IRONMAN 70.3 Putrajaya Duathlon Race Report Chapter 2: The 1st Run

With that youthful "Kid" like thought fresh in our minds Adele Cheah sounded the starting siren and off we shot...

The first run took us out of town on the first few kilometres of the bike course before looping back to the start line that was immediately outside of transition. It started at the usual high intensity pace but as we rounded the first right hand turn and tucked into what was a gentle little incline, the first thought I had was generally how gently we were all running.

As a result, other than Mohamad Haziq who was clearly intent on getting out in front, a little pack of 5 or so runners settled into a steady pace just behind him and started the usual jockeying for position and eyeing each other up to assess the threat they posed. 

I remember smiling to myself at this and chose to sit at the back of this pack and observe this bit of gamesmanship for a bit as I took stock of myself and how I was feeling.

As we crossed the lake though the readings that I was getting from my CPU (inbuilt super lightweight Heart Rate Monitor) was that this pack was going too slow for my target heart rate! With that thought and without any other care or concern for the consequences I immediately picked up my pace so that I was sticking to my plan.

As we approached the 2km marker I had pulled away from this chase pack and was surprisingly in lone pursuit of the leader who by now had opened up a 100 metre advantage. This was maintained as we headed into transition. I have no idea where this put me in terms of the chase pack because, I didn't look and I didn't care! Irresponsible and child like but it was a "Kids Event" after all. Right? :-)

Not caring where anyone one else is in relation to you made T1 so easy. It wasn't startling fast but is was steady smooth and I did everything I needed to do calmly and consistent to the plan. 

This  included the packing of 2 Gels into the pocket of my Tri Suit (I'd decided earlier the new Glukos Gel was a bit too big to be taped on the top of my crossbar comfortable a potential issue if carry large numbers for a Full or Half Ironman but a non issue for this "Kids Event") and position my running shoes properly for T2.

(To be continued...)