Riyadh Triathletes Double Duathlon

Last Friday was the long awaited Riyadh Triathletes double duathlon. This event is billed as the hardest of the season due to the continual switching between bike and run. I have to admit that I did not find this format terribly difficult as this type of session is bread and butter for me. The intense heat could have been the big leveller. Hence I managed to complete all run legs at spot on 4:00 min per k pace. This was a notch down from full race effort but still a hard session. The bike course was much the same as the previous duathlon race. It was hilly and technical and finding a good tempo was impossible. But the effort was sufficient to take the win. I had best not get used to winning as there will be bigger races to focus on where winning will not be an option! But these Riyadh races do serve a purpose to hone the form and train hard. Unfortunately, one of the guys racing collapsed and died after the event. Not sure of the reason but the heat must have had a part to play. Hence reduced effort in these races is a must. A sad sad occurrence.