March, 2003
Ruebanawi
Shah Alam

Fakawi Wins Duathlon
Malakoff Duathlon, Shah Alam, 30th March 2003

I enunciated my competitive campaign this year by participating in the Malakoff Duathlon series. Being a pure cyclist, I entered the mixed team relay event with Haley Holle, an excellent runner whom I had met in February. The event consisted in a 10km run, 50km
ride and finally, a 5km run. For my part this effectively entailed riding a 50km time-trial. Cyclists refer to time-trialing as a test of truth because a rider cannot benefit from the assistance of
team-mates or by sitting behind the wheel of other riders in order to get protection from the wind. Time-trials require a high degree of muscular endurance and the ability to work at or close to lactate threshold- the point at which the demand for oxygen necessary for repeated muscular contraction at a given intensity outweighs the heart’s ability to deliver it.

The day began early as race-start was scheduled at 7:30am. Although I had brought my wind-trainer to enable an effective and controlled warm-up on the bike, I only managed 10 minutes on it, before my bicycle had to be checked into the transitions area. Thus, I would have to find an alternative means of warming up while Haley ran her 10km. After the start, I stood around until about 20 minutes prior to her projected arrival time and then jogged to elevate my heart-rate in the hope that this would suffice for a 50km flat-out effort on the bike. Going from zero to hero with no warm-up was bound to be a recipe for disaster particularly for time-trialing purposes.

At just over 43 minutes, Haley appeared being the first female runner back. Hastily, she passed her number belt to me, and as calmly possible, I put it on checking that my race number would be visible. Panic is never a good thing during a race. Although it was
probably only a minute or so before I was off on my bike, it felt like an eternity, fumbling with the finicky elastic band. Quickly, I clipped into the pedals and began my ride, climbing out of the saddle as I accelerated through the gears before settling into my chosen rhythm.

The time-trial course involved three 17km loops which contained seven traffic circles and mostly left hand turns. There were roughly three long climbs between a hundred to two hundred or so meters, though there were a few minor ascents along the way. This was not a flat course at all. It would be important to choose gears wisely and to avoid mashing heavy gears in order to conserve muscle glycogen. During the week before I performed a test run over a harder course covering 43km while averaging 35.5 km/h. From this test, I elected to keep an average heart rate of about
170beats per minute and a cadence of about 100rpm for best efficiency.

On lap 1, I felt smooth and strong, although I rode probably just a notch harder than I had intended to. By the end, I came through transition in just under 28 minutes when I had planned to ride a 29 minute lap. My cadence was steady and my heart-rate about 170bpm.
However, I elected to ride more conservatively in the subsequent lap to avoid blowing up spectacularly in the final one. I chose to use the small chain-ring over the longer climbs and kept my cadence high at about 95rpm. This strategy seemed to work since I
passed many riders on these climbs and my legs remained fresh on the flats. At the end of lap 2, I could feel my left calf cramping slightly, a reminder that more gym and strength work would be necessary during coming year. However, a quick swallow of a granola bar seemed to quell this problem. As I came in through transition, I could hear Chris shouting at me, clocking just below 29 minutes. Lap 3 would have to be where I gave it my all and I eventually clocked a sub 28 minute lap-time. My heart-rate remained around 170 rising to about 174bpm on some of the climbs. In any case I was not suffering as I completed lap 3, and probably had more to give. Overall, I could not complain with my ride with my limited time-trialing experience.

Haley finished off her 5km run with a solid lead after the first two legs of the race. We won the team event by nearly 9 minutes trumping even three person teams. I look forward to another successful outing on May 18th where Haley and I will attempt to defend our title.

Here is the ride in numbers:

Average speed: 36.8km/h
Average cadence: 100rpm
Average Heart Rate: 170bpm
Average Power: 200 watts (though I’m not sure this is
accurate).
Distance covered: 51.5km
Total time: 1:24:00

Post-ride analysis revealed that I was only 5 minutes slower than the fastest ride time. Regrettably the fast times were mostly set by riders who were drafting. Overall, it was an excellent event and I had an equally excellent team-mate.

- R. Ruebanawi