Hammer Duathlon - Duathlon

This isn't really a hard run because the course is mostly flat but mentally tough because most of the last mile is an out and back run across Tellico Dam. It's a long straight-away on a paved path and the turn around point looks really far away and there's no shade. I don't think shade has been an issue in the past but with clear skies and temps in the 70's, it was an issue on Saturday.

This run was also hard for me because I was next to last. I've never done any race where a 10min/mile would put me that far back. It was so disheartening when I was running and I could see down to the road from the dam and everyone else is already on their bikes. I seriously considered turning in my chip. I was done and I wasn't having fun. I'm not sure what made me keep going. I guess part of it was that Dan was there too. My negative self-talk was definitely ready to give up. Unless you've been there it's hard to describe how down I felt about my performance. When I got to the transition area I was surprised I'd turned in such a good time for me based on how many people were ahead of me. I had my watch on but thought for sure it was wrong and I'd done the 3 miles in 35 or 40 minutes.

I don't think I could have done anything differently at this point. To do a run at 10m/m is good for me and there were some super fast people out there. I'm rating this an average because for me it was good but overall, not so good.

I actually thought my transition was faster than this but I'm still happy with my time. It's my first race with bike shoes and clipless pedals so I had to get out of my running shoes and in to my bike shoes. Running in bike shoes kind of sucks but I'm not coordinated enough to think about leaving my shoes clipped in.

Nothing really, I don't think I could go much faster.

Dan and I drove the course the night before and it's hard to get a good sense of what it's like in the dark. It was hillier than we expected. Overall, I'm happy with this leg. I felt comfortable on the bike and was able to stay aero for alot of the ride. I had good speed and even passed a few people. We were instructed to stay on the shoulder for safety and the fact that the road wasn't closed to cars wasn't really an issue. For most of the ride the shoulder was wide enough to accommodate riders. Oh, and I love my new tri/bike shoes. I almost forgot too, I had a gel at the turn-around point.

Not much, try to push harder up the hills but I think I had a pretty good bike leg on a hilly course. Practice taking gels on the bike, this is the first time I've done this while rolling and I had to slow down to do it.

I came in from the bike leg and stopped short of where we were supposed to dismount; I was so concerned about getting unclipped and I didn't want to fall.

Nothing. I think this is a decent time for this transition.

I think I drank a little too much water on the bike. I finished the water I had on my aero bottle and it caused me to get a side stitch at the beginning of this run. I didn't have any leg cramping but I did stop and walk a short time to work out the side cramps.

Hope the course for the second run is a reverse of the first one. It's not an exciting course to begin with and to run it the same way twice is even less exciting. Other than that, just go faster.

Walked around, got some water and waited for the awards ceremony.


My genes. Honestly, I don't know. At this point in my training I feel okay about my speed but I got smoked by a lot of faster people this weekend.


I gave this race a 4 because it is a good race that was well organized and had good volunteers. I might do it again and it was a good early season race to see where I stand among the faster seasoned athletes (at the BOP.) I also don't think duathlons are my sport, I think I'll stick to triathlons. I realized I like starting with a swim.