This weekend I competed at the Saint Augustine Triathlon racing the Olympic Distance Duathlon. It was a tough go and overall I got better as a result of racing.
I competed at the race venue in May so it was a good way to compare some metrics while on others it was like comparing apples to oranges as racing in July is much different. At 8:00 AM we had a feels like temperature of 88 degrees with 89% humidity. After completing my warm-up, it validated how the weather would play a role in the race and emphasized to be smart in the roughly two hour event.
The race distances included a 1 mile run – 24.8 mile bike – 10k (6.2 mile) run. The first run was odd. I felt pretty flexible in my hips and moving quite fluid but my pace was slower than I was targeting. For one mile I don’t think the weather played that big of a role so that was a bit disappointing and I’ve nailed the first run in my races this year.
The bike start as usual was tough to find a good rhythm. My heart rate was high for the first four plus miles, I then settled in and by mile eight my legs felt like I had some power. That continued to get better through mile 20. The final four miles were a grind. From the lower back through the glutes and upper hamstrings I was on fire. Although my power was slighlty down from the race in May and where I was before injuring my knee, my speed was actually faster. I had a handlebar change done to enhance my aero position and maybe this was the result I was looking for…
I did a good job keeping my heart rate in check and fueling on the bike to set me up for the final 10k run. I felt in control during the run all the way through. It was continuing to get hotter and my pace slid slightly each mile until the final mile where I picked up again. That felt good that I had some endurance left to drive through the finish. As I crossed the finish line I felt completely spent but I didn’t go over the edge. I poured water over my body and drank a couple bottles of water as I walked back to my car.
As I got to the car I got extremely nauseous and felt like I was going to pass out…it hit me. The heat got to me… I laid down for about 10 minutes as I was refueling and then headed back to chat with friends and competitors. I talked to a few riders who were pushing the heck out of each other. It was great! Of the 129 Olympic Distance competitors (triathlon, aquabike, and duathlon), I was placed 5th on the bike so even though I was disappointed in my power numbers on the bike for the day, relatively speaking my production was good vs. some very good cyclists.
I won the Overall Duathlon and more importantly, I got better as a result of racing on this day leading to the World Championship in three weeks. I was not satisfied with my splits on all three disciplines leading me to do one more test this coming weekend. I need the race-like conditions to drive my effort for the bike and final run so I will not taper going into this race but race my butt off to get better. I was pleased with my mental preparation and execution. I raced smart considering the weather and fueled appropriately.
Keep learning, keep trying, keep flexing, keep fighting, and have fun!
– Add Health to Your Life
My vlog recap can be found here.
The Healthy Giraffe 
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