MiamiMan 70.3

I’ve done some odd races, but the MiamiMan 70.1 Duathlon is perhaps unique among duathlons. As far as I know (and please let me know if I’m wrong!), it’s the only Half-Iron length duathlon in the United States.

The unique format is a 1mi run/56mi bike/13.1mi run.

So why do it instead of the standard triathlon? Well because.. a) I hate swimming, b) my swim training has been terrible this year, and c) I would have a chance to get on the podium.

I realize my podium chances in triathlon are pretty much nil… but duathlon? Not bad… I do need to get faster on the run, though…

Expo

I didn’t arrive at the Expo at the best time and the volunteers seemed a bit harried. Fortunately, Mack Cycle was on the ball and was able to do a quick tune-up and brake adjustment on my Trek (it’s not simple on this thing) since I was using new rims and and wheels. Yes, I know, never do something new on race day. I’d ignored that, but Mack Cycle saved the day.

Pre-Race

To alleviate congestion, MiamiMan suggested an arrival time of 5:30am with a transition close of 6:25am. This is really too short for me, as I like to take my time setting up and “visualizing” my transition (one of my stronger aspects of the sport lately). It would have been okay if the valve extender hadn’t broke,  causing a minor panic (by the way, don’t ever buy the plastic valve extenders. Get the metal ones, and learn how to remove a valve core. Trust me on this one… just make sure the valve wrench is included in your bike kit!). I had to remove and deflate the tire, use a backup extender (thank goodness I bought an extra), and reassemble the tire. Not a problem, except that took up nearly all my transition setup time.

Lesson learned… nothing new on race day.

Race

What a different atmosphere from Ironman 70.3 Miami! The racers were friendly, the crowd was friendly, the route interesting to ride on,  and the run interesting (hey, it’s through a zoo!).

Recap

It’s taken me a long time to publish this post, but that’s not a reflection on the race. I’ll definitely be back next year, and with the pool hopefully opening in our complex, hopefully I’ll even try the triathlon.

Results

Garmin Route