Kevin O'Connor placed 6th overall / 2nd 35-39M at Duathlon Nationals last weekend. The 2009 US Duathlete of the Year was not satisfied with these results, but as ever, kept smiling. He was philosophical about the experience. These are his comments:
"Du Nationals was run extremely well. And the people in VA are so very polite and nice. "Minnesota Nice" has to be retired.
"The course was as goofy as Worlds. Several turns per “lap”. Of course a lap was actually a loop that brought you back past transition as you then went to complete an out-and-back with a u-turn which then brought you back past transition to finish the lap. And you did that 3 times. So you actually rode by transition 6 times on the bike. With a very large disparity in riding speeds it was always a bit tricky at all of the turns. At all 27 turns I had to slow (to some exctent) for the other riders on the course. Considering I was riding a more than twice the speed of most riders going into those corners it is not the safest way to operate waves.
"I did not race all that well. I couldn’t go out until Saturday and I never got my head in the game and I did not hydrate well. In fact, I am still so sore (from racing dehydrated) that I can't quite walk down stairs yet. The first run felt good and the bike started pretty well but I never could get going and I watched my wattage fall throughout the bike. And the second run was no better. Halfway through the run I realized I was just "jogging" and I finally got my legs moving to finish the run. I know I could have go 90 seconds faster but the fact is I didn't. Not the way I wanted to race at Nationals but that is how it sometimes goes.
"I am not going to Worlds in Scotland. I don’t have the time, money, or interest to do it. I know someone will be happy to take the rolldown slot and represent the US quite well." - KO
LATER TODAY: COLT & Falls Du Highlights & Results Links.
NOTE: MTN will post results links for, hopefully, ALL Minnesota's 2010 multisport events on our Calendar Page. CALENDAR/RESULTS
