My first attempt at a multi-sport race was a success. I won't deny that I woke up, hearing what I thought was rain still falling, and honesty considered not doing it at all. It became unseasonably cold in MN this past week. The high for the day was 45 degrees. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, the rain had stopped and there was only a small dusting of snow, yes snow, on the tops of cars.
The race was not large, only around 120 participants, and most were doing the "long" course (5k, 20 mile, 5k). For my first attempt at a duathlon I chose the "short" course (2 mile, 10 mile, 2 mile) and I am so thankful I did. I am not a cyclist by nature, nor do I care to be. I rarely train on the bike, and since MN has had some nasty winds this spring, I must admit that I've only been out once this year. I wasn't expecting greatness on the bike, but I wasn't expecting that amount of pain either! The cold wind was gusting up to 20mph and the rolling hills of Stillwater definitely surprised me.
After finishing as the 3rd woman after the first run, I fell back to maybe 5th or 6th woman after the bike. These little legs just do not appreciate the burn! I will also admit that I never practiced the transition from bike to run either. As I type this, I realize how ill prepared for the race I really was :) It felt strange to get off the bike and immediately start running again. My legs felt like they weighed 100 lbs. each and I thought for sure that I was running at a snail's pace. I was delighted to see myself at sub 7:30 minute mile pace in the first quarter mile.
About a mile into the 2nd run my legs started to loosen up and running felt normal again. I was passing a lot of people, which felt great, and I had my eyes set on a gal in pink ahead of me. As I increased my speed, I could tell she was struggling. Knowing I may not catch her, I glanced at my watch and said aloud, "I'll be happy with sub 1:10:00, but my main goal is to pass the pink shirt." On my last surge up the final little hill, with the finish line in sight, I said, "Awesome job!" and blew past the pink shirt.
1:09:00. I'll take that for the first time out, ill prepared and all.
Lessons Learned from my first Multi-sport Race:
1. Practice the bike. And practice the bike again. Or maybe just do relay events with your husband and let him do the bike instead :)
2. Prayer is good. But it's still gonna hurt! I can't tell you how many songs I "made up" with the lyrics "Give me strength Lord, give me strength!" sung to various tunes and possibly sometimes grunted.
3. A sub 20:00 5k is in the cards. Speed work really does wonders for speed (shocking huh?!) I realize more each day that I'm built to be a runner.
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