Philadelphia Women's Duathlon - DuathlonStandard

I went out fairly fast, faster than I intended, although I don't think I was hurt by it at all.

In hindsight, for a two-miler, I probably could have pushed it a little harder to drop below an 8 minute mile.

I spent more time in transition than I thought. I felt like I zoomed in and out, but I guess not. Since I was in the first wave, there weren't many people in transition when I got there.

Pay more attention to my time, adrenaline had me thinking I was moving fast, but I was apparently not. I definitely lost a few places in overall rank due to my slow transitions.

I was having a hard time on the bike. I was biking in my running sneakers, which were wet on the soles after running through the grass transition area, and I had a hard time keeping my feet on the pedals for the first two or three miles until they dried out. Also, I just couldn't get comfortable on the bike. I'm not sure if it was nerves or what, but I kept shifting on my seat, feeling like I was crunched up too far forward...and I realized when I got off the bike that I was actually sitting way to far back. I was sitting practically on the tops of my hamstrings!

It was particularly rough for me mentally too, b/c while my run is good enough that I wasn't being passed by subsequent waves during that segment, for the entire first loop of the bike, I passed no one, and was being passed by what felt like everyone on the bike. I had considered before the race that scenario, b/c I'm more of a beginner on the bike, but the reality of being passed by so many people was much harsher than I anticipated. For the first loop, b/w my wet sneakers, inability to relax and get comfortable on the seat, and being passed continuously, I was just miserable and wanted off the bike.

When I started the second lap, it was the middle of primetime for the bike start for the later waves. There were a still some strong bikers passing me, but with more people on the course, I finally had some people to keep pace with, and even pass.

One not so good thing was that as we were getting ready to head down a small hill into the final straightaway the road splits into two. There was a race official/volunteer standing on the penninsula b/w the two road options shouting and waving/pointing to us keep us on the course at the split. I had a split second of panic when I saw him until I fully realized what he was trying to convey. Ifelt like it wasn't quite enough...they probably should have put up a wooden barrier on the other side and/or had a big sign pointing us in the right direction.

I also felt the warning to slow for dismount was a little late, but this was my first race, so maybe it was just later than I thought it would be, not later than it should have been. A woman was shouting to slow down for dismount, so I stopped pedaling and got ready to brake. All of a sudden, there was the dismount line...couldn't have been more than 30 yards from the woman. So, I braked fairly hard and got off right at the line (there was another woman getting off a few yards past the line ahead of me, so I think maybe I wasn't the only one surprised at how close it was). It was kind of tough, b/c right after getting off, we had to almost immedately turn to the right, come to a dead stop, and lift our bikes over a pretty high curb onto the grass.

Not get psyched out. I also learned that I wasn't training as hard on the bike as I thought, so I need to step that up if I want to improve my speed. And, I have to relax and get situated on my bike seat.

T2 was much slower than I thought. I did pause at the rack to take a drink and eat two bites of a Clif Bar, but considering that I didn't even have to change my shoes, my T2 was super-long.

Also, as soon as I dismounted the bike, I knew immediately why I couldn't get comfortable during the bike portion...and I knew I was in trouble for the run! I had been sitting not on my sit bones, but completely on the tops of my legs, not on my arse at all! It hurt! Not like a tight muscle, but like a bruise from being hit. And it was nothing like the rubbery legs I had prepared for, in fact, I had none of that at all...or possibly I couldn't feel the rubberies with pain from sitting incorrectly on the bike. Every step felt like someone was hitting me right below my arse cheeks with a hockey stick. Ouch!

I need to be more mindful of my transition time!

My legs hurt for the entire 2nd run b/c of how I was sitting on my bike. Every single step hurt, but in the end I ran the pace I was expecting to for the second run (and a lot faster than I thought I was running at the time.)

My 2nd run pace was pretty good, considering. I did a 10 miler in May at a 9:05 pace (also a flat course), so I think beating that in the final segment of a du AND after what I did to myself on the bike, beating that time was pretty good. The difference b/w my pace on the 1st and 2nd runs was high, but that is mainly b/c I did the first run faster than I anticipated. Also, I think that if I hadn't been sitting incorrectly on the bike segment, this run would have been quite a bit faster than it was/faster than I anticipated.

Next time I think I can probably push faster on the run. My bike position killed me for the second run this time, but it looks like I'll be able to hold up a faster pace for the 5k next time...as long as I can keep from having another bike position fiasco!

Got some food (the race had a great post-race food selection), collected my things from transition, and biked 4-5 miles home...very slowly.


My psych-out and positioning issues on the bike. Also, my overall speed ability on the bike.


Good overall, sans a little mixup as to what side of the road/lane we were supposed to be running on for the 5k.