Duathlon Season Opener

ABOVE: Lynn Smythe, AKA the Run Diva, at the 2008 Marathon of the Palm Beaches. Official time 2:34:50.

Well, it's official, I just registered for my very first sprint duathlon. I've been talking about maybe getting into duathlons for the past year or so. A few weeks ago I went to the USA Triathlon website and purchased my yearly racing license.

A USAT license is good for the following sports:

1. Triathlon: swim-bike-run
2. Duathlon: run-bike-run
3. Aquathlon: run-swim-run
4. Off Road: like the Xterra series of off road triathlons which is swim-mountain bike-trail run
5. Winter Triathlon: run-mountain bike-cross country ski
6. Other Multi Sport Disciplines: for example Aqua Bike, which is swim-bike

On Sunday, February 8th I'll be participating in the Duathlon Season Opener which takes place in Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, Florida. This race is part of the Amerprise Financial South Florida Triathlon/Duathlon Series of 7 races. You can do the races as either a sprint triathlon, or a sprint duathlon. I'm not into swimming, so I'll be doing the duathlon option.

I'm already freaking out, but each leg of the race is pretty short, so I should be okay. The race consists of a 1 mile run (or 400 meter swim for the triathlon option), a 10 mile bike ride, followed by a 2.5 mile run. I don't have a problem with the biking portion, I participated in a few 15K time trials last year, but the running is going to be challenging. I have done two slow, half marathons, but running shorter distances, fast - my legs aren't going to know what to do!

I'll let you know how everything goes at the race. Wish me luck!

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Run Diva