Today's picture was taken near the end of a 3 mile run in a sprint distance triathlon. There is some suffering in sprint triathlons, but the pain is acute and short lived, relatively speaking. And that leads us to the third leg of an iron distance triathlon, a 26.2 mile battle.
The bike leg will end at the picnic shelter at Veteran's Park on Valleydale Road, just behind Spain Park High School. My running gear will be provided by my mobile support team and after a quick change in the restroom, I'll head out on the trails.
Course Description: The running trail is not paved, but it has been packed with a small gravel or stone. It is an awesome running surface. There is a measured 8k loop (4.99 miles) that I will run five times and then I will begin a sixth loop for the remaining 1.25 miles. I have configured the run so that the finish line will be at the monument in front of the picnic shelter.
Strategy: It's not a complicated one. I will start running 10 to 11 minute miles and I'll keep it up as long as I can. I will take walk breaks every 5 to 10 minutes. I find this helps reset the leg muscles and delays the onset of heavy fatigue. At the snail's pace I am going, it really only adds about 10 - 20 seconds per mile.
Fueling and Hydration: The course I am running is more or less a figure 8. I will be passing by the picnic shelter every 15 - 20 minutes so I will have easy access to my supplies. I will stick with Hammer Gel (raspberry, apple cinammon, and espresso), some Perpetuem, and plenty of water.
The End: Barring catastrophe, I hope to finish in the neighborhood of 7 - 8 o'clock.
Hope to see you there. I'll make one last post tomorrow before the big event.
Blessings to all,
Chris
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