I did my second-ever duathlon yesterday, the Shamrock Duathlon in Glastonbury, CT. The race was a 5k run, 26k bike, 5k run. Since my last race, I'd been dreading the heat in this one, but in fact, it was in the high 50s and drizzly all day. Supposedly they had over 400 people signed up, but according to the race results, they only had 266 actually came out. I guess that the early rain must've scared a goodly number of folks off. That said, I think the field was pretty fast; those who showed came to RACE.

I'm okay on the bike, but I'm a better swimmer than runner, and so my goal at these duathlons is usually just to run a good race and to finish in the upper half of my age group. I felt like I ran a good race, but I was 20/31 in the AG, and that's disappointing.

I took my first 5k out slow. I made an effort just to stay loose and run comfortably (25:10, 8:07 pace). Then I attacked the bike. I pressed up front, trying to basically get out of the back of the pack and up with folks of about my ability-level. The course was extemely hilly, with a lot of very sharp turns, and it was wet, so you couldn't really attack the turns. Still, I had a blast on the bike, racing folks and really working the descents on the 2nd half of the course. My time wasn't that fast (57:34, 17.2 mph), but given the conditions, I felt like I had a pretty good ride. And I got off the bike feeling pretty fresh, which had been a big goal going in. This was a tune-up race for me for an upcoming Oly.

I felt pretty good on the last 5k. Was a little stiff early, but I slowly worked it out and settled into a comfortable pace. This was the first race where I didn't feel like the run was torture. Instead, I felt comfortable. Looking back, I'd have liked to have gone a little faster (26:20, 8:29 pace), but for better or worse I am an 8 to 8.5-minute miler. At least a ton of folks didn't pass me on the run. I felt like I held my own. And honestly, if I'd simply run a 10k in 51:30, I'd have been happy with that.

I finished in 1:52:31, 118/266 overall and 20/31 in my age group. Like I said, I'd have preferred to be in the top half of my AG, but I ran a controlled, comfortable, confident race, and until I can work on getting those 5k splits under control, I think that's about the best I can hope for. That said, I think my off-season project this year is gonna be track work at the local high school.

Thanks for reading!