I was meant to get up at 5:40 am but woke at 4:50 and couldn't get back to sleep. For some reason, I was particularly nervous about this event. A duathlon is out of my comfort zone as I've only done one before and that was a short one.
The sun came up as I drove to the start and the early morning mist cleared to show another beautiful day. It was chilly but I knew it would be warm for the last run. I got there on time, queued for the loo, got my race number and racked my bike in the transition area. It felt like a very serious race with lots of athletic looking people with tight lycra and expensive bikes. This didn't help my nerves and my Garmin said my heart rate was all the way up to 110 bpm and we hadn't even started.There was warning after warning in the build-up to the event that told us not to go out too fast otherwise you will blow up on the final run so with this in mind, I took it easy on the first run. I was aiming for around 1 hr 10 mins which was slower than I did it in training. I got chatting to some people which helped the miles go quick and before I knew it, I was at the base of Box Hill. I plodded up it trying to keep my HR below 160.
I got to the top in 1:08 and went to get my bike. I was very slow with my transition in the London Duathlon so I tried to make it quicker but still faffed around taking over 3 minutes.
The first lap on the bike was painful. My quads hurt and I couldn't get going. I tried to find people in the distance and reel them in but it was hard going. After the ascent of Box Hill, my legs seemed to loosen up and my second lap was better. I was catching people and I passed 7 or 8 riders on Box Hill. The last lap was even better as I managed to keep going and again passed about 5 people on the hill.
My second transition was also about 3 minutes. It was warm by now and I should have taken my compression base layer off but I couldn't be bothered. I quick swig of SiS and I was off again.
The first mile of the run was slow and I was worried that I would miss out on the sub-4 I was trying for. If I couldn't go faster, I wouldn't make it. A Serpentine runner was going a little faster so I latched onto the back of him and forced the pace. This helped and with 4 miles to go, I passed him and got faster. I was really pleased with how I was feeling and I made up many places before getting to Box Hill. The last 1.7 miles up the hill was hard work but I just kept picking out people ahead and trying to catch them. I even managed a sprint finish to beat someone in a one-piece triathlon suit.
I was very pleased with my performance. In hindsight, I could have gone a bit quicker on the first run and with practice, I could get quicker after the transitions.
Run 1: 01:08:20
Average Speed: 8:32 minute miles
Transition 1: 00:03:11
Bike 1: 00:30:06
Average Speed: 15.95 mph
Bike 2: 00:28:20
Average Speed: 16.95 mph
Bike 3: 00:27:29
Average Speed: 17.47 mph
Transition 2: 00:03:19
Run 2: 01:05:26
Average Speed: 8:10 minute miles
Average Heart Rate: 154 bpm (83% of max)
Elevation Gain: 3,651 feet
Calories: 3,800
Position after 1st run: 212th
Position after Bike: 179th
Final Position: 161st
Starters: 248
Finishers: 2311st
First Place: 2:37:14
Last Place: 4:58:15
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