CHARLOTTE LONG COURSE DUATHLON - DuathlonWinter

Raining steadily at this point; traction very bad in places.

Went out a little fast in the first mile, but I was prepared for that. Maybe this was much too fast, however? Even though I backed off the pace I couldn't seem to get my HR down (compare with second leg where I couldn't seem to raise my HR).

Had to empty a lot of water out of my helmet, and had a little difficulty fastening one of my shoes.

Launched a water bottle twice within the first 4 miles; thought twice about going back to pick it up, but it contained half my nutrition, so erred on the side of caution. Loved this course, actually; I thought it suited someone with all-round bike skills.

1) Secure water bottles
2) Use a different chain lubricant; the Tri-flo had mostly washed off by the time I hit the bike and the chain was sounding dry.
3) Cornered a little more aggressively

In and out in a flash. Grabbed my hat and was wringing it out as I crossed the timing mat.

This was a hard run. Conditions were very slippery. I couldn't feel my feet for a couple of miles, but running through a couple of warm puddles helped speed up the process of getting feeling back. Legs felt terrible and I just couldn't seem to get them working any faster (hence the surprisingly low HRs). Did maintain a pretty consistent pace, however.

I think this run got inside my head a little. I was pretty tired by that point, but I think I needed to focus and be a little more positive so I could pick the pace up a bit in the second half.

Are you kidding? Warming up was the order of the day. Took a recovery drink, then had a hot dog and some hot coffee before heading for the heated bathrooms to throw on multiple layers of clothing.


Its early in the season for me, and I've also been fighting a low level stomach flu for a couple of weeks.


Even though this was a small race (just under 100 starters) the organization and support was great; the number of police out there alone, controlling the ride route, was more typical of a much larger event. Everyone was friendly, even the volunteers who stood out there in miserable conditions. And the bike course alone made this one worthwhile.