Best Bike for Lawyer Landau at Quantico Marine Corps Marathon Triathlon

Best biker lawyer Doug Landau of Herndon Virginia after the Marine Corp Triathlon today at Quantico

When you start in 318th place in the inaugural Marine Corps Marathon (“MCM”) Triathlon, out of 322 competitors, you hope to pass folks.  A LOT of folks.  And that’s just what Herndon trial lawyer Doug Landau did this morning.  Contested on the grounds of the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, multisport athletes had to contend with wet roads, hills and a constant, cold rain.  Nevertheless, the MCM and SetUp events staffers and volunteers did a terrific job for this first-time event.  The race started in the pristine Quantico base pool, with a short course 400M and swimmers spaced 10 seconds apart.  This was followed by a 9 mile bike ride with a hill that many cyclists walked at mile 4.  The race concluded with a 5km run, and then a hot shower !

The fastest swimmer, from Landau’s old stomping grounds in Miami, Florida, took only 5:21, while the top runner did 17:00 flat !  The best biking split of the day (with transitions) was lawyer Landau’s 24:38.  Despite extra caution on the wet roads and sharp turns, Landau knew that he had a lot of real estate to make up.  When he emerged from the transition area to start the run, many of the athletes lucky enough to start at the front had already finished !  Racing against the clock, Landau finished in 53:32, good enough for 6th overall.  When asked about his goals and strategy, lawyer Landau noted he wanted to break 58:00 and finish in the top 10.  As for strategy, when he got up at 5AM, Landau realized that the rain would be unrelenting and it would be cold.  In order to keep things dry, he put his running shoes with plastic bags to keep them dry, putting an extra swim cap on the bike seat until the last minute and a mylar silver wrap over his bicycle.  “By previewing the bike and run courses the day before the race, I was able to anticipate tough turns and hills so as to avoid unsafe decisions and surprises.  Engaging in ‘defensive biking’ and really pushing hard on the 1st 4 miles enable me to set a very strong rhythm despite my difficulty giving full effort in less than 80 degree weather. Under the circumstances, I think I did my best and I look forward to ramping up my training for the USAT National Duathlon Championships at the end of October in Oro Valley, Arizona.  No question but that I will have to bring my running speed back to well below my current 7 minutes per mile pace in order to be competitive at the Nationals.  To qualify for the World Championships, I will also have to put together a sub 40-minute 10km. with a 24-26 mph bike split in the middle.” With 10 weeks to peak for Oro Valley, Landau hopes that this year’s winning season of triathlons and trials will continue.  Stay tuned !