Delaware Valley Duathlon - Duathlon

I went out in the Clyde group, which went last, consisted of maybe 7-8 people, including two ladies on relay teams.. That's a recipe for disaster. I know I'm supposed to run generally easy on the first run, but when you're going out and trying to avoid embarrassment, it's tough to stick to that plan; keeping people in sight becomes a bit more important. I passed one guy in the group in the first mile, maybe 3-4 slower runners from earlier groups. Somewhere after two miles I looked at the Garmin and noticed I was on pace for what would've been a 5K personal record, under 29 minutes. Exactly the wrong thing to do, and seeing that, just the numbers, made me tired. So I slowed down, even walked a little through the water stop. In the end, I probably should've just gone for the personal record since I was likely already done for the second run at that point. At least I didn't go off course this time.

Legitimate answer would be to just go out slower but I'm pretty sure, with that few in my group, that I'd do the same thing if we raced again tomorrow.

About 200y mostly uphill coming off the run into transition, so I just kind of walked in and took my time. Jogged easy in the bike shoes coming out.

Nothing.

Little further back in the pack than I normally am on the bike. I passed a whole bunch of people, and my legs were right on that soreness edge, particularly on the climbs, not quite screaming but making their displeasure with me evident enough. Power meter acted up, throwing off all kinds of weird readings, then settling in on a scale that appeared to be 75w-100w off what I'd expect, essentially useless data. Seems like a tough ride to me, which doesn't say much for my cycling ability.

Don't know that I could've done anything differently. I felt like I pushed it pretty good on the ride; stayed in the best gear possible on the downhill portions, rode the small ring on the climbs. And given my performance on the second run, it seems safe to suggest that I shouldn't have gone any harder than I actually did..

Got my feet out of the shoes early enough it wasn't a problem, but the Velcro did want to stick my socks. I was hurting by the time I got off the bike. Tried to jog to my rack - positioned all the way at the back (but very close to the run out) - but eventually resorted to a walk. Even with that, time came in about where T2 normally does. Running shoes went on pretty easy with the lock laces.

Given current conditioning...nothing.

Given the rubbery sensation in my legs, along with the lactic acid flowing through the muscles, I suspect I was a comical sight exiting T2, taking mincing little steps just to try and get some momentum. Out on the park road, which was a long climb - not steep, but certainly noticeable - I took the first of several walks on the second run, 20-30 seconds. Thereafter, they came at roughly 3-5 minute intervals. I'd say 5-6 people I picked off on the bike caught me again on this run. I'd originally planned to make this run a time trial, a basis for future training. As it turned out, it ended up as a faster than normal training run. I mean, I walked for 20 or so seconds going into the last .15 miles or so, and that just so I could look in control as I came up that last little hill before the finish. Some chick and her boyfriend behind me decided to sprint after coming off the hill; i heard the finish line guy with the microphone talking about her - and me too: "That guy just said, let her go, man, let her go." I waved her on. Totally blown at the end.

I think the answer to this has nothing to do with the actual race, and everything to do with training. On the drive over, TSW asked if I felt good, if I was ready to go. I told her I felt like I hadn't really done enough, at least not for a duathlon, and certainly not enough to expect super results. That turned out to be prescient. Now, this was never expected to be more than just a good solid training weekend for the first tri of the year in about a month, and it definitely served that purpose. All I can say - and I've thought it before - is that dus are hard, especially so if the first and second runs are the same distance, they're harder than tris with comparable bike and run legs. Even as poorly as I swim, that first run is tougher even than my lousy swims. So, the answer to the question of what I'd do differently is, train specifically for a duathlon.

My typical finish: grab a water bottle and walk around until I feel like a human again, one with a normal heart rate.


My conditioning level at this point in the season.


Great early season race at a great location. Very competitive too; the local multi-sport superstars all seem to show up for this one, and it is a good early season tune-up. Heck, it's worth entering just to see all the awesome new tri-bikes. Cervelo seemed to be the favorite this year.