Treadman Duathlon

Last year's Treadman was my first multi-sport event ever, and doing well there encouraged me to continue. Getting back into high-adrenaline bike racing put that on the back burner for a while, but the gap between the end of road season and the start of 'cross season made some room.

The event was almnost cancelled this year, but an outcry from the community made it happen. In the end, despite the Minneapolis Duathlon last weekend (doubtless the reason for initial low number this year), a strong field showed up to race. So strong, in face, that despite doing quite a bit better than last year, I was a step down on the podium (3rd place in my age group). Nevertheless, I can't be too displeased: 6:50 min/mile for the first 5K, 21.1mph for the 21.6 mile TT, and 7:20 min/mile for the last 5K. That compares to 6:57/19.3/7:38 last year. Can you tell I was off the bike most of last year?? My transitions were slow enough to make the difference between 3rd and 2nd - need to work on that! I was fumbling with my shoes for a full minute in T1, but you can't bike with a folded over tongue!

I know I'm a bike racer at heart, because I really struggled to push myself once I passed a clump of riders during the bike, and the 2nd run was motivated by someone I thought was in my age group coming up behind me. I always have to be racing someone to get my best performance, and I always want to conserve energy otherwise!

It was a gorgeous day, and I'm glad the race happened in the end. Looking forward to next year!