The Greenville Duathlon was the first of four races in the ISO Duathlon series, and hopefully the coldest. Some guys, soon after crossing the line, complained that their *unmentionables* had completely frozen and to give you an idea, when I got back to transition after the bike there was an icicle of sweat dangling from my wool cap. Means of adaptation ran from one guy who wore ski googles during the runs, to some who just gave in and ran in shorts. Yikes...
About 80 raced this morning, 3 mile run, 14 mile bike, 1.5 mile run. The run was offroad around the perimeter of the park and the bike was out and back, well marked. The wind and cold put a hurt on us, for sure. The run started and this kid, probably the youngest one out there, took off the front and I think he may have finished top 5. The run thinned out towards T1 as everyone displayed exactly how hard they were willing to work so early in the year. There were a few top athletes there from the Inside Out team so I know the race wasn't just for first-timers.
The bike was hard for the wind, but the course was beautiful otherwise. Those will Zipp wheels and aero bars looked in mid-season form and took the wind a little easier than moi who kept to an upright position mostly. The dismount at T2 was a mess when I tried a running dismount only to drop a shoe and dislodge the chain. The few surrounding fans looked on in sympathy. The 2nd run went smooth, just coasted a good effort to the finish line, holding position and returned the favor to one guy who passed me on the bike.
The Finish Strong team seemed enthusiastic about having us out there, from packet pick up to exiting the transition area. Free massages after the race helped, frozen bagels didn't. My time: about 1:23.
It's challenging to keep in mind that even though the distances seem short (1.5 mile run? Please!) when it's all put together, you're racing for at least 1:15. Constant effort and pace is the lesson for today. First race of my year, first race since October '07. Hell yeah!
