Navy Duathlon 2017

So the Navy Duathlon has come and gone. A local standard for early season multisports that I have been doing for many years now occasionally with some success. As this is the first triathlon of the season as well, the field tends to be on the smaller side,but this year saw a tough battle amoung the top competitors. Due to some confusion for late registrants, we were a little late getting started and it was a cold morning. So that meant a little jog around to keep warm. But soon we were lined up and ready to go.

We were off on the first 3km run leg, though due to the start logistics, it was actually 3.2 km. I knew that Zach was pretty fast on the short stretches and wasn't too sure about Doug, but I also knew that I had to  stay as far up front as I could, even at this short distance, to have a chance at getting a top three spot. I knew that at least 3 of the guys were much better cyclists than me.

I tucked in behind Doug and let him lead us out. I could hear Zach right on my tail but decided to see what Doug could do. Our pace was pretty decent, and I was still breathing fine. By the turn around, we had pulled a lead over 4th and 5th and kept pushing the pace a little more. With 1 kilometer to go I had enough and took the lead. Ultimately I knew this was an unlikely win today, so I decided on a persona victory by at least having the fastest first run. And I did pull a nice little gap. 

I finished the first leg in first place with an avg pace of 3:38.To the bike!

To the bike and to a very hilly course with a lot of wind. It didn't take Doug long to catch me and he did within 2 km. Zach followed a kilometer later. Both are fast enough runners that I knew if I was already being passed on the bike, that first and second was for them to fight over. So I just hoped I had enough of a lead on Greg and Kevin.

The head winds were fierce and annoyingly seemed to be at tight corners and uphill sections. On the plus side the tail winds made for fast sailing as I hit a top speed of over 59 km/hr.

The course was well marked and ultimately rather nice other than the wind. Greg passed me on lap 2 of 4. With only a 5km run it was now not likely for me to  be able to keep the gap close enough to catch him on the run. 1 minutes maybe 2 if I killed myself, but things weren't looking good for the podium. Now I just needed to push hard enough on the bike to keep Kevin off as far as possible.

Luckily he wasn't able to pass me until part way through the last lap. That was not going to allow him long enough of a gap to hold me back on the run.

I came into transition as fast as I dared, had a solid dismount and headed to the bike rack for a quick change over.  I passed Kevin in transition and headed off to see what I could do. By the 1.5 km mark I found the other three guys but they were a sizable gap ahead of me. I pushed as hard as I could and hoped that if possible I might be able to hold on for another fast run. By the turn around I had a sizable gap on Kevin so felt safe there and could see Greg in the distance, but unless he had a massive cramp or something, it was unlikely I could catch him. My avg pace was 31.4 km/hr.

I picked up the pace nearing the finish to come home strong and finished with a second run pace of 3:51. Not bad for off the bike. The run was slightly long. Officially I was credited with the second fastest run by 3 seconds under Doug. The timing, though, included the transition. So it is hard to actually tell, but it seems we were pretty even runners on the day.  Greg ended up just slightly ahead of me with our runs and the bike almost canceling each other.

Total time for me was 1:09:05, fourth place, and second age group. A tough morning's fight for sure.