Duncan Hadley Race Report

And coincidentally my first Olympic distance. Too bad I can’t say from Sprint to Ironman but Coach had other ideas, namely a couple of warm up Olympics prior to The Big Event.

It was a long, tiring, tri’ing weekend. A drive to Moncton on Saturday – after the start of the Tour of course – stayed with TJ overnight. Then we drove to Freddie Beach, getting up at 5:00am, and arrived just short of 45 minutes to the start. NOT smart! No warmup time. No course view. We didn’t even know how many laps of the swim/bike/run we were supposed to do. Oh Coach was NOT going to be pleased!!

I’d dealt with my nerves pretty well up until photo taking time. Here I am trying not to puke!

Duncan Hadley 2009 - TJ, Jen, Tom

It was a grey miserable day once again. So much for the opportunity to train in heat! The swim went well. The jump from Sprint to Olympic (750m to 1500m) was pretty much uneventful as I regularly swim 3500m per session and had done a 4000m swim on Thursday. I stayed mid-pack and came out warmed up and raring to go. Time: 30:43

First time using a wetsuit so my transition time blew. (2:04) But I was in this to “race through” meaning I wasn’t racing per se but using it as a training opportunity so that extra time wasn’t such a big deal.

Out on the bike … 4x10km laps of long gradual climbs and some fairly steep downhills and a few hairpin turns made it quite a technical course. I was focused on a steady solid effort and practicing nutrition, both of which I was able to do. I’d hoped to do the bike around 1:30 but came in at 1:38. Not my fastest time but solid and a good indicator that I’m on track for Kentucky. If I can keep at a 25kph average I’ll be happy.

T2, again, slow as I took the time to put on socks given a 10k run. I don’t need blistered feet right now! Time: 1:37

The run was 4×2.5km laps on trail. Up and down terrain. Luckily I’ve been doing a fair bit of trail running and I felt solid throughout. Though I’m a little circumspect of the time. Did I miss a lap??? Time: 55:35/5:33pace (which is way high for me)

Duncan Hadley 2009 - TJ pacing Jen

TJ thought we were only supposed to do 2 laps and DQ’d. He waited for me and we did the final 2 laps together. Which was pretty nice. And he kept my pace up.

My overall time was 3:09:53. Rather a hollow victory for my first Olympic given the shadow it sits in, but I’m reasonably pleased. And if that run time is right? Ecstatic!