1.) Felt smooth and relaxed. Hydrated even at 1.5 kms since I knew lack of
hydration always hits me later.

2.) The course was unmarked for 3.75k, and everyone actually ended up
turning around at 5.25 kms instead! Also WASTED 0.5 - 1 MINUTE at the
5.25km turnaround wondering what to do and then sped up to the finish.

3.) So stupid!

Nothing.

1.) Calm, but not relaxed. Took a bit of time to get my bearings and ensure
I took everything.

2.) A little bit disorganized, but definitely SLOW.

3.) Drank as much water as I could at T1 before leaving.

Practise more transitions! For this race, I just didnt want to forget/skip anything so I took it slowly.

Probably had the longest transitions in the whole event!

1.) Bike workout was good overall considering consistency of effort and
speed.

2.) I dropped my water bottle right at the start after mounting my bike
because I was going too slow and was still wobbly. So I had to stop,
dismount and get it back.

3.) My back and a bit of my hips were really tight since the first 5k
which I thought was because I just didn't stretch properly, but
actually the hips loosened up but the lower back just got worse and
worse.

4.) In the last 20-25k, I had to keep disturbing the rhythm and stand up
to pedal for a 30 seconds every now and then to stretch out my lower
back. It helped for a few mins while my power went up and then I'd
have to get up again. This led to a lot of speeding up and slowing
down.

5.) Only used my aerobars for a total of 5-10 mins due to lower back pain
and because I kept thinking that it would get worse if I used them. It
was almost unbearable by the end.

6.) Pretty consistent effort, not much cardiovascular or leg fatigue. Good
power overall but I could tell it was fading by the last 10k. HR was
also high Z3. I should REALLY be controlling it more, especially on a
flat course like this. I think it was the adrenaline of the event and
the fact that my heart always beats 4-5 BPM faster during morning
workouts as compared with evening workouts.

7.) I averaged 34.1 km/hr on my bike PC, and measured 90.6 kms on the
course. Anyone else note the extra 0.5 kms or is it that my PC is not
correctly calibrated?! Taking out the first and last 50m (took almost
1 minute to walk back into T2 after dismounting and hobbling with my
bike in back pain), the slow-downs in the beginning and final 1.0 km,
and the fact that I dropped my water bottle (~30s to 60s) lowered my
average overall to officially 33.0 km/hr?

8.) Hydration/Nutrition: Had 1 concentrated bottle of Gatorade, almost 2
full bottles of water from the bottle exchanges = GOOD but still not
enough, I think. Ate heavy granola bars at 20,80 mins into the bike. I
wanted to have another one, but I couldn't get it open!! Taping the
bars to the top tube was a GREAT idea!


Get a hydration pack to mount on my aerobars.

Condition my body more.

1.) Calm, but not relaxed again. A bit disoriented and disorganized.
Wanted to take it slow again to ensure I don't forget anything.

2.) Back is VERY stiff, can't bend down. Tying run shoelaces was a pain.

3.) Worried about right calf cramping so I stretched that for a bit.
Should've focused on back instead.

4.) Drank as much water as I could at T2 before leaving. Didn't eat my 3rd
granola bar, I really should have.


...again, practise transitions!

1.) The run was OK overall but the first 5k were a disaster!! Constantly
stop and go because of the back. It hurt like mad. Had to keep
hydrating and eating since I couldn't ingest my solid granola bars.
Really low motivation in the beginning since I felt horrible and
stiff. Then I drank too much HEED/Water and my stomach was blocked up
in between 3-5k. Anytime I felt like loosening up my stride, stretch
my shoulders/hamstrings, I was afraid that my back would just seize up
and I'd have to walk the rest or abandon the race.

2.) Legs felt a bit like jello for the first few kms, but they were
responsive to effort. Surprisingly OK, with no noticeable pain in the
legs anywhere.

3.) Until 8 km, I still had low motivation and had to stop to get back
rubs from the volunteer! She was awesome. I asked her name when I
passed her the last time (Nancy) and thanked her. I also made sure to
mention it to John at the finish line. In total, I probably spent 2-3
mins stopping for back rubs / hydrating at aid stations (I was almost
walking).

4.) Felt better around 9-10 km mark. In between stops, I was still doing
4:40-4:50 min/km despite the back pain. Concentration was slowly
getting better.

5.) Began doing 4:30-4:40 min/km in the last 12 kms. Splashed/doused water
all over the body at every aid station (no more slowing down for
water!).
I think my splits were something like 54 mins for the first 10k and 51
mins for the last 11.1 kms!! Last 100m sprint was 18s!!

6.) No severe pain in legs overall. No cramping in legs, but stomach acted
up a few brief times on the run.

7.) Hydration/Nutrition: BAD nutrition overall. Had at least 7-8 glasses
of water, 5-6 glasses of Hammer HEED ( = GOOD!) but couldn't eat any
solid food since I had no saliva. Adequate but I should've really had
some more solid food in me.. Didn't feel like having any more.


This was the slowest half marathon I've ever done since I started running and did my first ever half...I was aiming for 1:33-1:38

.heck this is almost slower than my final goal iron distance marathon pace!!

I really need to figure out my back issues, and learn more mental focus strategies for those first few kms as well.

Stretch
2 cartons of chocolate milk.
Bagel with jam and butter.
Massage.

...2 Burgers! These were sooo good!


LESSONS LEARNT:

a.) Since this was my first official duathlon race, I figured out some
basic things already known to everyone. For example, if I want to
average a certain speed on the bike, I need to aim approx. ~0.5-1
km/hr higher due to the fact that you're not allowed to mount for the
first & last 50m. In addition, the first 1.0 km and the last 1.0 km,
you have to go real slow to be safe and keep good distance.

b.) Practice faster transitions! My transitions were slower than most
people in the entire event!

c.) Don't do back-to-back Half Iron workouts in 2 weeks!! Sounds like a
no-brainer, but I actually had no way to get my logistics figured out
to be able to do the Welland Half until 5 days before the race, so I
stuck to my original training plan and did a 100km bike, 22 km run
brick workout the week before! But I'm still glad I figured it all out
and competed in Welland. Interestingly, my brick workout the week
before was faster than my race time in Welland! :D

d.) ...Stretch my back and see a doctor!!

My poor back! :(


1.) Duathlon started at 8:25am. My official finishing time was 5:21.
Actual estimated time if the first run was actually 7.5kms, adjusting
by average speed based on total elapsed time would be 5:07. If I take
off the 1 minute I wasted at the turnaround deciding what to do, it
would be 5:06. Not bad since I was aiming for 4:50-4:55 ish before the
race.

2.) I think I could've easily shaved 10 mins off my total time if my back
was feeling better on the bike. But then, I somehow suffered through
the bike with a relatively constant output, so that's debatable.
However, I would've really saved the time on the run if my back felt
better.

3.) Got a "False" medal for winning my AG since there were only 2 people!
Nevertheless, I'll most likely not come close to winning another one,
so I'm happy! :D