it was a duathlon

No triathlon today. A storm came through exactly at the right time for the race directors to turn the race into a duathlon. I was a bit disapointed and not really looking forward to running, biking, then RUNNING again. blah!

And because of the on again off again rain and lighting it was a mix of get your stuff into transition, sit in the car and wait, rinse and repeat, which meant by the time they dropped the bomb on us that my warmup consisted of about a 2 minute run.

Run#1:
So we lined up in the rain and off we went. Well more like off they went and I just watched going, "Wow those guys are freaking fast!"....I was also lined up with the elites (some of which had done Lake Placid last weekend) so I knew there was going to be some folks out there. Whatever, I ran MY race. I think I did the first run in 23 minutes and change....they dont have a chip system at this race, but I set my watch. The end of the run is on sand. Man running on sand will freaking wreck your calves! I can see how it would be a good workout though, MENTALLY.

Bike:
Got on the bike and went in an easier gear getting my legs spinning. I felt really great on the bike and was able to be nice and smooth throughout the entire ride. Some fucker in a yellow jersey decided that he would suck my wheel for a few miles. I kept looking back @ him giving him a dirty look to get the hint that YOU CANT DRAFT ME! Well later on in the bike he passes me sucking wheel off of a faster guy. Whatever, thats his race.

So like all of my other races, I passed a LOT of people on the bike. I would see them later.

For the first time ever on the bike my right calve started to sieze up after I went up a tiny little up in a hard gear. That was strange and it persisted. Fortunately up Palmer Hill it didn't bother me as I got into my gear and cranked. That was prolly the easiest it took me to get to the top in all of the times I have done that hill.

Finishing the bike I got into an easier gear and spun my legs out until I dismounted.

Run #2:
Because I spun my leg out on the finish of the bike, I think this helped me get going on run #2 with some ease. This was the first time (in a race) where I went smoothly from the bike to the run. I didn't do my usual, "I JUST WANT TO QUIT THIS HURTS SO FREAKING BAD!". Instead I just got into my pace and went and held it to the end.

Comparing this race to the other races that I have done this season, this race didn't wreck me and I didn't feel at any point like I was going to die. I just went my pace to finish.

Going forward, I still need to improve on the run. However, I have improved prolly 10X over when I started this whole triathlon thing this past winter. I am just happy to know that there is tons of room for improvement. I am actually looking forward to this fall where I can drop the bike and swim for awhile and just concentrate on becoming a runner. That time will come, but in the meantime I am very happy to see some running gains.