My sweet Bottecchia between ride and run.
Early spring in Black Earth Wisconsin
PHOTO OF STEVE DONOVAN ON RIDE HOME
PHOTO OF RYAN G AFTER THE RUN
Weather: about 50 and partly sunny
Wind: not much on the run course
Total distance: 10 miles running and about 30 miles biking
Time for the race: 1:07:39
Best part of the day: the scenery on the bike and beating my big bro in the run
This morning I raced the Black Earth 10 mile. Since it was Fleet Feet Madison's birthday and the weather was cooperative, a group of people decided to bike to the race and back from Fleet Feet.
I began the morning helping set up the finish for the Madison 50k at the Arb. Then it was on to the coffee shop in Verona for some coffee. It didn't take long to decide on which coffee I wanted when I noticed a roast called "Bike Fuel."
Ryan (bro) and I headed to Fleet Feet where we met about 10 other bicyclists. Everyone was in good spirits because the weather was pretty nice and most of us had not been on the bike outside in a while.
The ride to Black Earth was perfect. We rode as a group most of the way and enjoyed the nice descents and scenery. The grass is begining its turn to green, we biked past a narrow stream (about 3-4 feet wide) that looked great for trout, and only saw about 5 or less cars the entire ride. This is one of my favorite things about riding on these roads. Having spent the last 3.5 years in San Diego, I will always appreciate biking on roads with minimal cars. Although a few times some riders took off, the ride was mellow with most people staying together and having good conversation.
After arrival we had about 40 mins to get ready-I chose to play a little soccer in the school gym whilst we waited.
At 10, the run started with about 100 people racing. Most of my group started around mid pack. The first 2-4 miles were enjoyable with some chatting between racers and everyone in a good mood. My brother Ryan was near me as we are almost always running the same pace. It has been great fun the last six months racing with Ryan again and pushing each other. Our last race was in January at the multisport Expo where he outran me by about 15 seconds.
After a nice 4 miles or so, people began working and as always happens, the run went from fun and discussion to fighting to hold my place. My breathing was pretty fast and loud-maybe from the bike ride in. I tried to relax and just stay behind Ryan. He seemed to have a lot more energy so my strategy was to stay behind him (and use him to draft) as long as possible and see what happened at the end. Also running in our group of three was Lisa, who had a great race.
At about mile 6, we got passed by two men and Ryan decided to speed up and join them. There was a slight headwind and it made a difference to draft on the second half. I didn't think Ryan could hang with the two so I let him go and figured I would see him later. He must have felt the same because about 30 seconds later he slowed down and Lisa and I joined him again. Ryan continued to pull until just after mile 7 when I figured he was tired and tried to pass him.
I passed him and sped up just enough to change the pace and hopefully max Ryan out who had lead the whole race so far (out of our group). I didn't want to look weak so I didn't look back. I figured he would catch me eventually but I wanted to make him work for it. With about a mile left I looked back and noticed a decent lead. This was a mistake because it made it hard to keep pushing the pace when I knew I had a good lead. I ran the last mile at about 8:30 and felt spent.
I ended up finishing 107:39 a small amount ahead of Ryan and Lisa. The group rested about 30 mins and rode back to Fleet Feet which was about twice as hard on the way back because of headwinds, the race, and 4 big hills that we decended on the way out. Overall it was a great day and I earned my afternoon nap.
Wind: not much on the run course
Total distance: 10 miles running and about 30 miles biking
Time for the race: 1:07:39
Best part of the day: the scenery on the bike and beating my big bro in the run
This morning I raced the Black Earth 10 mile. Since it was Fleet Feet Madison's birthday and the weather was cooperative, a group of people decided to bike to the race and back from Fleet Feet.
I began the morning helping set up the finish for the Madison 50k at the Arb. Then it was on to the coffee shop in Verona for some coffee. It didn't take long to decide on which coffee I wanted when I noticed a roast called "Bike Fuel."
Ryan (bro) and I headed to Fleet Feet where we met about 10 other bicyclists. Everyone was in good spirits because the weather was pretty nice and most of us had not been on the bike outside in a while.
The ride to Black Earth was perfect. We rode as a group most of the way and enjoyed the nice descents and scenery. The grass is begining its turn to green, we biked past a narrow stream (about 3-4 feet wide) that looked great for trout, and only saw about 5 or less cars the entire ride. This is one of my favorite things about riding on these roads. Having spent the last 3.5 years in San Diego, I will always appreciate biking on roads with minimal cars. Although a few times some riders took off, the ride was mellow with most people staying together and having good conversation.
After arrival we had about 40 mins to get ready-I chose to play a little soccer in the school gym whilst we waited.
At 10, the run started with about 100 people racing. Most of my group started around mid pack. The first 2-4 miles were enjoyable with some chatting between racers and everyone in a good mood. My brother Ryan was near me as we are almost always running the same pace. It has been great fun the last six months racing with Ryan again and pushing each other. Our last race was in January at the multisport Expo where he outran me by about 15 seconds.
After a nice 4 miles or so, people began working and as always happens, the run went from fun and discussion to fighting to hold my place. My breathing was pretty fast and loud-maybe from the bike ride in. I tried to relax and just stay behind Ryan. He seemed to have a lot more energy so my strategy was to stay behind him (and use him to draft) as long as possible and see what happened at the end. Also running in our group of three was Lisa, who had a great race.
At about mile 6, we got passed by two men and Ryan decided to speed up and join them. There was a slight headwind and it made a difference to draft on the second half. I didn't think Ryan could hang with the two so I let him go and figured I would see him later. He must have felt the same because about 30 seconds later he slowed down and Lisa and I joined him again. Ryan continued to pull until just after mile 7 when I figured he was tired and tried to pass him.
I passed him and sped up just enough to change the pace and hopefully max Ryan out who had lead the whole race so far (out of our group). I didn't want to look weak so I didn't look back. I figured he would catch me eventually but I wanted to make him work for it. With about a mile left I looked back and noticed a decent lead. This was a mistake because it made it hard to keep pushing the pace when I knew I had a good lead. I ran the last mile at about 8:30 and felt spent.
I ended up finishing 107:39 a small amount ahead of Ryan and Lisa. The group rested about 30 mins and rode back to Fleet Feet which was about twice as hard on the way back because of headwinds, the race, and 4 big hills that we decended on the way out. Overall it was a great day and I earned my afternoon nap.
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