On Sunday, May 18th, I participated in the first duathlon of the year held at Pinchot State Park in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. The weather for the event was cool and overcast with periods rain. This race consisted of a 2 mile trail run followed by a rolling 18 mile road bike then a 3.1 mile trail run. I arrived at the race site about 2 hours before the race to get a nice racking site in the transition zone. During this time I met with a lot of old friends who I competed against over the last 20 years.
The race begins:
The first trail run was very wet and muddy. I management to finish about mid pack despite keeping my average heart rate in the 180's during the entire run. Transition 1 was a little shaky at best. I really could have used some place to lean against to change into my cycling shoes. I jumped on my bike and took off. I felt very comfortable during the rolling bike course. I had no problem passing many riders on the short climbs and fast downhills. Transition 2 went as planned, with a nice and smooth racking of my bike and change back into my already wet and mud caked running shoes. Then I fell apart about 1 mile in the run. About 10 people passing me as a slogged through the course. I even had my shoe pulled off as I stepped into a 7 inch deep mud bog. I calmly retrieved my shoe and began to run again. I finished the race 1:51:52, 27th out of 43 and 7th in my age group.
1 comment:
Very nice job Mark!! jill
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