RaceAwesome Spring Duathlon 2017

At a Glance

My third straight appearance at the RaceAwesome Spring Duathlon (run-bike-run) at Cedar Creek Park on Long Island. Heavy rain shortened the bike course, and a blazing start from rival Tim Steiskal turned the day into a fun, tactical battle — I used a strong bike leg to build a lead and held on for a third consecutive win.

HIGHLIGHTS

Third consecutive RaceAwesome Spring Duathlon win, in just over 37 minutes
Passed Tim Steiskal in the final 400m of the opening run to enter T1 in front
Built a 1+ minute lead on the 5-loop bike leg aboard the CEEPO Viper
Averaged ~5:30/mi on the closing run despite the fast pace
Bike course shortened from 11 to 8.5 miles due to rain and flooding

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Great races start with great organization: RaceAwesome delivered a smooth event even after setting up in downpours.
Adapt to the course: Flooding shortened the bike leg — stay flexible when conditions change.
Tactical racing is fun and fast: A blistering start pushed me to a quicker pace than I’d have run alone.
Build the lead where you’re strongest: A confident bike leg gave me a cushion to protect on the run.
Result: A third straight RaceAwesome Spring Duathlon win in just over 37 minutes.

Another huge THANK YOU to Corey and his Race Awesome team for putting on another successful spring duathlon (run, bike, run) race at Cedar Creek Park in Merrick, Long Island, NY.

For the past 3 years now, I have been able to experience Race Awesome’s excellent race management; they truly focus on each participant’s experience whether you are a beginner or expert. Just like 2015 and 2016, I arrived at Cedar Creek Park an hour before the start of the race and got my bike and gear all settled in transition. However, for this year, we were slammed with lots of rain. In fact, the Race Awesome team had setup the race transition the day before in downpours and sustained winds. Nonetheless, by the time the athletes arrived, all was good to go!

Because of the rain and heavy flooding on a portion of the bike course, the 11 mile course was shortened to 8.5 miles. The running portions of the race remained the same. At the starting line, I spotted lots of familiar faces, including super fast Tim Steiskal! I haven’t raced him head to head since the Riverhead Rocks Olympic triathlon in August 2015.

With the sound of the horn, we were off! Tim bolted out in sub 4:50 min mile pace and dropped the entire field. We clocked the first kilometer just over 3 minutes…which was too FAST! With about 400 meters left, I managed to make my pass on Tim before entering transition in first and second position.

After getting the run out of the way, I slapped on my Rudy Project Boost01 helmet and went to work on the bike – my favorite part! The modified 5-loop bike course meant that I was able to spot my chasers each lap.

By using Tim’s neon yellow helmet as a marker, he was extremely easy to pin down and conclude that I had banked a few seconds on the rest of the field with each succeeding lap. The CEEPO Viper rode confidently from start to finish, and my modified bike fit felt very comfortable. I rolled into transition with over a one minute lead.

Not wanting to give up any time, I left transition and tried to settle into a comfortable run pace, focusing on my breathing and cadence. Like he did in 2015 and 2016, Corey rolled up on his bike as the lead cyclist. The pace was definitely faster than my previous performances and with a quick glance at my watch before the finishing line, I was averaging 5:30 mile pace.

And in just over 37 minutes, I had won my 3rd consecutive Race Awesome spring duathlon.

After the race, I did a long run cooldown jog to shake off the lactic acid buildup in my legs. If it weren’t for Tim’s blazing fast start of the race, I would not have gone as fast as I did. Tactical races are fun! Afterwards, I chatted with Edward, Tim, Corinne and many others that I haven’t seen in a while.

Debuted at this race was my polka-dot themed Team ZOOT race kit. Hopefully it will be easy to spot at my future races! =P

Thank you to my sponors: CEEPO Triathlon Bikes, Rudy Project, Honey Stinger, Team ZOOT, ISM Seat & Team Chocolate Milk.

See you next year at the spring duathlon.

More updates to follow after the Boston Marathon…