1st duathlon so automatic PR!
I got up early this morning and raced my first duathlon! I wasn't sure how it was going to go, because I have never done one before, and I am 'training through it' since the A race (tremblant 70.3) is three weeks away. I did a hard long ride yesterday with 2x20 at .95 and 2x25 at .80-.85, for 3hrs total, preceded by a 30 minute run, so I wasn't sure how the legs would respond today. I think the past 'me' (prior to EN) would think the present 'me' is crazy for doing races without tapering etc, but the present me thinks that shows how far I have come in fitness and knowledge in the 7 months I have been with EN.
The race:
5.6k run: i was aiming for 4:30/km pace since that would be about in the middle of tempo and HMP for me. Did 4:20/km
20k ride: didn't know what to do, just went as hard as I could. There were two sharp corners I had to do twice each so that made it hard to settle in, but having a power meter made it sooo much easier to keep the effort level up! Legs/glutes were pretty tired initially but seemed to warm up by the end. Did 35.6 km/hr, NP 240w, VI 1.04, IF .97.
2.8k run: just went as hard as I could. legs were pretty wobbly at this point: 4:18/k pace. Didn't redline it too much until the last 1000m.
Transitions: T1: 58s, T2: 29s. Was reciting 'slow is smooth, smooth is fast'. I wore two pairs of shoes and forgot to loosen the elastic laces on pair number two prior to the start so getting them on was bit of a struggle. I need to work on my flying mounts and dismounts on the bike, but no major mishaps.
Total: 1:10:39, 29th overall, 10th in 40-45 age group. I would have liked to have been a bit faster as most of the guys I am faster than in the pool were in the 1:05 range. I'm pretty sure I could have picked up the pace in the run and bike some, but not sure how much. Overall I'm pretty happy with the result given it came at the end of a pretty hard week. Fun day overall and a nice chance to practice transitions and pre-race jitters. Now I gotta go out and do that easy spin for an hour.
Comments
@Nemo: last night I googled 'how to do duathlons' because I honestly had no clue, and that was one of the tips offered on a beginner duathlon page. I happened to have two pairs of 'race' shoes, so thought I would give it a try. It would have made sense, I think, if I had remembered to loosen the 2nd pair of shoes prior to the race. Not sure if two pairs makes that much of a difference though....