Return of the Duke Liver Center Half Race Report
For the second time this year I successfully defended my title at a regional half ironman. Last September I was here in Durham, NC completing my final prep for Kona and now that I have officially moved here and racing the Duke ½ and Kona worked so well last year, I though I would do the same this year. Also it is a great way to meet other triathletes and get into and involved with the triathlon community in the area, which by the way is huge!! In the triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) there are at least 4 triathlon clubs…and those are just the ones I know about…I’m sure there are others. I was excited to race having been focusing on solid training since IMLP in July and also being able to compare my times to the same course as last year. Setup Events does a lot a races and does a great job, this race was no different.
Enough babble…onto the race!
It was a beautiful warm morning when I arrived in transition, about 70 degrees with no breeze and the sun had not even begun to come up yet. Before I knew it, I was in the water warming up. The 79 degree bath water was not wetsuit legal, but I had planned to wear my Blue Seventy PointZero3 regardless of water temp in prep for Kona. Everything I planned to use in Kona, I used at the Duke ½.
The Swim: 29:57, 5th out of the water
The gun went off and so did the “open wave,” that is those not racing age group. The starting line was a little vague and there was no real group, it was just a long line. I wasn’t sure who the fastest swimmers were, but I took it out pretty hard and found myself in back of a small pack pretty quickly, but then they moved on and I found myself in front of the main back, but behind about 4 other guys who were pretty strung out. I honestly felt great in the water, I kept it smooth strong, yet relaxed. I find that the more I struggle the more the water pushes back. I came out just breaking the 30min mark, which was my goal. Although I was not blazing fast I have never felt that good and relaxed in a race! Thank you North Carolina Aquatic Masters swimming!
Bike: 2:17, 2nd out of T2
I was 2 minutes behind the leader leaving T1 and excited to ride hard, but consistently. I quickly found myself in second position and riding some beautiful scenic roads all alone with just me and my PowerTap , again good practice for the desolate roads of Kona. I focused on holding a steady effort despite the small rollers and some head wind. I held a higher power than last year and completed the course over 2 minutes faster in warmer temperatures and tougher winds! 2:17
Run: 1:24, 1st across the line!
I exited T2 4:30 behind the leader, who I knew at this point was Eric Bean, a great cyclist and solid pro triathlete (later I found he was doing a Kona prep race as well). My T2 was a little longer than usual because it takes a little more time to put on my compression socks , which I was skeptical of at first, but I think there really is a benefit. In all honestly, begin 4:30 back I was a little scared but I put it in gear and “ran like I stole something,” as I like to say. This run course is beautiful, but difficult, it is 90% on gravel roads and grass trails (I hate running on dried pine needles), also it is pretty hilly. To make things even more interested, but also great prep for Kona, it was getting up to 95 degrees on the run, and although there was some shade, it was still getting pretty nasty on the run course. At the halfway point my deficit was down to 1:10 so I confident I could make up the rest, but I knew the race is not over until I crossed the finish line. I moved into first about 2 miles into the second lap and kept up the effort until about mile 10, however, at the second out and back I just cruised to the finish it an effort to not be totally beat up for the next 2 weeks of solid training heading into Kona. So although my run time was pretty slow given the course, weather and race conditions I was satisfied with the result.
All in all a solid race! I beat my time last year by 1:30 and set a new course record in certainly more difficult conditions. Things are certainly on track for another great race in Kona.
Thanks and train hard! 
