Yesterday I competed in my first Sprint Distance Duathlon. The Portage Lakes Duathlon was 5k/20k/5k near Akron, OH. This race was organized very well by HFP Racing.
First 5k: I felt good and did the first mile in 6:40. I thought I might being going out too hard so I chilled out and then my pace drastically declined, to a 7:28 average, for 23:08, Rank 22.
T1: What can I say other than slow. In my defense I had a horrible rack assignment and I had to run about 200 meters in my cycling shoes to the mount area. 1:27, ugh.
Bike: Good. It took a few minutes to get a good rhythm, and I chilled out a little bit in the last 2 miles thinking I needed to conserve some energy for the run. Still it turned out better than I expected for 35:52, 20.7mph, Rank 7. I picked up 10 places on the bike. So I was sitting in 12th place.
T2: Faster, but slow again. 1:04.
Second 5k: The first few strides off the bike were not fun. Once I got settled down, I grinded out a decent 24:56, 8:03 pace, Rank 22. However, I had more in the tank when I crossed the line and I should have picked my pace up on this 5k. I played it conservative because this was my first duathlon and I wasn't sure how my legs would react. Well, now I know.
Overall: 12th place: 1:26:27, 2nd in Male 30-34.
For complete sprint duathlon results, click here.
For all results including the Olympic Duathlon and Sprint and Olympic Triathlons, click here.
