Duathlete!

Of course, I use that term in the loosest sense, but today I did complete my first duathlon ever! My sister Cari's friend invited her to do a duathlon with her in Casa Grande at the beginning of November. When she told me about it, I wanted to hop on board. I told my friend Tammy about it, and she was excited, so we decided to do it! I'm lucky Tammy signed up because Cari bailed on me! (That's right - I'm telling EVERYONE!) I wanted to train hard - I really did - but due to crazy schedules, the sun coming up later, eternally flat tires, etc., etc., my training was somewhat casual and sporadic. Knowing I was unprepared, I had butterflies in my stomach for a week before the race. Last night I didn't sleep well at all. There was a big wind/rain storm most of the night that kept me awake, except for an hour here and there when I was having very uncomfortable dreams about giant hills. After throwing out two burnt pieces of toast and brushing my teeth, I rode to Tammy's house to load up at 5:30a. After going the wrong way only twice, we made it with plenty of time in our matching clearanced Halloween shirts to get set up.

Before the race. It was supposed to be pretty cold, but was actually perfect once we got going. Thank goodness!

My major goal going into the race was to finish without walking. In the back of my head I really didn't want to come in last and if I finished in 1 hr and 40 mins, then that would be nice - but I wasn't holding my breath for either one of those. The first 1.5 mile run went great and I finished in less than a 10 min mile (which is what I've been running lately). I made me a playlist with songs for running, biking, running (I like different songs for different things) and timed them with my goals so I could keep track. I didn't want to time or pace because I didn't want it to add to my anxiety. It was the bike ride that killed me. Riding a bike seems like a piece of cake, but 10.5 miles of it was harder than I thought it would be. That's where I killed my time - and my bottom. It was a little sad watching bike after bike after bike passing me. There was a triathlon at the same time, same course, so there were quite a few people and it got to the point that I wasn't sure there was anyone left behind me. But last or no, I finally pulled in and parked that blasted bike. I assumed that I would shuffle the last three miles saddle style, but after I got going I actually felt really good. The course so far had been pretty flat, but I was pretty nervous when I turned the first corner of the second run to see that the course went through the wash and desert. Washes aren't flat and I thought they were nuts to make me try and go up and down little hills in the dirt after torturing my legs the way that I just had. Luckily, the dirt was pretty packed down. If it had been loose sand I would have sat down and cried. But like I said, I was feeling good and surprised myself at how well I took the wash and was actually passing people. It was the last mile of the race that was the worst. My fire finally burned out and I didn't think I was going to make it. I didn't want to stop, but it was going on FOREVER! Somehow I pulled through and it was the best feeling picking up speed to cross the finish line with them announcing my name that I had done it!

After the race on the way home. We were pretty proud of ourselves!

The results of my goals were 1) YES! I did it without stopping. 2) HOORAY! I didn't come in last. I was 36th out of 44. 3) SO CLOSE! My time was 1 hr and 48 mins. I'd really like to try another one and see if I can improve my time. I really enjoyed myself! I learned a few things for the next one, though.

1) Spend some time on a bike. Running more than once or twice a week (sometimes every other week) would be beneficial also.

2) Mountain bikes are no competition for road bikes. (I decided that was the reason everyone was passing me. It had nothing to do with their incredibly muscular legs!)

3) Not worth the anxiety and loss of sleep. It's all for fun anyway!

4) ABOVE ALL, get a pair of padded bike shorts!