Flower City Challenge

This past weekend, I competed in my first duathlon (5k run, 20 mile bike, 5k run). The race was part of the inaugural Flower City Challenge sponsored by Unity Health and Fleet Feet Rochester. The other events for the weekend included a run/bike/paddle triathlon, a half marathon and a 5k.

The duathlon went reasonably well, I felt pretty strong running and biking and ended up finishing 3rd overall. I came into the first transition zone right behind the leader and alongside one other guy, they were both faster getting out onto the bike course and I never saw either of them again, but also wasn't passed at any point during the rest of the race, so I guess it was ok. Here are my takeaways from the race:

- I showed up an hour before the race and the bike racks in the transition zone were already a total cluster. I saw Frenchy, who promptly asked me why I was late. Apparently, you have to show up really early for duathlon/triathlon races.

- In hindsight, I probably could have pushed harder on the first running section, but I wasn't quite sure what I was getting in to. I feel like I sort of talked myself out of taking the lead and pushing the pace.

- I was a complete fumble-fest in both transition zones. Maybe next time I should practice untying my running shoes with my HR jacked up, not the easiest task. Getting my bike shoes on and helmet strapped up also doesn't seem like it should take that long, until you actually try to do it fast.

- aero bars would have been a good idea for the bike section, especially for the 2nd half of the bike course which was mostly a gradual downhill.

- The first 5 minutes of the second running section (after the bike) was an interesting experience for my legs to say the least. I don't know what it looked like, but I would say it felt like a cross between running with full leg splints on and a duck-waddle. Couldn't have been pretty! I definitely gained a newfound respect for triathletes.

- After about 5 minutes of that, I eventually loosened up and got back into a rythym running and ended up with a reasonably respectable time for the 2nd 5k.

The event was extremely well organized (especially for it's first year), and I heard that there were over 2000 runners between the half-marathon and the 5k that was run on Sunday. This type of event is an excellent way to showcase the city and for people to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. I hope that the organizers make this an annual event and that it continues to grow.

Some other highlights - Frenchy won the paddle triathlon race despite complaining all week about how much his back hurt; Warren Hern (CFO of Unity Health and also the father of one of my former college baseball teammates) competed on the winning relay team for the paddle tri, and I'm sure was also an important part of the reason that Unity Health was the title sponsor for the event; Dave Bischoff, who works at Harris runs with me our lunch break a few times a week ran a 1:18 half marathon (that's a 6:01/mile pace for those doing the math at home), look out for that Harris Corporate Challenge team this year!!

Here are pics of Frenchy and I with our awards (flower pots).

His back looks fine to me, sandbagger!

The next few weeks are pretty hectic with a lot of bike races coming up. My immediate goals are to be in good shape and ready to go for the Bristol Road Race, Tour De Syracuse and the Corning Circuit race. After those, I'll be running the Corp. Challenge and doing a couple criteriums in Rochester. Then, it'll be wedding and honeymoon time!