A New Beginning
My last multi-sport event was three years ago. On April 30, 2017, I returned to the Duathlon/Triathlon world with the Tri-Miami Sprint Duathlon. It was an excellent choice for my first non-virtual race of the year. Some mistakes were made, some things didn’t go as planned and I was certainly not nearly as in shape as I’d hoped. But I did get on the podium in my age group, missing first place by less than 1 minute 25 seconds… I beat 1st place on the bike and on transitions… but fell behind on the runs. Having had a head cold followed by a chest cold didn’t help, either.
Fitness Failure
The weak prior to the race I came down with a sore throat and then a chest cold. The night before the race I woke up at 2am with a coughing fit, and didn’t get back to sleep again before the race. Fortunately, home-made tea, epson salt baths, and being a bit stubborn got me through the week and to the start line. I don’t think it cost me first place, as my pace is nowhere near fast enough, but yesterday’s test ride on the Causeway where I over did it on the bike probably cost me a closer finish.
Nutrition Plan
Fifteen minutes before the start of the race, I ate a honey stinger gel. Then, in transition, since I didn’t drink enough water before the race, I not only ate a honey stinger waffle, but swigged down a lot of Nuun. After doing the first loop on the bike, I ate a few Honey Stinger gels, finished the Nuun in transition 2, and finished with water across the finish line. It worked well – I felt fast and I was able to push my heart rate 90%-95% for the entire race without cramps.
New Equipment on Race Day
The PowerTap P1s pedals continue to give problems with dropouts on the Fenix 5. Yes, I know you are supposed to use lithium – which I did the day prior and quickly found the included “blue” lithiums either died – or the pedal did. So I used alkaline as that’s what I had available. But my current pedal is the second one from PowerTap. Since many others (including Ray Maker) use these pedals a lot, I intend to keep using the pedal a while longer until I test them with the Energizer Lithium AAA’s I ordered off Amazon.
The Trek Speed Concept 7.5 was solid, smooth, fast, and felt very light. I’m not very aerodynamic but the bike certainly feels that way. I was 8th of 52 in the duathlon bike split – more a testament to the bike than my skills.
I still love my Timex Factory Team hat. In Florida, keeping the sweat out of your eyes and your head cool while being comfortable really matters. And the Wahoo Kickr, thanks to TFT, definitely helped in my bike time, too.
The Rudy Project sunglasses weren’t new, but never slipped off my nose – a reason I love them. And the “new” (to me) Rudy AirStorm bike helmet was quickly forgotten on the ride – a very, very good thing, as it was comfortable, cool, and light.
The Course
The race was a 1 mile run, 10 mile bike, and a 5km run (3.11 miles) on the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami, Florida. It’s an area many triathletes train, and it begins and ends in an area that has plenty of parking (something rare in Miami) and is the perfect triathlon/duathlon area near a metropolitan area (the Miami Marine Stadium still isn’t being used but hopefully will be restored someday).
Race Results
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