Clark County Biathlon (5k run 15 mile bike)


This past weekend I raced the Clark County Biathlon at Mill Creek Park with my good friend Mike Calawerts.  It was a first time event that featured a 5k run and 15 mile bike.  You could also just race the 5k and skip the bike if you wanted to.  Race didn’t start till 3 PM so plenty of time to enjoy the day before showing up for the event.  Got there in plenty of time and saw a number of friends out warming up for the course.  Caleb Towles was there so I knew we had some competition.  Turns out Caleb was with a friend and just running the 5k so we dodged that bullet.  With just 30 or so bikes racked at the start it was a pretty small event.

At the start Mike and Caleb took off in a good lead, I was cruising along in 4th for most of the run.  By the end of the 3 miles I could see Caleb was well off in front and Mike not too far behind.  I came in just behind the 3rd place guy, but had a really fast transition to the bike and got out before him.  With Caleb not riding that put Mike in first and me in second.  After the first couple of miles we took a left turn and had a nice tailwind for about 5 miles until the turn around.  I put my head down and put all my effort into catching Mike by the turn around and the resulting headwind battle on the way back.  I finally reeled him in just after the turn around for home.   Feeling pretty good I worked it all the way back to the finish line and ended up crossing the line in about 1 hour 2 minutes total.  Didn’t wear a watch or have a cycling computer on my race bike so I can only guess that it took me about 21 minutes to run it, and 41 for the ride.   Waited just a bit at the finish and saw two bikes coming around the corner.  Didn’t know who was who at first, but Mike held the guy off for 2nd.  Good day for both of us.

While all this seems very straight forward, it was not so much for me.  The last two or three months I’ve been training hard, but totally going backwards.  Had no idea why I was so slow and it was driving me crazy.  Finally went to see my doctor 3 weeks ago and after a series of blood tests found that I have Thyroid issues, specifically Hypothyroidism.  She put me on a synthetic version of thyroid medication and after a couple of weeks I was a different athlete.  I’ve had good days and bad days since, but noticeably better than I was.  Guess that is what I get for not seeing a doctor in years. 

Nice fun low-key event to start the year.  Hopefully I can stay health and come up with the goods for the upcoming tri season.

Comments

Ron said…
Well done, Paul.

Sorry to hear about your Thyroid issues but it sounds like things are heading in the right direction..Ron
April 25, 2012 at 7:51 PM
rhino said…
going to have to hide your meds so you don't get too fast!...Way to go the "W".
April 27, 2012 at 12:47 PM
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