This felt like a good run and I stayed in zone 4 for the most part. I saw a lot of people pass me who I would then pass on the second run. Wore my windbreaker jacket only because I didn't want to mess with putting it on in T1.

Be faster

Very interesting, I found a thing of lip balm in my cycling shoe! No worries though, didn't cost me more than a couple of seconds.

I considered doing the whole strap your shoes to the bike thing, but I hadn't practiced it and I didn't want the first time to be in a race. Also I didn't see many others doing it. Maybe it's just a tri thing?

First there was the bridge, long and mildly steep. I averaged 12-13 mph going up and >30 going down (that was fun) The rest of the first half I was cruising along 22-25 mph and 95-100 rpm. Little did I know this was partly due to a tailwind.

On the turnaround, things immediately changed. I started averaging 17-18 mph if I was lucky. When the gusts hit it dropped to 15 or below. Still, disappointed my hopefully good time was out the window, I kept the cadence up at about 85-90 rpm and tried not to think about the bridge. Then it hit. 10 mph up the bridge and only 22 coming down! I didn't even get in the aero position going down because I thought the gusts were going to knock me off my bike.

Also, I don't know how far the course actually was. They said 30K, the map says 8.64 to the turn around, and the bike computer said 17.41 (including running with it). None of these add up to what the results posted as my pace - 17.2. Hammergel around 3/4 point.

This was a good intro to Cervelo Dual 101. I had in my mind before hand that I was really going to push it on the bike and if my 2nd run suffered then to hell with it. I wanted to see just how fast I could get my new bike (and how much I've improved since I first started biking). Even though my pace doesn't reflect it I can tell I've come very far. My HR was avg 162 and I've been using 152 I think as my LT. I guess it's time to reassess!

I just don't understand how all the people that pass me do it. I only passed 2 people total and I think it was the same guy twice. This tells me while I've improved I've still got a lot of room to get better.

Conserve a little more on the first half. I thought it would be easy cruising the whole way. Keep the wind in mind next time!

Got a little miffed trying to mess with zipper on jacket ($5 piece of crap). Oh well, I could use the breather.

Hopefully I won't do too many events that involve cold weather gear. Also, practice unstrapping on the bike and dismounting.

This part felt really good. Especially since I was questioning my legs every time I geared up on the bike. But like I said before I said to hell with it and this turned out to be OK. Probably not a good idea for the 1/2 coming up though. Passed a lot of people who blew by me on the bike and I don't think a single person passed me. I think maybe a few months ago I would have fallen apart during this leg. Note: my old 10K time from October is almost the same as these two splits added together so that's at least something.

Keep up the miles, get faster.

Walked around, stretched, water. Then went back to the food table and got a coke, banana, and a slice of pizza. I ended up having 3 slices total and then went across the street for an ice cream scoop. Pizza, ice cream, and coke - I don't think I've eaten a meal like that since I was about 12, ha! Also had an orange.


I'd like to blame it all on the wind, but I guess everyone had that. I curse the wind on the Schuylkill every time I go out but I guess it's good for me in the end.

Basically just practice and endurance - especially the bike. While I'm not a fast runner, I would definitely consider myself a slow cyclist - there is definitely the most room for improvement here.


Overall I'm happy (just my second multisport event) and just what I was looking for - a warmup for the 1/2 iron later in May. Even though I'll be doing the 1/2 in zones 2 and maybe 3 it was still good to get in an actual race and just get used to biking etc. in that situation.