I haven’t completed a duathlon race since 2016! The Esprit de She Lakeville Duathlon was a 2 mile run – 12 mile bike – 2 mile run. I loved that race and completed it two years in a row. It had the best swag!
Virtual Sprint Duathlon Distances
By comparison, this duathlon was a 5k (3.1 miles) run – 20k (12.42 miles) bike – 2.5k (1.55 miles) run. Similar mileage, just more miles in the first run. I did the runs outside and the bike on my trainer in the basement.
First Run
I set out from our house at 8:51am. There is a nice 5k loop, but it has one hill. I wanted to avoid any and all hills. So I made up random loops to hit a nearly perfect 5k at my doorstep with 16 feet of elevation gain. I’m pretty sure it was allergies, but there were a few times I felt like I couldn’t get a full breath. I tried to remind myself to save some energy for the rest of the race.
I quickly ran inside and down the stairs where I had my shoes and water bottle ready. What I didn’t know is that I should have hit lap instead of stop on my garmin. After futzing around with that I got it through T1 and onto the indoor bike.
Bike
I did maybe 10 seconds of a lower gear and then settled into a moderately difficult gear. I was dripping sweat all over! It was in the 50s outside and very warm in the basement. I coasted a few times to grab sips of water, but I felt really good, just hot.
This time I knew to hit lap instead of stop and hopped off the bike. I quickly swapped shoes and ran upstairs (feel the burn!). Nolan was waiting and joined me for the final 1.55 miles. Little did he know I’d be running those miles much quicker than normal.
Final Run
Like the first run, I avoided any hills. My overall elevation gain was only 11 feet! The flat course definitely helped me keep my fast pace. It was nice having Nolan by my side, but at this point I wan’t saying anything. At one point I actually grunted when he asked how I was doing. Near the end he wasn’t saying much either. I called out when we had .20 and .10 left by just saying, in my breathiest voice ever, twenty…. ten….
Results
Run #1 5k 30:24 9:49/mile pace
T1 ~1:30 minutes
Bike 20k 40:19 18.5mph
T2 1:08
Run #2 2.5k 14:07 9:07/mile pace
Overall I’m happy with my results. It’s really weird to complete a virtual race. You don’t have a predetermined and marked course, you don’t have crowds of people cheering you on, and you don’t have fellow athletes to keep you motivated. It’s better than nothing, but I can’t wait to be in an actual race again. Although I’m doubtful that the 2020 Ironman Ohio 70.3 is going to happen. 🙁
