BUCS Duathlon, 24 Nov 2019

I was looking forward to racing as it was my last duathlon of the season. Because of an accident in the previous race, our start was delayed from 2pm until 2.45, and they decided to shorten the bike course to 3 laps instead of 6, which I wasn’t too happy about as the cycle section of the race is my best bit. 

Run 1

The first run was only about 3k so I knew that if I went out hard then I could keep an under 6minute k going which I did. I slipped going down a wet slippery slope but managed to recover it. With just under a K to go on the first run the ground underneath turned into wet marshy grass. I was very conscious of my ankle as it was already a bit sore from the slip I had earlier on. I finished the first run, ran into transition and got my bike. I felt like my transition was really quick and I managed to overtake a few of the girls in transition and when I jumped onto my bike. 

Bike

Onto the bike course which was lovely the surface of the circuit was smooth and flat which made for a very good quick ride. I got onto my TT bars put my head down and went for it. I tried to forget about my first run as I knew that it wasn’t great but my aim now was to get a good bike time. I did my first lap and felt like I was going well. My first lap was a good indicator of where I needed to work a bit harder due to the head wind. I pushed the last lap as I knew that my second run was not going to be very strong due to my ankle.

Run 2

My second run was a lot slower but that is what I had expected partly due to the jelly legs and partly because of my ankle. I started off at a much slower pace and my aim was to just run the whole of the lap and finish it without walking, which I did. It was nice that there were a lot of supporters out encouraging us as at this point as I really needed it. I got back to the part of the lap where it turned into grass and took it really slowly just to make sure that I didn’t go over again. I then rejoined the road section where I could see the finish line. I could see a lot of my friends from back home watching on the finishing straight and the people who had raced from my university which really helped me to dig a little bit deeper to reach the finish. I was really happy to have completed it and cannot wait for next season. 

Strengths and improvements 

My best bits about this race was my cycle and my transitions. I felt like I paced the cycle really well and that I got into a good aero position which really helped me push myself a bit harder. I also felt like my transitions were fast. I feel like I need to work on my run still as this lets me down. I need to work on pacing and trying to get my time down but for now I am going to take a little time out to try and save my ankle for next season as I have not really done this since I got the injury.

Sasha Vail