Duathlon Nationals

USAT held the National Duathlon Festival in Richmond, VA for the last of a 3 year stint today. I have had the pleasure of racing this race all 3 years in Richmond and have had a different race to race all 3 years. In 2008, we ran a 10k followed by a very technical 40k bike course and then finished with a 5k. It was cold and rainy which made the technical bike course even more technical. In 2009, we ran a 10k followed by a revised 38k bike course which was still technical and then finished with a short 5k in 90 degree temps (in April). I think 2010 was the best combo with a 5k run followed by the same 38k bike course from 2009 and then another 5k run. This year, the temps were perfect. The roads were a bit wet, but it was cloudy for most of the race and the wind only picked up on the last of 3 laps on the bike. I had my best race this year as well. While I did not qualify for the World Championships and will not be going to Scotland in September, I did manage to race smart with each 5k under 20 minutes and averaged 22 mph on a challenging bike course. My splits were as follows: Run 1 = 19:42, T1 = 1:41, Bike = 1:07:35, T2 = 47sec, and Run 2 = 19:58. My overall time was 1:49:41 which would have beat my time from 2009 by about 3 minutes (averaging my first 5k pace out to 10k). I finished 33 in my age group and around 117 overall (final results not posted yet). What made this year even better was that I raced with my new team members from Endorphin Fitness. My good friend and co-worker, Eric Glymph had a good race as well and so did his son. It has been a great 3 year run having the Duathlon National Championships right in my hometown of Richmond. I hope that USAT can bring more Championship races to Richmond in the future as it serves as a GREAT venue for both Duathlon and Triathlon.