Draper Lake On Road Du

Sunday morning Kim and I went back out to Draper lake for another duathlon, this time the on road version. It was a 5k run, ~15 mile bike and another 5k run.
I was surprised that my legs felt as good as they did after Saturday's race. We got there fairly early and I was able to get a decent spot in transition area, close to the bike in/out. I downed some Gatorade and Hornet Juice (best stuff ever) and a couple pieces of toast. Before I knew it we were starting.

I started out at a decent pace (about 7:30 min/mile) and slowed down a bit as we hit the long gentle hill. The pack thinned out into the fast, average and joggers. I was in the middle of the average people. We got to the turn around and for some reason just about everyone stopped for water. I didn't so I passed quite a few people there. I came into transition in 23:49 for the first 5k and felt really good. Transition was nice and easy and I was into the bike.

There was a slight uphill start and I was able to pass a few more people as they struggled to get on their bikes and clipped into their pedals. We turned the corner and started another long gentle climb. I seem to be decent at those and I passed a few more people and got comfortable and into a good rhythm. There were a couple good downhills where I was going over 34MPH and that felt great. Some rolling hills that I eased up and we were onto the flatter part of the course. I was chugging along at about 19-20MPH for the rest of the ride and it was pretty uneventful. Didn't really pass anyone and just a couple people passed me. The end of the bike really snuck up on me. For some reason I thought it was an 18 mile bike so just under 15 was nice. Got into transition after 43 minutes on the bike. Got off the bike and headed on the run.

My legs felt fine and I didn't have any of the "jelly" feeling. I was able to settle in right behind a woman doing an 8min/mile pace. I kept right behind her until the turn around where I passed her. Just about the end of the run (about mile 2.5) a guy came flying by me on the run. I am amazed at how fast some people are even after a bike. No one was behind me or close enough in front of me to try and catch so I didn't sprint in but I finished strong. The second 5k was 24:46, just a little bit slower than the first run.

Over all time was 1:33:49. I was 6th in my age group out of 12 and probably 50th overall out of 150 men and women. Last year it took me 1:31, but the runs were a total of 2 miles shorter so I was very pleased by that. My bike was 8 minutes faster than last year.

This is probably my last race until October (Fall Classic Du) unless I find a 5k or something. Now I am just ramping up my training for the NYC and Tulsa marathons and my MS150 bike ride. I think that will be enough to keep me busy.