i raced the aspirus Y duathlon this past SAT. while i’m not really focusing my current training on short course stuff (but rather ironman WI later this fall), i figured why not? it was a ten minute drive away, the entrance fee was pretty inexpensive, and racing sure beats my usual SAT morning four plus hour training ride. an added bonus was that my brother dave had jumped on a team with my ART pal and would be racing along side me.
the weather turned out great, and i have to say i’m really pleased with my race. early on, one of the faster racers in the area pulled out with injury. this surprised me, as did the pace for the opening 5k – it wasn’t all that quick. usually, the leaders are running 15 or 16 minute 5ks. but after the first mile, i found myself in 4th, and not too far back from the leader. ‘heck, why not give this thing a go’ i thought. i finished the opening run in 18:56 – not flying, but respectable. t1 took me 0:31 thanks to a primo bike spot in the transition area, and i was off on the bike feeling really good about my top five position. averaging 22.4 mph, the 28k bike took me 47:12 – again, respectable. i passed the guy in third early on, but was passed around mile 8 and remained in 4th the remainder of the race. T2 took me 18 seconds, and i ran the final 3k in 11:04. this i was happy with, having run a 5:56/mi pace. total time was 1:18 flat, good enough for fourth overall and second in my 30-39 age group.
i got a fancy silver medal which immediately found its home around my nephew’s neck. my brother’s team, Faster and Furiouser, took first overall in the men’s team race, so well done there. but the best thing of the day was having my parents at the race, cheering me on after all they’ve been through in the past few years with their health. mom and her chemo, dad with his surgeries – them there made the race seem easy.
photo credit: stoob and her trusty 83 year old point and miss camera.
SEPTASTIC! 
That last photo makes you look like Abe Lincoln. 😉 Nice work that day!