Okay, time for a little recap of the duathlon. The weather was perfect. Absolutely perfect. When I left the house at 6am the temperature was 60 degrees and there was no wind. And sunrise is a beautiful time of day. I always tell myself I should better aquaint myself with this time of day, but it never seems to happen. I biked at a leisurely pace along the river road into downtown. I found a good spot for the Brave Arrow in the transition zone: Georgia. This was the name printed on the large banner above the bikes in my section. When participants enter the transition zone, they use fifty state banners to help locate their bikes. After a short warm up I joined the first wave.
It wasn't long after the start that I found myself in the top ten. The first 5k was very relaxed. I should mention that I didn't take splits during the race, which is unusual for me. I like to go by the watch but this time I went by feel. The first 5k was probably a little too relaxed, at 18:41. Nonetheless, I came through in 5th place. My first transition was smooth and quick.
I felt good on the bike and was able to maintain a slightly faster pace than I anticipated, about 21 mph. Three people passed me right away. I wasn't passed again until a lone cyclists passed me at mile 8. Then a large group passed me at mile 10. This was enough to induce panic and despair - and rage against the chain ring. I cranked away in a vain effort to hang on. The group soon disappeared. I wasn't passed again until near the end of the ride, when three more people passed me. The second transition was going well until I realized I had identified the wrong exit. I asked a volunteer for directions and then I was on my way out of the parking lot. It was still a quick transition.
I passed nine people in the first mile of the run. After that point, the runners from the first wave were interspersed among the crowd of runners from later waves who were running their first 5k. It was difficult to pick out those I needed to chase. The mind needs targets as motivation when the body is tired. I would have prefered an open road with only those from the first wave. Then I could have squeezed out every ounce of energy. My second 5k was 17:48.
My total time was 1:28:12. I didn't know where I placed until I looked at online results later in the day: 5th place. Better than expected. It was fun to try something different. It was good to race and feel competitive. Could I have gone faster? Maybe. The first 5k could have been faster, but then it may have been detrimental to the bike.
So who does duathlons? Runners. Cyclsits. People who think triathlons sound exciting but don't like to swim. It seems like duathletes are predominantly cyclists. I have never had the impression that many runners cross over into the cycling scene - with notable exceptions of course.
On a final note, here was my brunch meal after the race: breakfast burrito, tall stack of buttermilk pancakes, one Bell's Two-Hearted Ale.
5k - 18:41 (5th)
T1 - 1:34
bike - 48:38 (61st)
T2 - 1:34
5k - 17:48 (2nd)
Total - 1:28:12 (5th)
