USAT NATIONAL DUATHALON CHAMPIONSHIP , 3RD PLACE

TRANSITION

I could not come up with an angle for this race, so my post can be condensed to this:   Great Venue, Great Day, Great Competition.

I raced this National Championship primarily because it was held in St Paul, Minnesota, 20 miles from my summer home. Since I was 69 years old in the 65-69 age group I did not have illusions of winning unless some bad luck occurred to some of the other competitors.  I ended up 3rd to two great athletes and was very satisfied with my effort.

The course was a 5K run, 34K bike, 5K run format, with both runs being a repetitive 2 looper and the bike a repetitive 3 looper with a 320 ft hill at the start of the loop.  JP Bacle, who just aged-up to 65, won the 65-69 M age group in 1:44:03 followed by Kerry Mayer in 1:45:54 with me coming home 3rd in 1:47:38.

My runs were 21:31 and 22:57 while the bike was 1:01:05.  Generally, I was pleased with my effort relative to my training commitments.  I keep experimenting with how to manage my complaining knees which primarily hinder my ability to run train as much as is required to maintain competitiveness.  Right now I'm taking Niacin amide which has some anecdotal reports regarding its ability to reduce the pain caused by arthritis.  I'm also following my swim sessions with shallow water pool running as the water partially supports my body weight and thus reduces the compression impact on the knees.  Since I only started both of these changes last month, its too early to know if they will be beneficial.  In the meantime I continue to jog between 10 and 20 miles/week using a 4min/1min jog/walk routine.

I have entered a race later this year that I have only shared with my family as it relates to a longer term goal that will not be achievable unless I can successfully resolve my complaining knees issue. Before the year is out I will share, for better or worse.