This coming weekend I will be participating in two significant races. On Saturday I will be participating in a Paddle Triathalon, followed by a Half-Marathon on Sunday. Between both races I will probably spend at least a combined four and a half hours on the courses.
I participated in the paddle triathlon last year (pictured above) and finished with a time of 2:41:22. I did pretty well in the run, a little below average on the bike, and rather slow on the kayak. While I was happy with the run, I hope to improve upon my times in the later two disciplines. My goal is to finish the run in 24:30, the bike in 1:22:00, and the kayaking 48:00. If I can reach these times, my finish would be four and a half minutes quicker.
For the half-marathon my goal is to finish in under two hours. This will be my third half-marathon, but (more importantly) it is the first time I have run two races in back-to-back days. I am also planning on trying something new in the race in staying with a pace group. My plan is to go out with the 1:50 group, and fall back if I need to. Having not done two races in a row before (even with a 5k) I am a bit unsure on how to rest and eat on the day between the races.
I ran 16 miles last Friday, so I feel good about the running portions of the events, but the biking and kayaking are going to be more challenging. I took a practice run in the kayak on Saturday afternoon and found the current to be fast and challenging. I am better prepared than last year, but still expect to be worn out by the time I am done paddling.