This weekend I participated in the Cocoa Beach Triathlon competing in the Sprint Distance Duathlon. This race felt different in a few great ways with freshness being the key ingredient.
When I put together my race plan to get me to June when I would be competing in the Olympic Distance Duathlon National and World Championships, one key element was a one week almost complete shutdown of my body from training at this point in the calendar. My first block of training consisted of a lot of volume along with only mini-taper days ahead of a race. By the time I raced in Miami two weeks ago I was worn as planned.
I didn’t bike at all this week and had a couple short tempo runs. I did have a deep tissue therapeutic massage in the week that identified a few issues I wasn’t aware of, and we addressed the ones I knew about as well. Race morning, I felt the best I’ve felt this year in terms of rested and ready to roll. I had a hop in my step during warmups and I was excited about testing my body and performance.
The horn went off and we vaulted out for the race that consisted of a – 1 Mile Run #1 – 12 Mile Bike – 5k Run #2. Both runs were on a golf course. The first run had two hard turns and one U-turn on what was a pretty flat hard surface. As I went out, I felt that freshness pop in my legs which was exciting. I charged in right behind the competitor who was 2nd while great buddy, Alvaro Coutinho, was way out ahead. What was more important is I ran 13 seconds faster than two weeks ago in Miami while laboring to attain that pace, I worked in this race but felt pretty darn good on this one.
We took off on the bike course which also had two hard turns and a U-turn which meant this was a straightforward out and back hammer fest. As we headed south parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, every time I looked at my power numbers, I was encouraged by what was showing. That fueled me the entire way. The training plan up to this point was finally showing results on the bike.
I came into transition in 3rd place still and quickly charged out for the final run which this time on the golf course, was a winding run on uneven concrete, grass, and a nice hard packed gravel path. I was numb until the .66-mile mark and then settled in a bit. I was getting faster as the run continued and the final mile I was clipping a pretty nice pace. I sprinted or what felt like a sprint through the finish line 3rd and immediately felt pretty good about the performance.
As I reflect back, I grade myself with the following:
- Run 1 = A – This was a pace I would be happy with for any sprint. I felt great in warmups, and it played out with me coming in not gassed and ready for the bike.
- Bike = A – This was the best power output I’ve had in a race in a few years. It was only a sprint but the work I have put in up to this point translated.
- Run 2 = A- – My immediate impression of this run wasn’t as favorable as it was when I thought through each mile. This 5k had a lot of turns on different surfaces that took some seconds off my overall pace. My pace was pretty good and with that factor, I am more satisfied although knowing I have to hit the start of the run better at the big races.
- Mental = A – I was engaged the entire race with a momentum that continued to grow as I was hitting good splits while feeling strong.
I now have eight weeks before the first big race with two more tune-up races ahead. I have lots of notes that I am implementing for the hard block in front of me and I’m ready to tackle it.
Before and after the race I was able to spend quality time with pretty good friends. I love my community and the energy of the people in my circle. You will see these in the pictures. Love this stuff!
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 
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