age and training related injuries after the race (typical banter between aging athletes), Kerry said the close loss last year was a wake up call that improvements had to be made to his biking.  A new bike was part of the improvement (why not buy some speed, its legal), as well as more focus on bike training.  This clearly demonstrates that exposure to other peoples abilities re calibrates your thinking as to what your own capabilities are.  What we think is fast, what we believe is possible, can be redefined by the example of others.

Partway through the awards ceremony, Jerry MacNeil, the announcer, stopped the awards show to lead a standing ovation for an 88 year old local icon who had just finished the race.  Bob Powers was in the house.  What is possible and achievable for each of us?  Do we have stretching goals?  Will we be capable of crossing finish lines at age 88?

UNDER THE BOARDWALK, BOARDWALK! (ER, HIGHWAY) -- TEMPE INTERNATIONAL

Urban triathlons are full of challenges due to the innate venue obstacles of staging the race in an urbane setting. TheTempe International Triathlon on May 19th was more unique than most as the transition site was literally under the 202 interstate in downtown Tempe Arizona (lower photo shows early morning setup). The transition site limited the entries to a combined 900 or so for either the sprint or Olympic distance events. The swim was in Tempe Town Lake with a beach entry on the north side of the man-made lake.  The bike was on a very turney (not a real word but descriptive), 21 turns per 12 mile lap city road loop with minimal hills (300 ft vertical per lap).  The run was on a 3.1 mile loop over and back across the multiple bridges spanning the lake, with sets of stairs to descend from bridge to lake level on each lap to complete the urban feel.  The race had a delayed start to ensure the traffic controls were safely in place which pushed the race finishing run into a warmer part of the hot Arizona day.  The registration and awards ceremony were at a shopping mall about 3 miles away as there was minimal parking near the transition site.  Most parked on the south side of the lake and biked or walked across to the race transition site.  Oh, and the race served as the Arizona club championship race.


This race makes efforts to be beginner friendly.  The self appointed beginners are all grouped together in the transition corral.  Since Arizona has few lakes to train or stage races in, for many beginners this would be their first open water race swim.  Consequently the beginners are given the option to wear a beginners swim cap (yellow) so the lifeguards can pay special attention for any signs of distress.  The day before the race the elite members of my team, ONE MULTISPORT (see left), along with the race director provided any interested entrant with a 1 1/2 hour on site race clinic covering all aspects of the event (swim, bike, run, transitions) and answering any questions.  About 100 attended.

Perhaps it was no surprise, but the USAT official found a spot in the lake where the water temp was 77.4 degrees, so wetsuit legal.  It was a wave start, sprint first, over 60 Olympic distance last (my wave).    Quite uneventful as the wave start provided for plenty of open water to choose your swim line.  Transition uneventful this time.  The bike course with all the turns was as expected -- I remembered to gear down into the turns so I was properly geared upon exit -- taking more watts to achieve the expected average speed.  I expended an average of 225 watts for an average speed of 22.3 mph, about 1 mph slower than I would have averaged on a less turney course using the same watts.  

I switched my training shoe brand two weeks previous based on a recommendation from my son who was experimenting with the HOKA ONE ONE brand for his ultra trail runs.  He thought it would benefit my aging body parts as it is extremely cushioned and stable but looks like a moon boot.  It has an added feature of a relatively low (4 mm) drop, heel to forefoot, to encourage mid foot striking.  I raced with the race version that weighed only 9 ounces, not bad for a moon boot. 

It was warm and at 3 miles I stopped sweating, a bad sign, but with only 3.2 miles to go I eased just enough to avoid cramping or worse.  I had chosen to not use any salt for this race as you usually do not need that supplement for an Olympic distance.  The delayed start put me into a hotter part of the day where a salt capsule or two would have been good insurance when taken on the bike segment.


My elapsed time of 2:25+ won the old gents (65-69) age division, and would have won the 60-64 as well.  The overall winning time was 1:58 (by Lewis Elliot, USAT ranking of 100) attesting to some of the unique challenges of this urban turney race course. Oh, and ONE MULTISPORT didn't win the club championship, but we did win the far more important award for BEST LOOKING TEAM.  TA DA.