Bike rack review and thoughts and Results of the Duathlon Great Experiment

Two points in this post: Quick thoughts on Feedback Sports A-Frame Event Bike Stand and the results from tonight's grand experiment at the local club duathlon race.

Have you ever wondered about getting your own bike stand? I saw one at the local bike/tri club race series tonight. Built by Feedback Sports, this bike stand is rated at eight bikes racked by the saddle. Tonight, it seemed that six would be the max for any race event; eight seems fair if you're taking your time to put the bikes in place neatly.  It was quite sturdy, taken down by one guy in about two minutes (that I saw, might have been quicker), and then put into a great looking, durable carrying case.  Anyway, it's a great piece of gear if this is what you are looking for!

Experiments can be useful in validating race strategy, but it's hard to find the right time and conditions to try them. I find it difficult to experiment wildly out of my norm during a race I paid for because it just seems like paying to suffer isn't my idea of fun; paying to go slow while following a plan is doable, though.  And tonight's race was my chance to experiment with an all-out effort on the bike to see what would happen on the run because it's a no-kidding race and it's free (so easier to deal with if it goes horribly wrong).

Tonight's course was the regular 10k bike (5k out and back) followed by a short 1.5 mile run (originally 3 mile, changed to 1.5mile for whatever reason I don't know). Sunny and windy, and at least it wasn't freezing cold...somewhat warm in fact.

Anyway, I beat my previous times for this year by about a minute but still slower than last year's best, and I think the wind has everything to do with that. I went all out on the bike, with average heart for 10k bike at 164 versus last years 40k bike average heart rate of 152. The heart rate of 164 matches the all out efforts from the previous two races.

After a quick transition, I sprinted out to start the race, and I immediately blasted to heart rate of 174. Wow! I didn't know that was even possible outside of doing the Alpha Killer / Ass Kicker hill workout.  That effort didn't last long, and I backed off after a couple minutes, and then backed off again after a couple more minutes until I finally settled in at at a hard pace and heart rate of 162ish. From there I started building faster until finishing strong with a heart rate of 164, right where my average was last year during the 10k runs of an olympic race.

So, tonight's experiment was a success. I learned that I can't bust it all out on the bike and then sprint out of T2 and expect to run well. Best to keep a good, hard effort on the bike and then set a cruise pace right out of T2 and build to finish...pretty much my tactics from last year, but this year I can push just a bit harder right out of T2.

It was a great day to be riding and running!