After a relatively mild spring, I was not ready for the 90 degree heat that descended upon Richmond, VA just in time for the USAT Long Course Duathlon Nationals. As I found myself running for shade and chugging water during packet pick-up, I knew the race might not be pleasant.
The race was broken up in to age groups. My wave - the 40-44 year old women - did not start until 9:30 a.m. It was already quite hot when we began our 10K run. The women took off and the lead group was doing a sub 6 minute pace for the first mile. I held back and hoped folks would drop off from this pace. Lucky for me, the group slowed things down and I was able to pass quite a few people and end up in 2nd place at the end of the 10K.
The bike was a three loop 38K course. The first two loops went well despite the technical nature of the course (and I’m not a technical rider). The heat was really starting to build at this point and my aero helmet seemed very hot. I ran out of water and couldn’t find a water stop on the course. At that point I made the decision to slow down a bit to try and avoid a trip to the medical tent.
The last run was a blur. I was so hot and miserable but somehow ended up running a zippy fast (for me) 3 mile time of 18:20. Ended up fifth in my age group and got a slot to Long Course Worlds in September. Overall a good, but hot, day at the races.
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