Fort Yargo Duathon

Yesterday we packed up the family and headed to the Fort Yargo Duathlon. No pictures because this time both Chris and I raced while our friend Kathleen watched Jayden. The weather was absolutely perfect - overcast and maybe 72 degrees. I was looking forward to this race because the runs were shorter and the bike was longer than the previous two. Of course, the shorter run just meant I had to run faster which made it all the more unpleasant. There haven't been any super fast runner girls who have shown up at these races, so I end up using the guys for motivation...and they seemed to be flying on the shorter-than-usual run. Near the end, I checked my HR and I was above 170 so I knew I was working pretty hard. My GPS showed the run being a bit longer than the posted distance so my average pace ended up being 6:28 min/mile for 2.2 miles. Excuse me a sec while I go hurl!

I did a quick transition to bike - then proceeded to pick off a bunch of relay team people and fast runners on the bike loop. I rode my SS again and was loving it. No issues keeping up with the gearies on the flats and downhills, because I was so much smoother. I was shocked when I came up upon a fast looking guy who was riding really smoothly and I actually needed to pass him. No complaints about the bike loop, as I really enjoyed it and felt good pretty much the entire time.

The last run went well and I achieved my usual goal of not getting passed by anyone on the last run. This one was more mellow, at about a 7:30 min/mile pace. I probably could have done low sevens, but I felt like I was working hard enough and knew there were no women on my tail...so no need to overly abuse myself.

I ended up winning the women's division by a large margin again, and was 8th overall in the solo men. I have had better overall finishes at the earlier races, but I think having the shorter runs in this race actually hurt me a bit. The guys were able to run faster for the short distance, whereas I'm better when the run is a bit longer because I seem to go the same speed regardless.

Chris had a good race with an exciting sprint finish at the end. A friend of ours who wasn't even in his category figured he'd give him a challenge and he accepted. I thought he was toast but he must have been saving it till the end and got the holeshot around the last corner and crossed the line first. That made me proud, because the last time I had to do a sprint finish, I didn't win : )