So... last year my crazy (love you!) friend C asked me if I was interested in doing a Duathlon in Bloomington/Minneapolis with her and her family/friends, BUT I was pregnant with Raven and was due with her just about 1.5 weeks before the event... so that didn't pan out. BUT, crazy ME said, I will do it next year!
So, earlier this year we discussed it and SIGNED UP for the Iron Girl Duathlon which was held Sunday, September 27, 2010.
For those that don't know, a Duathlon consists of a 2-mile run, a 22-mile bike ride, and a 2-mile run. Also, this particular Duathlon was part of the Iron Girl series, which are female-only events.
So... that weekend, I drove up north to Spencer, WI, to drop off the kids with my in-laws (Adam was off playing Oktoberfest that weekend), and then I drove to Minneapolis on Friday. It was great to see friends Matt & Kim and their new baby and also to see Nate & Jaime and celebrate their son's 2nd birthday.
I met with Chrissy, her mom, her sister, and friend Angela in Minneapolis on Friday night. (Angela and I had GREAT supper out with her friend P from high school!) Saturday we spent a crazy wonderful amount of time shopping, I went to a birthday party... it was a GREAT girls' weekend. :) After a dinner at Olive Garden Saturday night, we turned in for the night.
Sunday morning was a beautiful day for a run/ride and my 'wave' started at 8:00 ish. I was able to run most of the first 2-mile leg, and then I hopped on my bike.
This is where I tell you that I am NOT much of a biker. For the past three and a half years, I have either been pregnant or had a baby under one, which is not old enough to take in a bike trailer. So, I haven't done a lot of biking. So, a month or so before the race was when I really focused on training, as I knew I could ride out early in the morning and also Raven was finally big enough to pull around in the trailer.
SO... it was a big deal for me to have to bike THAT MUCH in one day, let alone as fast as I could. Thankfully Pella DOES have some hills in it and I made sure to ride those A LOT because the Duathlon...? Yah, it was fairly hilly by my standards.
I wanted to puke about 2.5 miles in, but that feeling passed and WOW, how exhilarating to complete that first lap (it was 2 laps of 11 miles) and know heading into the second that I was halfway done.
When I got off my bike at the end of the ride portion, my legs were numb. Basically, I couldn't have told you I had appendages but I could tell I was lugging around some serious concrete. So, the last 2-mile run was more like a 2-mile hobble.
BUT, I completed the event and did so in under 3 hours. (I think my finish was 2:48:43.) We went back to the hotel, showered, went out for lunch... and then I DROVE HOME. Ack. Wow. My body was dead. Thankfully my mind wasn't!
What a great weekend!
Leading up to the event, most people didn't know I was participating in a Duathlon and believe me, I didn't talk about it much. I have found that the less I think about it and the more I focus on training, the less anxious I get about the thing. I simply woke up Sunday morning and did it. Yah, that three hours was full of pain and sweat, but it was AWESOME. And, those races are like a drug... despite the pain and fatigue, I want to keep on doing them. And the camaraderie.,.. is AMAZING. I love it!
Hence why I did a Half Marathon this last weekend... but THAT is a whole other post... :)
erin
So, earlier this year we discussed it and SIGNED UP for the Iron Girl Duathlon which was held Sunday, September 27, 2010.
For those that don't know, a Duathlon consists of a 2-mile run, a 22-mile bike ride, and a 2-mile run. Also, this particular Duathlon was part of the Iron Girl series, which are female-only events.
So... that weekend, I drove up north to Spencer, WI, to drop off the kids with my in-laws (Adam was off playing Oktoberfest that weekend), and then I drove to Minneapolis on Friday. It was great to see friends Matt & Kim and their new baby and also to see Nate & Jaime and celebrate their son's 2nd birthday.
I met with Chrissy, her mom, her sister, and friend Angela in Minneapolis on Friday night. (Angela and I had GREAT supper out with her friend P from high school!) Saturday we spent a crazy wonderful amount of time shopping, I went to a birthday party... it was a GREAT girls' weekend. :) After a dinner at Olive Garden Saturday night, we turned in for the night.
Sunday morning was a beautiful day for a run/ride and my 'wave' started at 8:00 ish. I was able to run most of the first 2-mile leg, and then I hopped on my bike.
This is where I tell you that I am NOT much of a biker. For the past three and a half years, I have either been pregnant or had a baby under one, which is not old enough to take in a bike trailer. So, I haven't done a lot of biking. So, a month or so before the race was when I really focused on training, as I knew I could ride out early in the morning and also Raven was finally big enough to pull around in the trailer.
SO... it was a big deal for me to have to bike THAT MUCH in one day, let alone as fast as I could. Thankfully Pella DOES have some hills in it and I made sure to ride those A LOT because the Duathlon...? Yah, it was fairly hilly by my standards.
I wanted to puke about 2.5 miles in, but that feeling passed and WOW, how exhilarating to complete that first lap (it was 2 laps of 11 miles) and know heading into the second that I was halfway done.
When I got off my bike at the end of the ride portion, my legs were numb. Basically, I couldn't have told you I had appendages but I could tell I was lugging around some serious concrete. So, the last 2-mile run was more like a 2-mile hobble.
BUT, I completed the event and did so in under 3 hours. (I think my finish was 2:48:43.) We went back to the hotel, showered, went out for lunch... and then I DROVE HOME. Ack. Wow. My body was dead. Thankfully my mind wasn't!
What a great weekend!
Leading up to the event, most people didn't know I was participating in a Duathlon and believe me, I didn't talk about it much. I have found that the less I think about it and the more I focus on training, the less anxious I get about the thing. I simply woke up Sunday morning and did it. Yah, that three hours was full of pain and sweat, but it was AWESOME. And, those races are like a drug... despite the pain and fatigue, I want to keep on doing them. And the camaraderie.,.. is AMAZING. I love it!
Hence why I did a Half Marathon this last weekend... but THAT is a whole other post... :)
erin
1 comment:
Way to go Erin! I've heard that about races, that people love doing them and they have their own culture.
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