CFB Borden Duathlon - The end of the season

Race: CFB Borden Duathlon

Date: Saturday September 16, 2006.

Location: Alliston, Ontario

Description: 4 km Run, 25 km Bike, 4 km Run

Website: www.multisportcanada.com

Due to the busy and painful race weekend last week, I taught a spin class on Monday and then went into hibernation for the rest of the week.

The drive up to Base Borden was made much more interesting by the fact that the OPP closed down the exit to Hwy 89 (car chase ended there with tons of cop cars). So quick thinking made me take a long way into the Base. Got there with 10 minutes to go until race start (but they knew about the exit being shut down so the race was delayed).

The plan for the day, as always, was to have fun. Since the bike course was flat I did want to hammer it but once again I would be restricted by the fact that I did not have aerobars. As it turned out, the highlights of the day was that I ran the first km in 3:50, averaged 34.9 km/hr on the bike, and continually negative split the final 4 km run.

It was a fairly large field, and lots of fast athletes too. I gunned the first few kms and held on for dear life, running the first 4 km in 16:41. I flew through T1 in 31 seconds and headed off on the bike.

There was lots of congestion out there on the bike course (expected on a course like this). Drafting was definitely an issue and I am glad officials were out there to nab people. I kept trying to shake the cyclists around me but as soon as I passed them they would pass me a few seconds later. It was pretty much a paceline of about 6-8 cyclists. At least we were at a legal distance behind each other and it served to keep us all motivated and pushing forward. I did manage to shake a few cyclists on the few hills late in the course. I completed the 25 km bike in 43:02 (avg hr: 176). T2 took a quick 27 seconds and I was off.



The final run was not entirely fun. I was feeling the effects of last weekend for sure. I ran the first km in 5:20. Yuck! At that point I made set a goal of negative splitting each km from then onwards, completing the run in less than 20 minutes. With each kilometre I was going faster, and I completed the final 4 km in 18:59 (avg hr: 178). Final race time was 1:19:39 (avg hr: 177, 1731 calories burned).



Upon completing the race I chatted with Mike Cheliak (Multisport Series official photographer and all round good guy), and Jodi (race announcer) gave me my picture award from Cobourg, which I totally forgot about. A little while later I started getting a major headache. It felt like my head was going to explode. This was the second time this has happened this week (I have not had a headache since grade school so I don’t know what is going on). I drank a bit and got some food in hopes of making things better but no luck. I cheered and jeered Kent Parkinson, and played with Nigel (my friend’s cute little boy) but the pain kept getting worse.

I stayed for the awards but lay down under the e-load tent. I did finally win a draw prize this year (a box of Hammergels) but I was feeling like total crap. As soon as I went over to collect my prize I felt like throwing up so I told my buddy Angus that I was out of there and headed to the car to lie down. I had intended to volunteer for the Kids of Steel races so I thought if I lay down for a few hours I might feel better. After napping for 2 hours I got up and the headache was still there. I walked around for a bit, cheered the kids in the first race but the nausea returned. I headed back to the car, pressed my thumb into my temple and a finger into my left eye and drove home. I just hope that this is not something serious and just a temporary thing (but 2x in 3 days???). I feel so bad that I was not able to stay, but puking on the kids while volunteering was not a good idea. Hopefully, Mike Cheliak’s kids will race again next year and I will have the opportunity to volunteer and return the favour for all the great volunteering that they do at almost all of the Multisport Canada races.

Since this was the last Duathlon race of the season, I must thank John Salt and the rest of the Multisport Canada race crew for another kick butt season. It is hard to believe that the races could get better but they do. The picture awards by Mike Cheliak are really cool too and I’m glad to have won a few this season. Their plans for next year make me wish it were the spring of the 2007 already. To my extended (Multisport) family, have a great off season, train hard (but not hard enough to lay a beating on me), and stay safe. See you all in 2007 and likely before that at the Multisport Canada Awards day in October.