I survived the duathlon. The entire event was awesome. Thousands of people!
The race started on the beach. The tri went off into the ocean and the duathlon went south on the packed sand near the water. We go to the beach at 6:45. It got going around 8:00 am so I had plenty of time to get my bike set up in the transition area before the race. I would highly recommend getting there early as possible. I had trouble finding a spot for my gear and my bike. The race started fast. I did ZERO running training so I took it easy and kepy my heart rate in control. My legs started hurting instantly but I powered thru it. Once we made the turn and headed back to the transition area there was a steep climb. I tried to run most of it but just about everyone was walking it. I changed my shoes, got my helmet on, and put bike shorts over my tri shorts pretty fast. Getting out of the transition area was easy. Once I got on my bike it was like I was a rocket racing frozen people. I was smoking past people that out ran me. For the first 5 minutes I rode as hard as I could knowng that I could get a rhythm going later in the race. The 2nd half of the ride was cool. I settled into a good pace and didn’t blow up. Once I got back to the transition area it was a little more hectic. A lot of people were changing and getting into the last run. This last part was 2.5 k. It was hard to get a good rhythm going since I had just rode so hard. I got passed by one guy in my age group and battle with him for a while. He got me at the finish line. Overall I would have to say it was a blast. I would definitely do it again. I ended up 6th of 12 in my age group and 19th out of 49 overall.
BTW – I was super-sore for 2 days after! Now I am back to normal.
