Some of the women in the 45-49 age group, at the Race the Troops duathlon. That's me, the Run Diva, #1 on the podium.
At the beginning of 2009, I started racing in sprint distance duathlons. The triathlon/duathlon season in south Florida runs from February through November, quite a long season. I participated in the Multirace series of races down here in south Florida. That was a series of 12 races, that could be done as either a sprint triathlon, or a sprint triathlon.
Run Diva running at Race the Troops duathlon
Duathlon Points Series
I was able to compete in 10 of the 12 races. I would have competed in all 12 races, but one race was the same weekend as the Key Largo MS150, and another one was the same weekend as America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride.
I got hooked after my very first duathlon in February, when I won 2nd place in my age group. I was lucky to win an award at every race this season, and ended up #1 in my age group for the points series. Pretty cool for someone new to the multisport scene.
Run Diva, AKA Bike Diva, on the bike portion of the Race the Troops duathlon
Run Diva's 2009 Duathlon Results
- 10/18/09 - Race the Troops Duathlon - Tradewinds Park, Coconut Creek, FL - USAT 1st place Women 45-49.
- 9/20/09 - Mack Cycle Duathlon Bonus Round - Crandon Park - Key Biscayne, FL - USAT 1st place Women 45-49.
- 8/30/09 - Sprint duathlon - Tradewinds Park - Coconut Creek, FL - USAT 2nd place Women 45-49.
- 8/16/09 - Mack Cycle Duathlon Trilogy #3 - Miami Marine Stadium - Key Biscayne, FL - USAT 2nd place Women 45-49.
- 7/19/09 - Mack Cycle Duathlon Trilogy #2 - Miami Marine Stadium - Key Biscayne, FL - USAT 1st place Women 45-49.
- 7/04/09 - 19th Annual Independence Day Duathlon - Tradewinds Park - Coconut Creek, FL - USAT 4th place Female 45-49.
- 6/21/09 - Mack Cycle Duathlon Trilogy #1 - Crandon Park - Key Biscayne, FL - USAT 3rd place Female Masters.
- 3/22/09 - Tradition Duathlon - Tradition Town Center - Port St. Lucie, FL - USAT 3rd place Female Masters.
- 3/01/09 - Chilly Willy Duathlon - CB Smith Park - Pembroke Pines, FL - USAT 1st place Female 45-49.
- 2/08/09 - Duathlon Season Opener - Tradewinds Park - Coconut Creek, FL- USAT 2nd place Female 45-49.
Looking pretty comfortable on my new Cervelo P2C triathlon bike
Race the Troops Duathlon
I had been racing on my Trek Madone 6.5 WSD road bike all season. I've been secretly lusting after a triathlon bike, to help increase my bike times, and make running easier after doing the bike portion of the races. A couple of months ago I got a fantastic deal on a set of Reynold's SDV66C deep dish carbon clincher wheels. I had been using the Reynold's on my road bike, but when I finally decided to go ahead and get a tri bike, I knew I would be putting the deep dish wheels on the tri bike.
The Race Troops duathlon, held on October 18 at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, was the very first time I raced on the new bike. My bike time wasn't any faster, but I actually thought I would be quite a bit slower. The Cervelo P2C is the very first triathlon bike I have ever owned, and I've never ridden in aerobars before. I just got the bike 2 weeks before the Race the Troops duathlon - still figuring out all the bells and whistles. Despite having a brand new bike, I still managed to take 3 minutes off my run time. In a sprint distance race 3 minutes is HUGE!
Ready for the pros!?!
Faster Race Time
Race the Troops was the 4th time I've raced at Tradewinds Park this year. All my other times were within a few seconds of each other. So to be 3 minutes faster, I can only say it's because my legs felt awesome after getting of the tri bike, and I was actually able to run the entire time, and not take any walk breaks.
When I checked the race results, I originally was #2 in my age group. But the girl that placed #1, received a 2 minute penalty for drafting while on the bike course. ILLEGAL MOVE! So I was bumped up to #1 in my age group - SWEET!
Run Diva crossing the finish line at Race the Troops duathlon
Tradewinds Park Duathlon Race Times
All duathlon races at Tradewinds Park were the following distance: 1 mile run - 10 mile bike - 2.5 mile run.
- February 8: 1 hour 11 minutes 15 seconds
- July 4: 1 hour 11 minutes 26 seconds
- August 30: 1 hour 11 minutes 14 seconds
- October 8: 1 hour 8 minutes 32 seconds
Miami Man
I have one final duathlon to race in for the 2009 race season. I'll be doing my very first 1/2 Ironman distance event on November 8 at Miami Man. That is a 1 mile run - 56 mile bike - 13.1 mile run. That's going to be a bit of a challenge after concentrating on sprint distance races all season. My goal is to finish the race, and get a finishers medal. I can't imagine I will be anywhere near placing on the podium in my age group. But one can always dream!
Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Run Diva
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