From Triathlon to Duathlon

So, I did my first duathlon last weekend. It was the Powerman Duathlon Asian Championships & some big names came down hoping to secure points to qualify for the Duathlon World Championships in Switzerland. The duathlon I participated in was held in Putrajaya. Such a beautiful place to race. I hope they do it again next year.

A duathlon is run-bike-run & sounds easier than triathlon -- which is swim-bike-run.  It's simpler, yes but it is in no way easier.  Most likely due to the slightly different distances.  That being said, I like the duathlon distances better.  Maybe I should start doing the long distance triathlons after this.

Anywho... Compared to the Desaru triathlon, I was able to put a 5 minute gap between my brother & myself.  Best part of it; I started creating that gap in the first run & he never closed it.  In Desaru, Akid had a 1 minute advantage out of the water but I was able to close it & we arrived at T2 (bike-to-run transition) at the same time.  During the run, we ended up staying together until the last 700-500m where I pulled away & crossed the line a minute or so ahead.  Desaru was a bigger fight but I guess that makes it sweeter?

Overall a very well organized race.  The run course was very scenic & shady.  The final leg of the run course had a gentle but looong uphill.  Reminded me of my training track around my housing area.  The 2km loop I normally run is a VERY good training ground because there's a long & relatively steep uphill so that pushes you & makes you work harder to hold the 6min/km pace.  I'm hitting something around 6.7min/km or so.  During Powerman, I was able to hit sub-6min/km for the first run. Woohoo!

I was actually nervous on the morning of the event because on Saturday I ran 6km after almost 2 weeks of no serious training & on race morning, my legs were hurt.  After breakfast, before suiting up, I bathed my legs in warm water.  That helped & overall, happy with my performance during the race.  Some stats from my race:

For the 1st run

  • Average pace: 5.83min/km
  • Top speed: 10.1km/h


For the bike leg

  • Average speed: 27.9km/h
  • Top speed: 62.1km/h


For the 2nd run

  • Average pace: 7.5min/km
  • Top speed: 20.3km/h


Next event; Sepang Jamboree!! :D

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sneakers & Sandals

The Pain. The Harrowing Pain. And the Anger

The Last Weekend