Twinsburg Duathlon

Raced the Twinsburg Short Course Duathlon this morning put on by Mickey Ryzmek and North Coast Multisports. The course was the same as it was when I raced it two years ago so I knew the runs were going to be fast and the bike was going to be challenging with the early hills and the long grind in the last few miles. I was really just expecting to get some good fast running in and a strong bike during this race working on high end fitness rather than putting any pressure on myself and going out super hard and since I'm not a duathlete, I was perfectly fine with that game plan. I got in a good warm up and didn't kill myself the day before and when we lined up I was ready and feeling pretty good, but you never really know how your going to feel until you get going. The horn went off and a lead group of about 7-8 were ahead of me and I was totally content running at my pace. I hit the first mile at just under 6 minutes and was feeling pretty decent. The second mile came and I was just over 12 so I was consistent. I passed a runner along the way and entered into transition feeling good.

By now it had started to drizzle / light rain so I thought I would take the corners pretty conservatively in the early part of the bike and open it up on the straights since I had my disc on with 140 psi in the rear tire and 120 in the front and I didn't want to wash out on the slick pavement. It took about 3 miles until my legs felt decent enough to ramp up the speed and also the first 3 miles seemed to be uphill. I got rolling and passed a few riders and by then I knew I was pretty high overall on the road and I was feeling good so I just kept the pressure on and was hoping for a good second run.


The rain was coming down a bit harder toward the end but nothing real strong and it seemed to be a bit cooler too. It actually felt pretty good since I really don't mind racing multi-sport in the rain and I love running in the rain, not bike racing in the rain though.... I came into transition quick and was soon on the second run and feeling good. I was running out of T-2 when a few people said I was sitting 6th overall, hmmm, not too bad..

I had a strong second run only getting passed by one runner and he was part of a team so when he went by at about 1.5 miles I glanced back and didn't see anyone close. I kept the speed up and ran across the line for 6th overall and first in my age group.

I did this race two years ago and was 6th overall and 1st in my age group as well, but I went over 4 minutes faster this year, goes to show how the competition has stepped up and I would like to say I have gotten a little faster too in my "old age" Don't count us old guys out just yet!

Congratulations to Tony for a 2nd Overall and to my Bike Authority / Fleet Feet and Team Lake Effect Team mates for racing strong today and taking home most of the hardware, you guys and girls are awesome.
Great racing everyone and see you all at Border War.