1. How did you train and get prepare for Duathlon ORIGIN at this current situation (having social distancing measures in place)?
Just as lock-down was approaching this time last year I quit the gym and funnelled the money saved into a turbo-trainer for my bike at home. This small contraption proved to be enormously helpful at ensuring efficient training throughout lock-down and then split team arrangements and various degrees of social-distancing (which aren’t a factor when exercising on your balcony!).
2. Due to the rolling start, the Duathlon format is very much like a time trial format. Does this change your race strategy? How or Why not? What is your target?
For me the biggest adjustment will be starting on the bike rather than having the shorter run beforehand. Coming from a running background I have no real experience in straight TTs and my blood is usually already flowing when I reach the bike (I also, quite sadly, like transitions). So I suppose I will be trying to ensure I am properly warmed up before my start time and then smash out the first couple of kms to get the heartrate up and the blood flowing quickly. It will also be a different Metasprint experience by focussing only on how I’m getting on rather than the competition (given the rolling starts), but the Metasprint digital events have been good practice for that discipline.
3. What are you looking forward to for this upcoming Duathlon ORIGIN event?
It’s just wonderful to be back in a race environment and be reminded of what a positive force running, cycling and swimming events can be for participants of all abilities. And I’m keen to test out my cycling legs to see if a year on the turbo-trainer has made a difference!
