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Duathlon's Kona

Thursday, 05 September 2013 09:46

By Ruth Brennan Morrey

Race dates are ingrained in our mind. We know that Chisago Lakes triathlon is the last weekend in July, the Chicago marathon and the Ironman World Championship is the second week in October, and the Boston marathon is always on Patriots Day. If we know those dates, even without our own participation, then we must surely have the organizational skills and adequate handheld calendars to know when our own races are drawing near. If this is so, then why do we need online race “ticker” time bombs on race websites that serve no purpose but create undue anxiety and unnecessary freak-outs? Days suddenly vanish, denial sets in, and we begin to doubt the accuracy of these evil numbers. Why does it always seem that the ticker is one day off too? They should be banished forever. Enough! Anyway…. there are 4 days, 17 hours, and 3 minutes, and 28 seconds until my “A” race of the season: ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championship (Powerman Zofingen), in Zofingen, Switzerland on September 8th. ...

I’ll back up a bit first before I hit the stats of the upcoming race. Since this was my first year racing as a professional, I thought getting a coach might be a good idea—Dr. Phil Skiba, founder of PhysFarm LLC and RaceDay Apollo, has been the man. How has that been going? Well, although I have no guesses as to where this phrase comes from, I am fitter than a fiddle. This year’s training schedule has gone something like this: CONSISTENCY. With consistency often comes boredom, but it also provides race results and that is just fine by me.  My training has been purposeful and data driven and I’ve appreciated that aches and pains have virtually been nonexistent.  I’ve been well-recovered from day to day during training which has allowed me to maximize the particular intention of any given session. I am running and biking stronger than ever before, and although it is not getting any easier, I am getting faster. Most importantly, however, I am having the time of my life.  Not a day goes by without feeling an overwhelming gratitude for my health and sporting opportunities—the ability to ride a bike, swim in the pool, and run on the road is certainly a privilege.

As much as I have missed the MN racing scene this year due to European travel and other priority races, I decided to forgo some of my favorite local races to keep me alive and energized for this Sunday’s race. My coach reminded me that long-term goals trump short-term greed which is true for both racing and training. For example, I nearly raced Pigman half-iron on Aug 18th, but after an “Earth to Ruth” consultation with my coach, we decided to forgo the race to obtain two weeks of solid training (instead of a recovery week) in preparation for the bigger prize. Now, the long-term goal has arrived, and I feel like a caged lion ready to be set free. I am ready to race. 

A thrilling and challenging race awaits me in Switzerland and I am eager to represent the USA as the sole professional athlete.  The upside to this race is that there is no swim to be swum down, and downside is that there are no swimmers to be run down.  It’s my people against me.  

Race snapshot: 

Simply put, this will be a monster of a race and it will shake out like this:  10K run kindly starting out with an uphill 1.2 mile run into the woods. Next a 150k ride (93 miles), and a 30K run (18.9 miles). 24 cumulative miles of tempo running—YES!  …but running up and down steep wooded and grassy hills to pave the way—humbling. Last year’s lead ladies took off at 35 and 36 minutes for the first 10k run (the actual length may be questionable). For the bike, there are 3 laps of 50k with 1600 meters (5249 feet) of climbing with a maximum grade of 16%.   Picture this: the steepest climb is more than Garvin Heights hill (Trinona course) doubled X 3 laps. Thankfully, everyone goes up the same hills. The last 30k continues in difficulty and will ultimately be the decider leg of the race. 

Fortunately, my time in Europe has prepared my eyes for what awaits me in Zofingen. France Pais d’Aix 70.3, Italy 70.3, and Mallorca 70.3 were no bumps in the road, and much like those courses, the key to this race will be solid execution of the bike course and respecting the distance. Mark Allen, six-time Ironman World Champion, was quoted as saying that he believes this race is more difficult than Kona. Another blog said that the best advice for duathletes is to do an Ironman leading up to the race.  What?!! Hands down, it will be the biggest endurance challenge I have ever endured.  At this point, I have done my research about my competition, the course, and have made appropriate equipment choices with the help of Ian Stanford at Hed Wheels, Joe Moyer, and Kris Swarthout (thanks guys!). I have stopped reading the nonsense of blogs and race reports because in my opinion, it is highly counterproductive. My job is to get the job done.  Suffering will, no doubt, be a huge part of the day—and it will separate the winner from all the rest.  My day will be prayerful and meditative.  I have trained to be ready for it and will welcome the discomfort. 

I texted my bike mechanic and friend, Joe Moyer, after he sent me a send-off message about “dark places” prior to my departure. I shared with him a message at my church a few weeks ago that was indeed fitting for race day-- Romans 5:1—“Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character…hope.”  This is certainly true in my everyday life and also in my racing world. There are good and bad patches in our lives—suffering and hard times are inevitable. If executed properly, with the right internal resources, the human spirit can find a way to persevere.  My reliance on my faith—instead of myself—during competition and training has kept me mentally strong for the past 3 years in this sport.  This part is a slam dunk-I know that I will finish the race. 

On last note, a huge thanks to 64-year old Diana Nyad, whose monumental example of the perseverance and character by swimming 110 miles in 56 straight hours from Cuba to Key West will accompany me throughout the race. Her relentless attitude, unwavering confidence, and methodical strategy/execution will continually remind me that anything is possible. Like Nyad, I will also have a superb support team comprised of my husband Mark, my parents and my father’s Irish brother, Colm, and his spouse, Helen.  If history predicts future behavior, their cheering voices will be raw by the end of it. Now, back to the race website to check for more dwindling minutes.