I just ran my first half marathon last weekend, so I was in pretty good running shape, however due to my time training for that, my biking was neglected. Anyway I ran a good 5K in a time that was very fast for me. I felt great the whole time and tried to push it. When it was done I was almost surprised it was over already and how nice and smooth it went. After running 13.1 miles last weekend, 3.1 didn't seem like much.

Nothing really, felt good.

Took extra time putting on sweatshirt and had trouble buckling chin strap with gloves on. Transition area was very small, so all the times were very fast.

Nothing much, I did about as well as could be expected.

Out on the bike I went, just trying to take it nice and easy since I hadn't done much cycling in the last month or so. I went out on the first section at a decent rate over some small rollers through several turns. These were mostly rural roads with no traffic, but later there were some sections with a fair amount of cars. Ate one gel with water during the first couple miles. After about the first six miles I was already getting a bit tired and my lack of bike training was catching up with me. The next section was a stack of hills that was long and relentless. Some were long and steep hills and there was never much in the way of a downhill to gain any momentum. Just when you summit a hill and think it's over, you see the next one on the horizon. Needless to say, I could see my average MPH going way down. I was going so slow but my legs were just dead and my chest was heaving for air. These hills finally ended after awhile and I got going again on some flat sections. I was cruising along chatting with a couple other riders. All the sudden, I hit a small bump and the armpad on my aerobars broke right off. I had to stop and go back and get it. From then on it was difficult to get into the aero position and definitely couldn't do it comfortably. I was pretty demoralized at this point (I found out later a small screw broke from the pressure of use over time. I've already fixed it, but decided to buy a new bike anyway). Lastly, I was coming close to the end on a fairly busy stretch of roadway and an ambulance came by. All the cars ahead of me stopped so I had to as well. Didn't lose too much time but was another momentum killer. I finally made it back to the park and finished up.

More bike training, especially on hills.

The transition area was in grass which was wet from the dew, so I decided to keep my bike shoes on instead of sliding them off while on the bike. I didn't want wet socks for the last run. I shed my helmet, sweatpants, and sweatshirt, and put on shoes and took off.

Nothing much. All the clothing was necessary in my opinion due to the cold.

I was glad to be done biking and out on the run again. I just kept a nice steady pace and waited for the rubber legs to wear off. Took my second race gel at the beginning of the run. I planned it poorly and didn't have any water to take it with, but I thought it would help for the last 5K. I was supposed to eat it before the end of the bike but I forgot. I felt good throughout the run and cruised on in uneventfully. It felt good to finish and I had a really enjoyable time at this race.

Nothing

Just walked around and stretched like always. Chatted with my brother who finished 6th overall!


Training on the bike. I considered this a very low priority race, so I didn't put much effort into the bike training. Still, I would've liked to have done better and am slightly embarrassed by the poor bike performance.


This race was a great time with a great atmosphere. There was also a 5K and 10K going on at the same time. There were racers of all different experience levels. Best of all, the proceeds went to a good cause. All proceeds went to the Tyler's Run Foundation, set up for Tyler Frey who died of SIDS in 1996. I believe this was the tenth year of the event, I did the 10K last year. I would highly recommend this race to anyone! Very enjoyable and like all HFP events, well run!