First time I have done Aboyne Duathlon.
It was very busy. 105 entrants. Some people I didn't expect to see, but no-one that I didn't want to see. So was managing to stay pretty relaxed up to the start.
Here is a picture of me before the race, not looking particularly unhappy about it:
I was feeling pretty lethargic before it started so I decided to take it easy and see how things went. The first run I started near the back and just took the first mile as a bit of a warm-up and then gradually worked my way through the field. It felt like I was running in treacle, but in reality I was doing about 7min/miles as opposed to the 8:30-9 that I have been training at. 18:22 for the first run was much better than I expected.
My transition was a bit sloppy. Planning ahead, and remembering it was a 105 person mass start race where everyone would be returning to first transition within a few minutes of each other, I purposefully set up on the far side of the rack from everyone else so that I could avoid the elbows. It gave me more space and despite faffing with my bike shoes I made a couple of places.
The bike is as flat as you could wish for. Strava says only 279ft over the 9miles. There was a bit of a headwind on the first half, and my legs were not enjoying it. My left hip was feeling pretty stiff and both quads were aching. I was on and off the tri-bars as I tried to get comfortable with my shoulder. And in hindsight looking at the cadence track on my garmin it looks like I was turning too high a gear.
The second half of the bike was a totally different story though. Out of the headwind and I was picking off plenty of people who had paced their races poorly. I was spending plenty of time on the tri-bars, in high gears and sweeping along feeling pretty good.
At about 7 miles I overtook a pair who were drafting each other and they then sat on my wheel. I checked a few times when I heard them changing gears (you are definitely inside 7 metres if I can hear you changing gears in the wind, at 20mph, with my TT helmet on) but I avoided the urge to shout abuse at them, or to sacrifice a few seconds of my own race by dabbing the brakes or weaving to make a point. Coming back into Aboyne, I did take an intentionally wide line coming onto the bridge and then kicked hard to make a gap.
Transition 2 was slightly better than T1, but still not great, just tidy.
Run 2, I expected to really struggle, and to lose a lot of the places I had made up on the bike. But I got out fairly comfortably and ran within 4 seconds of the first run. I picked off a lot of people (8, I think) during the second run and only lost 2. One to a guy who was flying, and one in the last 200m. Was surprised at some of the people I caught, and comparing results afterwards, surprised at the people I almost caught.
Considering my training has all been geared to basic fitness and building distance I am quite chuffed to have been so close to people who normally beat me comfortably, especially over such a short race.
Next race on the plan is Knockburn Duathlon on April 7th. Given the hilliness of the course there, I should hate it. I spent a lot of wednesday evenings last year dragging myself round the run loops before swimming though, so I should know the course as well as anyone. Another month in the bag and I might even be doing some faster days so should hopefully be a good race for me.
