This has been a big change this year. Switching from training mostly for ultra marathons to training for multi sport events. Goodbye long slow runs and building up miles. Hello to short fast runs, bricks, and long rides.

It was especially tricky making this switch mid season. I had one big ultra marathons to check off in spring because eI had to defer it from last year due to injury. Missing time due to injury was one of the reasons to make this transition to multi sport. I still crave challenge and long adventures, but I needed to figure out a way to stop getting hurt.

Hopefully running fewer miles and adding more cross training into the mix will build different forms of strength and help sure up my weak areas. I do like that the triathlon training plan I found had strength training days and core work days built into it. Something that was not included in the basic run training plans I have used in the past.

While I know I SHOULD be doing strength trianing and core work and some cross trianing I am much more likely to actually do it if it shows up in bold print on my training plans and tells me exactly what to do. I didn’t hit all of those strength based workouts, but I did enough of them. And next year I hope to make it more regular.

I really think I had a distinct advantage coming to multi sport as a runner for my background and entry point. I feel like running is the most physically demanding to just learn and struggle through from a pure physicality aspect. And swimming might be the hardest to master the technique and feel completely comfortable with. I think most people who are athletic can swim to some degree and ride a bike, but just to run takes work from the get go.

I wonder if there is a breakdown of what percentage of people who enter multisport come from a running vs biking vs swimming background. I am sure hte data is out there. I will have to look into it. If you are a multisport athlete let me know wha your background was when you got into the sport. And tell me what aspect you think is the hardest.

I have at least riddden in too bike events leading up to this. Though they were drastically different being gravel races with big climbs and dirt roads. This was twister turns and potentially fast. Then punctuated by running.

Coming into this event I was at least not too worried about being able to finish it. That is until right before the start the RD announced that we needed to finish our bike legs by a certain time because there were no lights on the track. So that lit a fire under me on the bike segments.

As a runner who is used to running really far I was not concerned about the runing aspect of this event. I was actually a bit too cocky about it and overconfident. Leading me to go out too fast on the run leg that started off the event.

I was much more concerned about the biking aspect. I like riding my bike. I enjoy long rides. I do not generally push for speed. My trading this summer was the first time I ever really tried to train speed and effort on the bike.

I also mostly ride alone. I occasionally ride with one or to friends. I have ridden in a few bike races, but they have had relatively small fields that quickly spread out over all the miles we had to cover. I have never ridden a course where everyone would be looping aorund in circles of the same 3 mile course the entire time. And there would be over 100 people.

I was concerned about navigating the transitions from run to bike and bike to run. I was nervous about the potential for crowded areas on the course. Not to mention the race track is hilly with lots of turns.

I ran one of my first 5ks on the Watkins Glen International race track and I remember how hilly it felt. Nothing like what it looks like when you grow up watching cars zip around turns and down straight always at 100+ miles an hour.

I like my bike and I am fairly comfortable on the roads b y myself and in low traffic areas. But I don’t often take on new terrain and unfamiliar areas on my own. And I especially don’t try to do that going as fast as I can.

I am confident in myself but I also know my limitations. I am strong and can endure. But I am not a good or skilled bike handler. I don’t know technique and how to properly approach a turn or a climb, or a decent in any particular manner an experience racer might. I especially don’t know what to expect on a race track with actually banked turns.

I was thankful to learn during the course of the event that the track is smooth like butter in most spots unlike a true road ride where you have no idea what the conditions of the roads might be. Potholes, gravel, construction, or rough roads. Non of that to worry about on Watkins Glen International. I also learned that there was a lot more room to navigate side to side on the track. Plenty of room to move over to pass or be passed during the bike riding.

One of my biggest concerns was what would it be like to navigate through a turn while surrounded by other riders. I got increasingly nervous as the RD described the section of the course known as “The Boot” to us pre race and then noted that there was a crash in that area last year.

And inevitably during one point in the race I found myself entering the trickiest part of “The Boot” with at least 8 other riders. You take a big sweeping left turn as you climb. Then as you come out of the turn you begin to descend. You descend until you reach a sharp right hand turn that sends you in the opposite direction, essentially 180 degrees from where you came. At the same time as you hit that turn you also begin to climb again. Eventually you level out again.

Thankfully there was much more room on the nice wide track to not cause any issues navigating this section in a group. Plus I knew that I didn’t know enough about handling a bike to try and take this section at max speed. I made sure to ease off going into all the turns. Safety was my number one concern.

I really enjoyed biking on the race track and am excited for this event in 2027. There was one biker who enjoyed riding there so much that he did not even bring or wear running shoes. He just walked the running legs in his bike shoes and then went back out on his bike. I am pretty sure he was such a strong biker that he still beat me in the overall times.

I was really happy with both bike legs of the run, bike, run, bike, run duathlon. I felt strong and able to push hard the whole time.

The pushing hard on the bike however, definitely took something out of me for the runs.

I opened up the first lead off run segment like I was shot out of a cannon. Taking off with the lead runners. Which is totally insane for me. But I was excited and happy to get going. I quickly realized I was going way too fast. I finished my first mile of the 1.7 mile opening leg with an 8:30 min/mile pace. Way to fast for me in an event that was going to last longer than a 5k of running and also have 20 miles of biking involved. I tried to back off.

I went into the second run leg more under control. Now that I had burned off the nervous excited energy. My heart rate was a bit high going into the one little climb that mirrors the opening section of the bike course. So I took that time to back off to a walk and let my heart rate come down. I finished that run and took off on the bike.

On my 3rd and final run leg I was completely gassed. I tried to punch as hard as I could, but my legs had nothing left to give. I had to switch to a run walk strategy to have any chance at a decent overall pace. But I got through it and finished strong through the finish line.

I had so much fun at this new and exciting event.

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