National Triathlon Week 2018 - Run Day

I'm a couple of days late with this post because run day was on Wednesday, but I wasn't feel well the past couple of days.

For me, it is very appropriate that the final leg of a triathlon is the run. I absolutely love running and have for several years. I've been a runner dating back to middle school and high school but really hit my stride about 4 1/2 years ago when I started competing in road races. Running is so many things to me, it is time to think, relieve stress, and build confidence. It makes me feel good and gives me a way to continually challenge myself.

It felt like a natural progression to switch from road races and running into triathlon but I think that running will always be my favorite. The challenge of running is much greater in a triathlon when you always start your run on tired legs. The feeling of transitioning from the bike to the run is one of the strangest feelings that I have ever experienced. My legs feel like they are stuck in mud for probably the first half mile of the run.

Heading out on the run at the Hickory Grove Triathlon in May 2018

It goes without saying that the longer the triathlon, the more challenging the run can be. Not only are my legs already tired from the swim and bike, but the sun is usually getting higher in the sky and the temperatures are warming up by the time the run starts.

6 miles into the half marathon run and just a couple
miles away from my legs completely giving out on
me at the Legend Ad Adstra 70 in September 2017

On the flip side, when I manage to put a complete race together and feel strong on the run, there is no greater feeling. In my short history with triathlon, I have had only a few races that were paced well enough to have a strong run. Just as with road races, I aim to have negative mile splits during the run portion of the race and that is how I measure success on the run. 

Less than 1 mile to go on the 10K run and running
strong at the Des Moines Triathlon in September 2016

Finishing the 5K run of my best race to date at the Bluff Creek
Triathlon in August 2017

The other special part of the run, and quite possibly my favorite part, is that it leads to the finish line. No matter what race that I am in, there is no greater feeling of accomplishment then finally crossing the finish line. Of course, just like with every other aspect of triathlon, the finish line has it's own uniqueness. Most races start with separate waves or with a rolling start which means 2 things. The first is that you never know how the time of the athletes around you on the course compares to your time until the end meaning that the focus is on racing the clock. Second is that the race tends to be a lot more spread out on the course then a typical road race, in fact, depending on the size of the field and length of the race there may be times where you aren't even near another athlete which can be a challenge mentally. 

Sprinting in for a high five just before the finish
line at the Iowa Games Triathlon in July 2018