First Step Fitness: Sprint Duathlon

I did it! I did it! I did it!!! I completed my first ever duathlon!! I had so much fun. It was such a great day and a great race. I still can't believe I did it; it just seems so surreal. I completed the MD Women's Sprint Duathlon on August 4, 2013 in 1:34:59. Since it was sprint distance it was the following: run 2 miles/bike 13 miles/run 2 miles.
My breakdown:
2 miles: 17:48 (8:54 pace)
Transition 1: 1:15
13 miles: 54:15
Transition 2: 1:10
2 miles: 20:29 (10:15 pace)
I finished 12th for my age group and 32 overall. There were 122 results posted. I am so proud of myself on how well I did!!
My husband came with me and took a ton of photos, but we somehow failed to get one of us together. We left super early - it was still dark and very cold! I wasn't expecting the colder weather since it's August, and the only coat Chris had in his truck was his military winter one!

I walked my bike over to the holding area. I thought since we were so early I'd get the front spot, but my rack was the only one that had bikes on it! I was still pretty close to the entrance, but a few bike spots down. On the way out I got my arm and leg marked with my race number. They also put my age on my leg so people could tell if they were in your age group while running (I actually thought that was kind of fun while racing because any time I got near someone in my age group I'd speed up). I raced back to Chris's truck when done to stay warm...

I was too antsy to sit still for long though, so we got out and just walked around taking pictures and chatting. It was almost like a 'date' with my hubby!

Sun coming up!

Waiting to start!

Still a little cold, but really just nervous...

the road ahead...

and we are off!

I didn't really pass anyone and not many passed me. We all seemed to be about the same pace.

Ending the first 2 mile run...

and heading into transition...

and I'm off on my bike for 13 miles! I was so nervous for the bike portion. I had never ridden my bike on the road (other then just around post) before the race. The race was on a bunch of back country roads, so there were some cars but not nearly what I was expecting. Surprisingly I really enjoyed the bike portion! I wasn't sure about passing other bikers, but found it went easier then I thought (minus one crazy woman who insisted on riding in the left so no one could get around her).

Here I am heading to the transition to start my run - can you tell I was having fun?!?

leaving the transition - in my excitement I forgot to take off my helmet. Just tossed it to my hubby and kept going. Here is where I made my first big mistake. I took a GU. If it wasn't the thick chocolate one I probably would've done better. For some reason it just stuck in my throat and I felt like gagging for the last 2 mile run. I think it was because I was thirsty and tired. I sucked down all my water on the bike ride. Next time I'll train a little more with brick workouts and practice fueling.