Mud Sweat 'n Gears - DuathlonStandard

Felt kinda slow on the start. Found a couple of guys who were setting a comfortable pace and stuck behind them for the whole first go 'round. I was immediately towards the BOP, but I was okay with that.

Train more before hand.

Simple transition here. Put on helmet, take bike off rack, and go. I put my gloves on while I was riding.

Nothing.

Bike was alot of fun. Hauling ass down a trail with rocks, trees, stumps and roots was exhilerating. It was hard, there were some ascents that I had to get off the bike and walk up, but I wasn't alone in that. Bike handled pretty well - would have liked a little suspension on a couple of the descents as the rocks and roots make navigation a little tricky. The trail had a couple of technical spots, mostly the downhills, but they were short and manageable.

Train more on the MTB. I only put the stubby's back on Thursday night.

Easy transition. Take off bike helmet, put on hat, and start running. Not changing shoes makes life SOOOO much easier.

Nothing.

Felt pretty good on the run. Started running with another guy who was running the same pace, and we did pretty well. Shoe lace came untied, but that didn't slow us down much. Had a nice run, chatted a bit, and we probably pulled eachother along a lot faster than we expected. This was a good run for me.

Train more.

Not much.


Poor preparation, lack of experience with route, and lack of experience on my MTB. It's been YEARS since I've ridden an MTB on trails. And I don't think I've ever really RUN off-road either.


Didn't have enough volunteers. When I finished the bike, I didn't know where to go to get out for the run - do I go AROUND the timing mat (following the signs for the run course), or do I go OVER the mat (the same mat I went over while exiting T1). There was NOONE there to help, and the instructions were poor.

All in all, though, it was a fun event and I had a GREAT time. I was not looking forward to the race - if I hadn't already paid, I probably would have found a reason to stay in bed - and given my less than satisfying results in Hyannis in Sept, I haven't been training that much. It was really nice to get back out on the bike, and it was awesome to have a strong run performance. I didn't walk AT ALL!!!! I ran all 4 miles. I'm very pleased. I finished BOP, and probably last in my age group, but I'm okay with that. I fell off the wagon, climbed back on, and I'm thrilled.