I went into the run wanting to keep my HR at 165. I also used my Tempo trainer to keep my cadence at 90. I was able to get into a good breathing pattern early on. As my HR increased, it was difficult to keep it below 170. 172 seemed too hard and 168 seemed not hard enough. At 168, the two girls in front of me started to pull away. So I settled on 170. Aaron was working the water station and I appreciated the encouragement as I passed him on the out and back. Near the end of the run a fellow AGer passed me. I looked at it as if this guy was now in third place for our AG. So now I need to catch him on the bike. This turned out to be a personal best for a 5K.

Set my target HR at 170

I have my transition area set up so I can grap the bike and run on the right side of it. Somehow I ended up grabbing it so I was on the left side. I just had to go behind the bike real quick. There was a sharp right hand turn as you ran to the street. I just lifted, the front of the bike, and whipped the rear tire around. I did run a little ways past the line to find a clear spot to jump on the bike.

Pay attention to how I grab the bike off the rack.

I wanted to keep my HR at 150 for the bike. Again, I was having a hard time getting it down that low. When I did get down there, it seemed too slow. I ended up settling in at around 153. Early on, I passed the guy who passed me at the end of the run. So now I am thinking I am in 3rd for my AG. There were a lot of high speed turns on the course. I carried too much speed into one corner. I ended up in the lane for the cars and fish-tailed my rear wheel when I hit the brakes. About 1/2 way through the bike, I was passed by another AGer. He was wearing a bright orange top so he was easy to keep an eye on. I just wanted to keep him in my sites because I knew I was faster on the run. At the end of the bike, I let him get a little further ahead than I wanted to.

Maybe set target HR at 155

Coming into the transition, there were 2 sharp turns to navigate. Again I just whipped the bike around the corners. I got my shoes changed, put on my visor, and set my Tempo Trainer to a cadence of 86. When I exited the transition, I had made up a little time on Mr. Orange top. He was 100 yards in front of me.

Nothing

On my previous Duathlon, I had a terrible problem with my quads getting tight on the second run. That is why I went into this race with a specific pace plan. So now I am a little worried because I have gone harder that what I planned. I wanted to keep my HR at 160 and then build toward the end to finish strong. I am watching Mr. Orange top and feel like I am slowly gaining on him. At the turn around, I feel like I have closed the gap by half. Aaron is at the turn around and yells, "Come on Craig, you can run faster than that". I think to my self, I do not know if I can run faster but I need to in order catch Mr. Orange. With about 1/2 mile left, I started to increase the pace. Mr. Orange looks like he is struggling and I feel pretty good. Up the hill, to the Ballpark, I get 10 yards behind him. We enter the the service entrance and I passed him as we went through the tunnel. As I hit the field, I took a quick glance back and see that he had nothing left to catch me. At this point, I am hoping to place in my AG

Nothing, I executed my on-the-fly plan just how I wanted to.

Hung out in the stands to cheer others to the finish. Later went outside to eat pizza and bagels. Had fun chatting with Karen, Johnny, and Joseph


I just don't think I could have done this race much faster.


So it turns out I placed 4th in my AG. I was 2 minutes behind, for 3rd place, so there was no way I was catching him. I am most pleased with the fact that I ranked higher in the 2nd run vs. the 1st run and I executed a perfect plan for catching Mr. Orange.