Shamrock Duathlon - Duathlon

Seemed like several guys were itching to get on the front line for the start of the race which I'm very use to so a little extra push once the race started and I was clear and found myself in 3rd overall. Two guys went out like their pants were on fire so I just let them go. My game plan was to make this a bike-focus weekend, so I was aiming to run strong but not push too hard, and focus on really going hard on the bike leg.

During the warmups though I realized my legs felt like mush from Saturday and that going really hard on the bike might not happen. About 300 yards into the race either I moved up on the guys in front of me or they realized they were out too hard, and I found myself on the heels of 2nd place. At first I was going to just draft him, but I could hear him breathing hard already so I just went around him no problem. First place guy was about 20 yards ahead of me, and soon enough I was on his heels. We were only about 1/2 mile into the race and he and I were side by side. I couldn't help but notice he looked over at me a good 3 or 4 times, was kind of funny. At that point I rethought my gameplan of running conservatively and biking hard, and decided to just go for the run! What the hell, how often do I find myself with the opportunity to lead the race of a duathlon!

So we hit the hill, I moved into solo first place before the 1 mile mark, and just went for it. I wasn't going all out, but I was determined to lead all the way to T1, something I've never done before and wanted to experience that moment. I tried to hold back what I could while staying in front but conserving something for the bike and second run, but it was a tight rope as I could hear those in back of me.

Since it was a two-loop 5K, it was very cool to come through the spectator area in first, especially with the kids there cheering. I think they were surprised too. There were no mile markers so I had no clue how fast I was going, and although I was getting tired, I promised myself there was no way anyone would beat me into T1 at that point, even if I paid for it later. So I was able to hold the lead throughout and hit T1 in first, with some guy a few seconds back, very cool!

Not much considering, I was extremely happy to be in first even if it wasn't the smartest move. It's been eons since I've been in first, so a great, fun experience. I'm glad I jumped at the opportunity and went for it! It was fun as hell and an awesome feeling! I love running behind the police cruiser!!

How they have T1 set up I thought sucked but it was what it was. I watched the race a couple years ago and saw everyone falling down when they tried to mount their bike on the road cause when you first hit the road, your on a hill. So I intentially kept running with the bike about 50 yds up the hill and then mounted, which worked out perfect.

If I really wanted to shave time, I would have used my zip-ties on the running shoes. I wasn't too concerned about having a great transition so I took the time to untie my racing flats so they were ready for T2.

My legs felt like mush from the start of the bike, surely the 5K was to blame but so was yesterday's long ride. I tried to maintain 20 plus mph on the flats where I could, but I definitely could have done better on the climbing. I could feel the hamstrings and quads all nice and tight and I remember laughing think, yep, this one's gonna hurt!

Nothing considering. I didn't feel too fresh, and with my revised gameplan, I wanted to have something for the run so I could make up some time and catch some people ahead of me. After hitting T1 in first, it was a bit demotivating to have a fair number of riders pass me on the bike. But hey, they were riding well so good for them!

I didn't enjoy running the bike down that hill with my bike shoes on. I took the time to tie my racing shoes back on and lost some time there. Was funny, a guy hit T2 right behind me, and mounted his bike next to mine. As I was tieing my first shoe, he took off running. Those zip-tie laces sure come in handy. I caught him running up that grassy hill though!

Use the other laces to save time, not much else.

As I was finishing the bike course, those already running were heading the opposite way on the other side of the road. I made a mental note to see what they were wearing and how far ahead of me they were so I could aim for catching them. Was good motivation.

The first 1/2 mile I caught a few people but had that brick feeling in the legs and felt like I wasn't going anywhere! Funny how that works. I reminded myself the legs would loosen up and to keep running hard. I immediately caught a few guys, then it was pretty spread out up ahead. As I finished the first loop, I was definitely feeling spent but I saw a group of about 5 guys running together maybe 200 yards up. I knew about 25 guys had passed me on the bike and I really wanted to at least finish in the top 20, so I pushed hard. They had a good lead on me, if I could catch them I knew it would be near the finish since I only had 1.5 miles to go, so I kept telling myself I was realing them in slowly but surely. With a few hundred yards to go, I caught them all. I heard a few say "good job", made the turn down the grassy hill, passed one more guy, and was all clear while running down the middle of the football field for the finish!

Nothing.

None. My calve was killing me so I actually went to the massage table for a few minutes.


Saturday's workout I think. Other than that I felt pretty strong and the run splits were far better than I expected.


I might do this race again. Was a very good race, was very happy with how it went. They could use a few more volunteers though, but I know first hand how hard that can be. Police did a great job, level of competition was good. I think the turnout was about 275 I think they announced.