Sunday I participated at the Great Clermont Triathlon competing in the Olympic distance Duathlon. This race kicked off my season in preparation for my three big races of the year all coming in the summer with the first being early June.
I love racing this course as the bike is challenging with hills of Clermont. My three big races all have hills, so this was a great initial assessment where I was. What also was nice was the temperatures were virtually the same as last year so that would also be another indicator of my fitness.
The race consisted of – 5k Run 1 – 40k (24.8 miles) Bike – 10k Run 2. My first run was efficient, and I felt I ran a good pace with a controlled start which is something I can struggle with to start a race when I haven’t raced in a while. I hit my target and was just slightly slower than last year’s pace.
The bike was challenging, and I thought I handled it ok for a first race. I have not been on my bike outside (on two wheels) since my final race of the 2024 season…exactly 13 weeks earlier. I’ve been exclusively on my trainer to start the year to mitigate risk after a bad crash late last year. That will be changing slightly as planned. I knew going into the race not being outside would present a challenge with the technical aspects…handling corners, up and down climbs, and simple handling. I was terrible on the technical components of the race. I matched the speed on the bike of last year while my power was slightly under.
After the bike leg, I moved from 4th overall to 3rd. The final run was rewarding. The temperatures were warming up more than what I had been training in but nothing crazy. I felt in control the entire way as I pressed and continued to take in nutrition and hydration. My pace was good and outpaced last year by 10 seconds per mile. During the final mile as we wrapped around Lake Minneola and I was straining, I consciously relaxed my entire body and thought to myself, I love doing this… During the bike and early in the 2nd run I also was asking myself, why do I do this to myself!??!? It’s a great mind warp!
I held on to finish 3rd overall and most importantly, I got my first assessment of race fitness in the books. A few thoughts with my race grades:
- Preparation = C- I had a few first race goofs. After not seeing my cycling glasses since my last race they showed up on Friday with me only forgetting to put them in transition prior to the race. I also did not load my carb drink on the bike. I adjusted by using more gels, but that was an unnecessary miss. For these temperatures and distance, I got away with it but that could have cost me much more in another environment. I had a mini taper, so I was not fresh but not overloaded either. That was planned for this type of race.
- Run 1 = A- For not having a full taper, I hit a good pace for this race…not too hard or slow for the first run setting me up for the remainder of the race.
- Bike = C- I had a decent time and sustained through the 40k, but my technical riding was terrible, and my power has to improve. I knew these going in, so I didn’t expect to kill it, but it still doesn’t feel good in the moment.
- Run 2 = A- The offseason and early season work done in the gym along with volume helped me on this day. I’m not fast yet, but I felt strong to endure the final leg of the race due to the work done to this point. The race specific speed work will come.
- Mental = A- I was engaged the entire time. I had opportunity on the bike to be tighter and I did work on things there mentally and bike handling but the lack of outdoor cycling time prevailed. I fought well on the final run, never giving in to the discomfort and drove through the finish line.
Overall, I am satisfied with where I am after the first race with the largest gaps being in the bike and body weight. They are both a work in progress with 12 weeks remaining before the first big race. Next up is Clash Miami, March 30, where I will race the sprint distance. For now, back at work to reduce the gaps and build on the strengths.
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 
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