First off, thank you RaceAwesome, volunteers and race director Corey for putting an excellent event to start off the multisport season on Long Island.

 

 
After racing the 2015 RaceAwesome Spring Duathlon, I was hooked! The people are super friendly and everyone seems to have had a great time. Also, this quick sprint duathlon allows me to chisel away at some off-season rust.

This was a quick race so I’ll keep it consistent with a relatively short report.

Race Day: Sunday April 10, 2016

Venue: Cedar Creek Park, Seaford NY

I got up at 6am and 5 seconds later, I received a good luck morning call from the girl. Lucky me!

Conditions were chilly this morning, with temps just above freezing so I decided to wear a thermal base layer under my race kit. I was out of the house before 7am and arrived at Cedar Creek in less than 30 min. Race day pickup was smooth and the volunteers were full of energy! I quickly racked the bike in transition, then did a 10 min jog to loosen up the legs.

After the National Anthem and Corey’s race instructions, we were off at 8:30am. I spent the first portion of the run pacing in 2nd position. The kid in front of me was speedy so it was delightful to have him set the pace. 

We hit transition at the same time. I slapped on my Rudy Wing 57 and bolted out of transition for the 4-loop, 11 mile ride. There’s wasn’t much trouble getting into my shoes, except when my wool socks stuck to the velcro strap of the triathlon shoes.

(Note to self: don’t wear wool socks for races with flying mounts)

After the first mile and first turn around (which you complete 4 times), I was able to spot 2nd and 3rd place, probably about 30 seconds arrears. I kept the wattage output just above 90% of my maximum, which dialed in my heart rate at just a few clicks under 180 bpm. After the 4th turnaround, I had widened the gap to around 2 minutes.

  
Corey was my bike lead on the run and it was cool to follow his Electra Cruiser bicycle. We shared a few words and after halfway into the run, it was clear that I would break the tape. I cruised towards the finishers chute and finished in 44 min 5 seconds. Sweet!  First multisport race of the season in the books, along with my first win of the season.

  
I take every race as a learning experience – so what did I learn today?

• Velcro & Wool = adhesion
• Race smart – know when to dig deep and when to ease off (ever so slightly)
• [more of a reminder] to Smile – it’s contagious! 

Thank you to all of my sponsors and supporters!