Race Day Recap by the Numbers: Beloit Biathlon (Duathlon)

Well folks, I’ve been away for a while, unplugged from the bloggy life and existing on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn exclusively. I’ve been reading your blogs, many of them, but not commenting much at all since I read them using Google Reader and frankly I am just too damn lazy to click out of Reader to comment. The truth is I miss writing more than a snarky quip of 140 characters or less, but like every habit it’s hard to get back in the swing of things with regular posts. If you have ever heard me leave a long, rambling voice mail message, you should know I have more to say than can be squeezed into a Tweet. Sooooo ….. how do I get over that hurdle and get back to exercising my writing chops?

I’m thinking as a means of dusting off my keyboard and getting some thoughts documented again, I need an expectation of myself for when I should post. Since I really have 2 goals this race season, I want to incorporate them both.

Goal #1: Post more regularly to Blogger.

Goal #2: Be a faster runner.

So how to include them both?

Here’s the plan: to do a post with a short recap of each race/event this season with the number of thoughts about the event and my performance equaling the number of minutes/mile I averaged on the run. Hopefully, you will see my posts becoming more succinct, instead of getting lengthier!

Now, lets get to this race report business… This past Saturday, I did the Beloit Biathlon. It had nothing to do with Shooting or Skiing, thankfully. Here it is by the numbers:

1. One. The number of people I was faster than on Run #1 of this duathlon (120/121). Proof positive my running needs some work, yes? (On the second run I was 107/121, so a mild improvement in the rankings).

2. Two. The number of times I have medaled at the race in the past. I took home a 2nd place Athena in 2007 and 3rd place Athena in 2008. 2009 was a non-bling year, and 2010 was the year we volunteered as our SWAT volunteer race for the year.

3. Three. This is how many times Mike and I have competed at the Beloit Biathlon before this race. If you ask Mike, it was two, but he would be wrong.

4. Four. I was 4th in the Athena class for this race (of 6). And I was seriously bummed that I did not take home any hardware this year.

5. Five. Number of friends racing. It’s always good to see a familiar face on the course, and this is no exception. Mike Wolfgram, Mike Norton, Mike Wimmer, Steve Knox, Brian Morgan – they all did a terrific job.
6. Six. The number of minutes I shaved off my previous PR for this race, mostly on the bike and transitions. Yeah me.
7. Seven. I had a great bike split. Ended up averaging almost 19 mph on the bike and wound up with a rank of 40/121. I wish I could somehow relate that kind of performance to the running legs. This has nothing to do with 6, but I couldn’t come up with a post for 6. I didn’t follow the convention, sue me.
8. Eight. The number of Cousins mini subs I think I saw Mike eat. Man he loves those things. These people do the post-race snacks up right! They also had chips, bananas, oranges, cookies.
9. Nine. The best thing about this race is that it does not start until 9AM. Do you know how much this rocks? There is nothing better than a race that starts later than 7AM. I love my bed and the more time I can spend snoozing in it in the morning, the better.

10. Ten. The only thing that can top a race that starts at 9, is a race that takes place in a city that is a mere 10 minutes from town. I mean seriously, could it get any easier?

11. Eleven. The number of miles the bike is advertised as being. It is actually closer to 10. Much like the 2-mile runs, which are actually 1.65. On a positive note, it makes you look very speedy in the official splits!

12. Twelve. How many times (x 1,000) Mike told me the story of his performance and dissected every minute of the race for me. Dude! I was there, too.

13. Thirteen. My average pace per mile for this first run was 12:40. For the second Run it was 13:19. Next time I post, I am hoping to only have to come up with 11 or 12 things to write about.