On June 19, I completed the Maumee Bay Sprint Duathlon. This event featured a 5k run around a man-made lake in beautiful Maumee Bay State Park on the shore of Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio. The first run was followed by a 23k bike segment and then another 5k run to finish. The bike course was very flat though one several mile stretch was dead into a 15-20 mile per hour wind. The event also offered an Oylympic distance event (roughly double the distance) and triathlons (swim in place of the first run segment) for both sprint and Olympic lengths. HFP racing ran the event and did a great job. There was no confusion at 6:30 a.m. when most of the participants (several hundred) showed up to get their bibs (numbers), timing chips (ankle bracelets), and number and age ceremoniously scribed onto arms and legs with magic marker. The race flights started right on time to the minute and it was quite a rush to be part of it. Those of you who know my medical history also know that finishing this event was a marker for me on my path to prove that cardiac issues don't have to mean an end to athletic training and competition. My new bike (the Trek Madone) was a dream to ride. Most of the athletes were riding tri bikes, though, and I plan to convert my Trek 5200 by adding aero bars and a Profile seat post. The flat course and wind issues made the tri bike configuration an advantage. Of course, on a hilly course, the Madone would be the preferred ride. The screen shot shows the route as recorded by my Garmin 305. Click on the image to make it full screen. I did a bit better in terms of time than I expected and am optimistic that the right kind of specific training will result in significant gains. This was truly a "trial run," and the result is as I hoped -I am excited to continue.
