God's Country Off Road Duathlon Race Report

It's a day (sort of) late, but here's the weekly post! I know all my 10's of readers were dieing with anticipation! =)

For those of you not familiar with the event, the God's Country Duathlon is a 2 mile trail run, 12 mile mountain bike on single track, followed by another 2 mile trail run. It's out at the Kansas River Trail area (near the end of the Brew to Brew run) in Lawrence, KS. By far the fastest single track around KC, with some technical stuff mixed in.

Let me just set this up, sunny, mid 70's, hadn't rained in 2 days, dry trails, gear was in good shape, didn't forget anything, got there when I wanted too (thanks to the wife for being a trooper for coming and wrangling the kiddo and the new pup - more on him later).

- Warm Up Photo

You could say it was a great day for a race! Especially one on the trails! No bug problems, no humidity, no killer heat... it was perfect!

We did pack like we were going somewhere for the weekend with all my race gear, kid gear and dog gear... things to bring for the next event - more juice boxes for the kiddo, food for the dog - he may not be coming to many more events until he gets older and is less needy. We were a well oiled machine getting ready in the morning and out the door EARLY by 5 minutes! EARLY!!! Did you hear that!? Early with a 2 year old! Unheard of...

Luckily the race started at 10am so we got good sleep which I think helped the early part. =) I'll take it.

The race was pretty good. It was a B race - meaning I wasn't looking to go all out but I wanted to see where my fitness was at this point. Usually I run 8 to 9 minute miles on trail but I think I managed 7.5 to 8 minutes for the first trail run. That was pretty good and I didn't kill myself. The bike was great! They mixed in some of the technical part at the turnaround that in years past had been too muddy. Threw me off a little bit, but I made it through. The bike was maybe 15 to 16 miles per hour average - as of right now the race results aren't posted and I goofed switching the garmin to bike from run so it recorded the whole thing as a run - 5 minute miles! I ROCK!. The second run went about 8.5 to 9 minute miles. I chased one guy down and finished with stronger form that I've done in the past. The one odd note to mention was the fact my hamstrings were crying by the end. I guess that's what I get for no mountain biking for a year between events...



Overall it was 4.5 out of 5 stars! If this was an A event I think I had some left that I could have pushed through some pain to have a better time. But these types of events are more for fun and a good fun atmosphere. No one's really out there to kill it.

Follow this up by an indoor soccer game, mowing the lawn, playing outside with the kid and dogs, grilling, bills, packing for a work trip... and it was a BUSY but good Sunday!

I'll leave you with some event pictures and the one post race injury I had, a nice blister on my hand.

Super Fan!


Best part - THE FINISH!!


Blister Aftermath


Also, through my trials and tribulations, here's a few tips through the days I have learned:

Tip #01 : If you ride to work like I sometimes do, leave an extra set of work clothes at your desk - in addition to what you would pack to ride to work with. Forgot too many dress shirts and went to Wal Mart too many times.

Tip #02 : When you work out over lunch like I do at times, towels are a must cause you HAVE to shower before work or when you go back to work. I hang my towel in the back of my car to get a few uses out of it (less laundry). Well sometimes I forget to bring that in with me to the gym. So... pack a towel in your bag even if you have one hanging in your car to dry. Be prepared! =)