Topsy-turvy for Duathlete No. 69

This duathlon virgin did a 69.

My race number sums it all up.
Thanks to Ian for getting me this bib and to Ronald for immortalizing it via this photo.

Top 5 things that made my race a topsy-turvy 69:

1. 
   

I did 2 mini-sprint tris, 2 sprint tris, and 3 aquathlons before doing my first duathlon. That's how much I respect (read: fear) duathlon - running and cycling being my weakest disciplines.

2.

Relative to my capabilities, I actually did better in the bike part than in the runs. Ironic considering I had very little saddle time the past two months, and had been focusing on my run

3.
This is supposed to be a sprint duathlon, but I was running at LSD pace. Hehe.
I just finished my LSD phase of marathon training actually.
Yes! I have a convenient excuse for being sloow!

4.
I brought my Garmin to pace my run, but forgot to charge it. Stupendous!

5.

I joined this race primarily to support two newbie officemates,
but they were not able to make it to the race! Bummer!

But bib 69 did give me small peaks and a happy ending:

Thanks to Ivan for the photo

1. 
   I thought I would be last on my first duathlon outing, but surprisingly I ended 11th - from the last!


2. 
   I improved slightly my average bike speed to 24kph from my last average (pathetic) ride of 22kph on flats. Wonder of wonders I even overtook a few bikers! It may seem odd - topsy-turvy - but I average better on rolling terrain. Pedal masher me got to work on my spinning. I felt I could have gone faster on the bike, but I was being conservative (probably too much) for my last run leg. Next target: 27kph average

3.
From my LSD glacier pace of 8:30 on very long runs (30kms up), I have upped my recent run pace to 7:30min/km. I hope to bring it to at least 7min/km come marathon day.

4.
I may be tired and sore, but I had no cramps and did not injure myself.

5.
I had a blast watching friends and trading stories with them post-race.

The nice thing about being at the last quarter of the finishers' list is that I can only get better!

Next time I will register myself and get a number closer to 1. :-)