My first duathlon...I had no idea what to expect, but I sure was charged up to start. I set some general goals, run 7:30/splits and bike at a pace between 20-25 MPH. Other than that, go as hard as I could, as long as I could.
Run 1 (2 Miles, I measured 1.99): 14:25 ( 7:13, 7:12), I was totally amped up and just went with it. I was thinking wow this would be a great pace to finish with! 10th fastest time.
T1: :59, thought I could have moved a bit faster here, but had to walk as soon as I entered. This was a bit confusing, because at the pre-race meeting we were told we could run until we grabbed our bikes. I had my shoes open and ready to receive my feet, bike helmet on my handlebars with straps out. Slight issue locking in my left pedal, but I think I just was anxious to hit the road.
Bike (22 Miles, I measured 20.86): 57:40/Avg Sp 21.7/Top Sp 29.9, pretty nice bike course, some rolling hills, but nothing too challenging. There were some traffic control issues and on this two lap course, I actually missed a turn. It wasn't clearly marked and didn't have flaggers like the rest of the turns. I guess I should have studied the road map better, my fault. I had one of the triathletes that kept me a bit of company and that helped quite a bit. Have I mentioned how much I love my bike? It's so smooth and I feel as though I get so much power out of it, even after only three weeks. In the second lap most of the big time triathletes zipped by me with their full aero bikes. (Sigh) During the bike I took in two servings of Clif Shots (about 200 calories) We didn't get to ride right up to the transition area, so the little run in my bike shoes on somewhat jelly legs was awkward to say the least. I finished the bike with the 2nd fastest time. Nice!
T2: :52 Wow...I found out suddenly that I really kicked my ass on the bike. I knew I was pushing hard, but didn't realize how hard. Legs were very wobbly getting out of the transition area, but I did.
Run 2 (4 Miles, I measured 3.94): 32:57 (8:06, 8:09, 8:30, 8:10) I knew right off the bat that I was not going to get to 7:30 splits. It was all I could do now to target 8:00/mile. The run out of the transition area was a slight downhill a a pretty "rooty" path, not very good for jelly legs. Then a slight uphill, before winding through a quiet, nicely shaded (thank God!) residential area. The race officials handled traffic and directions well. I was just about completely spent at mile 3 and was running on shear will power. I refused to stop running, knowing that if I did, I wouldn't be able to start again. In some ways it reminded me of my first marathon right around mile 23. Anyway....finished this leg in the 10th fastest time.
Add it all up and what do you get?!?
Total Time: 1:45:55
Overall: 4 out of 35, 3 out of 33 men, 1 out of 2 in my age group
This seems impressive for me, but I have to remember that the studs of the day did the triathlon not the duathlon, so I won't take TOO MUCH stock in this place. I didn't stick around for awards, so I don't know if I won anything. I won't complain too much if I get something.
Now on to my race review...
Overall, I think this race went off smoothly, especially for it's second time and the fact that the race director had some vehicle issues on his final course ride through prior to the start. The transition area was monitored well, packet pick up was easy, and there was a decent crowd on the course with tons of volunteers.
What could be improved? I think the timing was a bit messed up. I clocked myself at 1:45:55, but the time on the website was 1:46:56, almost exactly a minute off. There wasn't a gun start, just a lady counting down and saying "GO!" when we were supposed to start. I can imagine that starting two different events (duathlon and triathlon) at two locations at the same time must be tough, but I think a gun or horn would have taken care of this. I had one slightly irritating moment that I didn't discover until my second time around the bike loop, during the first loop I missed a turn. All of the other turns had very helpful people pointing the way. In the second loop I got the right turn, because the flag person was actually there. Hopefully, I didn't add too much time to my ride and I had a few others that were around me that made the same mistake. Again, the race director must have worked tirelessly to get all of this together, one suggestion...never ask a crowd of over 300 people if they have any questions after you review the rules and right before you start!
And lastly, I rewarded myself with this tasty treat....can anyone identify it?!?
