Lazy Girl: 1-- Dubuque Duathlon: 0

Well, I made it! I not only survived (my main goal), but I also made it in much less time than I predicted. Overall, the experience was fun! It was not the easiest, but I actually loved it, and can't wait for next year's duathlon. Crazy, I know.
So here's what happened.....
We got there early enough to set up our transition areas, complete with towels (after researching what to have at the transition area, even though we didn't use them), bike gloves, extra water bottle (just in case), etc. This small race of 123 was mainly serious athletes, with fancy bikes, and all the appropriate gear. A little intimidating. I'm not a "serious" biker, so I didn't have the clip shoes. Running shoes all the way, baby. I'm pretty sure the lack of shoe changing shaved vital seconds off of my transition time. Sure. That's what I was worried about.
After setting up, warming up, stretching, visiting the porta-potty, checking the course map, it was time to go listen to the rules. As we are listening, I realize, "Crap, they're going to start us right now!" I thought we had more time, and I didn't have my gum. I know that sounds weird, but I can't run without gum. It keeps my mouth from getting too dry. It's my thing. So I didn't have time, but I figured it's only a 1.2 mile run, and then I can get it from my bike bag. And Amanda asks me to throw some on her towel. That added those vital seconds back on after I had shaved them off with the shoe thing.
Run 1 (11:21)
The first run was probably the hardest part of the whole thing, honestly. I don't know if it is because that first mile is always the hardest, or if I was pushing it a little harder than normal, since I knew I would be able to get on my bike soon. (In case you haven't noticed, the bike is my comfort zone.) I ran it in 11:21, which meant that my pace was 9:27/mile. Which is pretty freaking good for me!
Transition 1
I transitioned to my bike pretty clumsily, what with the gum, the awkwardness of trying to put on a helmet and gloves hurriedly, and the ridiculous way I get on a bike. So that transition took me 1:06.
Bike (1:16:37)
I was still pretty out of breath when I got going on the bike, which was unfortunate, since the route is pretty much uphill for the first 2 miles or so. Within that first 2 miles is the dreadful Mrs. Humke, the hill I've had nightmares about. It was tough, but I just kept trucking. My strategy was to keep saying to myself, "Just make it to that flower. Now make it to that tree. Now that stick." I had to break it up into chunks, no matter how small (we're talking like 2-3 feet here). I drank over half of my water in that first loop (of 2), and almost none the rest of the ride. I didn't want to be all sloshy when it came to the second run.
The second loop was SO much easier, and seemed to go much faster than the first. We encountered this feeling in our training also. So glad it felt that way on race day, too! I actually watched as this big, buff dude WALKED his bike up Humke hill! I couldn't believe it! There were a couple other girls walking it too, but he just floored me. So I felt awesome crawling up that hill ON MY BIKE. Amanda had a buddy on her bike. One of the sag support kids just drove his truck alongside of her bike for the last half of the course! He kept her occupied with conversation! The last few miles of the biking ended with rain. We had overcast skies all morning, and this light rain felt pretty great, except when I was flying downhill, scared of slipping. I have a history of worrying about rain while on a bicycle. I had one girl in my sights, in a blue shirt, that I just had to overtake. I always pick out one person to get in front of, and she was mine. I got her at the end of the bike ride, finally. My toes went numb half-way through the biking. This happened to me on RAGBRAI too. Anyone know what that's all about? The biking portion came to an end, after 1:16:37, and I knew I had to run. Ugh.
Transition 2
I jumped off my bike awkwardly, and ran it to my rack, took a swig of water, threw my helmet off, and took off running. Then I realized I had no idea which way to go. Luckily, some other people didn't know either, and they yelled at the girl for clarification. I got around the transition fence and realized that I was still wearing my gloves. So I ripped them off and threw them over the fence. And they are still there. Or in the garbage. Forgot all about them. But it's okay, because I needed new ones anyway. This is nothing compared to what Amanda forgot. She got past the girl at the gate, after also asking which way to go, and got to the ladies at the water station before they yelled, "Hey, you're still wearing your helmet!" Oh, I would have paid good money to see her running with her special helmet on!! We can only hope one of the photographers there got it! I did this transition in much less time, 0:39.
Run 2 (37:49)
Of course, by this time, the rain had stopped. I would have loved a little sprinkle. For the first time, after doing all of our brick workouts in training, I actually felt no pain when starting to run. (Other than the numb toes, which went away after running a bit.) My legs felt ready to run, instead of like jello! I got started around the pond, when I saw Amanda across the water. She and I were yelling at each other, calling our distress signals, and I'm sure people thought "those girls in the coral shirts have a serious problem." By the way, we got a lot of compliments on our shirts. I hadn't seen Amanda in a while, so I was glad to see that she was not already done. But Terry was, of course! I was just determined to take it slow so that I could run the whole thing, and to not be last. Once I got going, I felt pretty good. It just felt like I was out for a leisurely run. That might have had something to do with the fact that I was all by myself in what felt like the wilderness, but was really an industrial park. For a while I wondered if I was on the right path. Then Ms. Blue Shirt caught up to me. We ended up running and chatting the last mile and a half together. It was a good distraction. When I could finally see the lights and the finish line in the distance, I picked up the pace. Amanda had walked back to cheer me on, yelling "Red-Winged Blackbirds," knowing my fear would make me run faster. The finish line was on a downhill slant, so I booked it! I was shocked to see that I finished it in 2:07:20. I was fourth to last. Yep, out of 123 people, I came in 120th. I ran the second run in 37.49, with a pace of 12:37.

So....after all that....I learned that 4 weeks of training was fine, but 2 weeks on the bike was not. Next year, I will try to start at least 8 weeks out. The brick workouts really helped us get used to running and biking at the same time. I am just happy that I didn't have to walk any of it. So next year, I will try to improve my time. Hopefully I will have a new bike, and not Joel's mom's 8+ year old bike. I will say my energy was a little sapped by the second loop on the bike, so maybe there is something I could do for that...gels, etc. It would be nice if more people heard about this race so that there were more amateurs out there. I will post our pictures in the next post.

Duathlon!

It's here. Tomorrow is the longest, hardest race I will have ever tried!

1.2 mile run. 17 mile bike. 5K run.

It's here.

Amanda and I have spent the week preparing ourselves with bike rides and runs, and familiarizing ourselves with the course. We've researched all the right things to do before the big day. We biked the full 17 miles on Wednesday, with a short run afterward. And then our legs fell off. Or at least it felt like it. So Thursday was our day of recovery. We have our awesome race shirts decorated with slightly amateurish, yet awesome puffy paint. We have our Duathlete Bondi Bands ready to go.
I read that it is more important to get a good night's sleep 2 days before, rather than the night before. (Apparently no one sleeps well before an important race anyway...imagine that!) Last night, I thought that would not be a problem. Wrong. I woke up at 3:30 am, and could not fall asleep until after 6:30. I just tossed and turned pretty much the whole time.

At some point during the night, I had a dream about a neighbor named Mrs. Humke. In the dream, she was mean, and I did not like her. That's all I remembered about her upon waking. I do not have a neighbor named Mrs. Humke. However, the name of the road with the horrible hill I will be facing tomorrow......Humke Road. This realization made me giggle as I was waking up. I can't make this stuff up. Apparently, I have personified the scary hill into a really mean old lady. Is there a hidden meaning there? Or a really obvious meaning??
Today we went for a short run on the course to loosen up the legs, and then spent the ride home yawning. I hope we have more energy in the morning! I am spending the night eating baked mostacciolli and watching old movies. Morning will come fast, so I'm going to try to make up for that Mrs. Humke dream fiasco with an early bedtime!

Since Joel is in Las Vegas, we will be short on cheerleaders. So if you want to come out and see the spectacle, we should be done between 10 and 11 am. Race info here. You'll here from me tomorrow, after my long nap, about how it went! IF I survive.........

Also, this is a shout-out to Terry, Amanda's boyfriend, who's spending his birthday tomorrow competing also!
Happy Birthday Ter-Bear!!

Alone.

After running 3.2 miles by myself today, I realized a few things:

1) This is really boring.
2) It's not so bad running without music.
3) My new "real" running shoes are amazing.
4) I really like running in the heat.

1) This summer, I have been doing all of of my running with Amanda. If it weren't for her, I would not be running at all this year! Last summer, I focused on biking for RAGBRAI, and this year, I'm just lazy. This duathlon was just the thing we needed to get going. However, I still struggle with getting out the door to run, even with Amanda hounding me! But once we get out there, I'm glad I'm there. We talk. Or, she talks. I pant. Occasionally I talk. We talk about the upcoming school year, as she just landed her first teaching job. We talk about food. We talk about the job we used to share. I even asked her to be a bridesmaid in my wedding on one of our runs. She cheers me on, when I just want to flip her off. So running by myself?? Boring.

2) When I did run alone in the past, I always had to do so with my iPod. Today and Friday night proved that I don't need to. I have always had difficulty breathing (which I know I need to see a doctor about) and running alone and without music helps me concentrate on controlling my breathing. I can hear my foot fall too, and can tell when I'm getting sloppy and lazy and need to pick it up. Not as easy with Micheal Jackson blaring in my ears. No offense, MJ.

3) I just bought my first pair of "real" running shoes this weekend from The Shoe Shack. I got the fitting and all that good stuff. A little different from the shoe department at Kohls. It was worth every penny. My nasty old shoes were not doing my apparently very high arches any favors. They only had 3 pairs that would work for my feet. The Brooks pair that I got are like running on air! I love them. I vow to never go back to Kohls for my running shoes. Sandals, yes. Important shoes, no.

4) It was HOT today. But, man, it felt good to sweat like that for 40 minutes! I love it. Sweating in my un-air-conditioned car on the way to the grocery store, hate. Sweating while working out, love. There is a difference, and today's run felt great.

This week's training will be a few small runs and tackling that monster hill on the bike a few more times. Getting good night's sleep Thursday and Friday. I just read that your sleep 2 nights before a big race is more important than the night before. Also eating carbs the 2 nights prior is apparently important for energy the day of the race. I'm learning so much. And sleep and pasta? I can handle that training.

Bird Is The Word.

I am competing (if you can call it that) in the Dubuque Duathlon in about a week. I have been running like crazy, with Amanda forcing me every day. She says we are increasing our time spent running each week, but it feels like every day. One day it's, "Let's run for 35 minutes this week." The next DAY it's up to 40. She's trying for 45, but I'm throwing a fit. I am feeling surprisingly confident in my running abilities now, since we have been killing it this summer!
Even more surprising....my difficulty biking a portion of the course today. Biking has always been easier for me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I only just picked up my bike 2 days ago, after ditching it in the front yard the second I finished RAGBRAI last year. It still needed to be repaired from its terrible RAGBRAI injury. Amanda and I went for a nice 20 miler that night, and I felt good, despite my horribly painful bike butt.
Today was a different story. We started out with a quick one-mile run around part of the course, and then biked one of the two loops on the course, and finished with another (much less quick) one-mile run.

First run = fast, felt good.
Bike = ugh.
Second run = double ugh.

We had driven the bike course the day before and knew what we were up against. This monster of a hill, right off the bat. I think I had nightmares about this hill last night. And sure enough, it lived up to my perceptions. It. Was. Awful. Even Amanda, who is in WAY better shape, agreed! But we eventually made it up. At a snail's pace. God, I hope there are other amateurs at this race, or I will be very discouraged. The rest of the course was kind of fun. Lots of little ups and downs. The downs were very fun!

And then came the bird.

Here I am, minding my business, huffing along on my bike, when I hear/feel a flutter upon my head. That's right. A freaking bird landed/beat upon my helmet! For several seconds. I screamed and swatted at it, and it flew away, but not far. Now, I'm not a big fan of these aggressive red-wing blackbirds, ever since another one lunged/squawked at me as I was finishing up a run too close to its nest a few weeks ago. But this was too much. Needless to say, every chirp or squawk I heard after this was followed by the assumption that I was being attacked again. It was not a peaceful rest of the ride. What the hell, birds? Does exercising Andrea just look like a meal to these birds? Are they kind of like vultures, just waiting for me to give up? Did my black helmet peering up at him look like another bird taunting him? And lastly, do they make bird repellent I could spray before my next ride/run? Too much.
I guess we'll see what attacks me next time.
The running after biking was weird. Usually, I take that jello-leg feeling right to the couch, but this time, I had to start running. What?! Weird. Then slow. Then really slow. This is going to be really hard.