Gijon Duathlon – Finished! Big Improvement

I’ve just got back from the Gijon Duthlon World Championships (Age Group) after somehow winding up representing Team GB. With hindsight and a bit better seeing-to of my kit and setup coulped with trying a bit harder on the first run I should have got a medal. But didn’t. How many people have said that?

Still I would have been more than satisfied with my result if given it at the start and it would have achieved all the goals I had for that race and effectively for my year of training. So all is good really.

The really great thing is then having something to nail next year.

The Age Group events are an anathema though. The guy who won my age group was the deserved winner by a long way. With a year of training he would still beat me. Yet will he even compete next year? Many good athletes just want to get the medal and then that’s it, they achieved their goal. If he were to come back next year to defend his title then an even better athlete could be competing and bang goes the mystique you ever harboured about being the best in the world. Of course with elite athletes they know all their competition. At the AG level we don’t really know everyone, certainly not in duathlon.

Maybe next year he’ll be in the AG up? But there are several excellent athletes who are in the late middle ages and still beat many of the winners of the younger groupings.

What if the ex-Olypmian from the other distance switches to mine? That’s one place lower for a start. But these things are not predictable.

So what could I have done with my kit. Well I had made many upgrades and tweaks throughout the year so there was a continual improvement there. I’ve got rubbish road shoes with SPD cleats and 3 velcro straps…I know that’s ridiculous but the money for gadgets got seriously low. I did have the offer of a loan pair close to race day but thought it best to stay with the devil you know. And in fact my transitions were perfectly respectable…I just would have done them faster with better kit and a tad more practice. So maybe hope to gain 20 secs there for next year. I have a plan!

My wheels are good. Certainly good for the money (which was at a discount to the RRP by quite a way…mate’s rates). However I think I could have done better with maybe a thinner more pumped up front aero tyre and perhaps also with some sort of disc on the back. Maybe another 15 secs there. Maybe another £1,000+ as well !

Bike setup is also wrong. But I knew that. Just never got around to changing it properly. I think I migrate to the right position when cycling despite the seat and bars. Just that that position is right at the front of the seat, so uncomfortable. So maybe a tad more power could be gained there but probably more importantly a bit less fatigued for the final run. Then again I did nail the last run so maybe only 5-10 secs there. Or maybe I’m wrong and could have got very much more out of a great setup?

Nutrition, hydration, carbohydration, race supplements, injuries, sleep…yep all well and no excuses there.

So there we go that’s 45 secs or so without even talking about training.

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