Duathlon Nat'ls: Hot and Windy in Oro Valley!

Hey Everyone,

The Mrs. and I arrived in Oro Valley, AZ (just North of Tucson) for the 2011 Duathlon National Championships. Hot, dry, and windy, but what else can you expect from an event in the desert!

The race course is as follows: 5K run, 35K bike, 5K run. Specifically, the course isn’t flat by ANY means. The run has a very tough hill towards the end of the leg and the bike is two out-and-back laps that consist of rolling hills throughout.

The Elite field isn’t incredibly large, but still high in quality, as the defending champ is scheduled to toe-the-line, in addition to a few other veteran duathletes. Tomorrow’s weather: sunny, mid-80s, 15mph winds. Tomorrow's goal: Top 5, Podium would be awesome!

In the past, I have always let the conditions get the best of me. Tomorrow will be different, as tomorrow I will go out and own my results. Tomorrow I will leave everything out on the course and won’t cross that finish line satisfied unless I’ve felt I’ve given it my all. Duathlons are new to me so it will be interesting to see how I feel coming off that bike. Nonetheless, I’m very excited and tomorrow will be an awesomely challenging day!

Good luck to everyone toughing it out at Avia Wildflower and St. A’s this weekend. Looking forward to reading some race recaps! Let’s get into it!

Check back Sunday for a full report. Talk soon!

-HH