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?