This seemed like a good idea at the time...Hell and back!
It seemed appropriate that I write up the overview of my first duathlon as I prepare for my 3rd annual anniversary 6k race -- the one that got me hooked on running & racing!
Starting off my 2nd full year of racing with a new milestone is an amazing feeling! Now that the race is over anyway. Honestly, I've been putting off writing this blog because I still want to remain on that post-race high and not relive the lows. If you've never completed a duathlon, I hope this doesn't deter you in any way! I will add my own little tips - simplest of guides for us newbies :)
"This seemed like a good idea 2 1/2 weeks ago..." How many times have we shared the similar thought during a race? For me, I didn't look at the race in its entirety. I saw that it was 3 mile run, 20 mile bike and a 2 mile run. Piece of cake! The 2 runs combined is an easy warm-up on my ultras! And cycling came easy to me. Or so it seemed after 2 bike rides, with the highest of 14 miles on then 2nd ride.
What's one of the most important things you can do in preparation for your race? Rest. Guess I neglected? Rest. I was working 1st, 2nd, 3rd shifts throughout the week and catching few hours of sleep where I could. Including the night of the race. I logged off at midnight and slept for 3.5 hrs before getting up for the 2.5 hr drive.
Do not do this.
Oh, the joy and excitement of seeing the course signs & cones, race tents, start/finish line and volunteers scrambling for last minute set-ups! Even now, I get giddy with the thought of these sights. The anxiety is lost for while you get caught up in this moment.
When I went to pick up my bib - I was directed to another tent for more equipment check. There, I was given a sticker and was told the transition area is not assigned. Huh?? I came out and just openly admitted that this was my first duathlon and I'm not quite sure what to do with the sticker... It was literally a "I don't know what to do my hands" Ricky Bobby moment. To add confusion, she told me to put the sticker on my hat (I asked another volunteer & was told it's for the bike. Made more sense!)
When I got to the transition area, I surveyed others' set up. Some didn't have a towel but I could see by their bike & equip that this isn't their first time. Does that mean I'd look dumb if I had a towel out? Oh look, the helmet is set up so that the top is on the ground and the straps out to the side for easy pick up and snap-on. Genius! I learned so much by just looking around. I decided to use my towel after all and to try the helmet trick. I also had an extra pair of shoes for run #2. And my gloves just in case. Seeing other athletes and their equipment and lay outs was intimidating for sure. But I decided to stop being nervous about this. It doesn't matter -- we all have to start somewhere. So if that means asking more questions, then so be it.
Then we were off! Run 1 was a mind-game. I want to go fast. But I should save my energy. I could so PR. Seriously, go easy. I guess it was a compromise :) I finished around 25 min -- just 2 min short of my last PR.
Transition 1 --really smooth. I took a swig of my Cocogo, put on my helmet and was off again. In hindsight, I should have maybe taken 30 sec to stretch my legs.
Cycling - holy hills. I was not prepared for this and I wish I had a GoPro on me so you didn't think I was exaggerating. I'd like to see the elevation comparison on these compared to Heartbreak Hill. They were enough to make me break down a few times. With the first few, I went for them hard. I figured it'd be all downhill from there. And I'm sure these hills will be scarce. But no.
Even after some decent hill, it turned out to be flat before a higher one came into view. There was one in particular where I looked up and my heart just sank & I had to keep from crying. I was in pain and this view just broke my heart. And almost my will. I got about 1/4 up and had to hike the rest (I wasn't the only one!) Once I reached the top, I had to just stop to cease the nausea. There were a lot of curse words yelled out during this one!
There were no mile markers along the course so my only way to keep track was my Garmin. I was feeling pretty good about finding the feature where you can easily transition from one activity to another - including the transitions on the course. But you know what I didn't know? It didn't start the miles over with each activity. So when I though I was at the end of the 20 miles, I found out from a volunteer that I still had 3 miles left. I thought she said 3/4 of mile left to the cyclists in front of me so I just yelled out what she said -- "Nope, you have 3 to 4 miles left!".
I was truly in hell.
Transition 2 - we were told to dismount our bikes before getting to transition. "Gladly! You don't have to tell me twice!" I replied back. I didn't want to be on this bike another second.
Run #2 - I had been battling ITB flare up for the last few miles so I figured this will be a run/walk. And honestly, I just wanted to finish. That's all. Didn't expect more.
But as I rounded the corner out of the transition area, what did I face? Steep hill.
I wasn't the only one hurting ~ 2 guys in front of me also stopped a few times to stretch their ITB. And the 3 of us turned into the "Mighty 4" as one of the guys named us. As another runner and I were talking, I mentioned how great it was to have company and how this is what makes racing such a great event. I train all by myself so this is a chance for me to meet other athletes! I sprinted towards the finish line and received my finisher medal.
Overall, this was a true test of my will. This race almost broke me. Besides the one DNF (due to injury), I wondered if I would be able to complete this. I gave thanks and praise for this opportunity to take part in this adventure. Then I questioned God -- you sure you got me on this? Cuz this is hard. I decided to take on my approach of giving thanks with each difficult hill. And I'm pretty sure I threatened to break off our relationship a few times.
I did get through it. A few times, I thought the vehicle behind me was the sweeper. I truly thought I was last for most of the ride. It was such a humbling experience. But I was not last. In fact, I placed 3rd in my age division (3 out of 15). I had joked that though finishing the race is the main goal, placing would be fantastic! And I did it.
I moaned & groaned about the course after I was done. But on the ride home, I thought "I bet I could've gone a little harder on some areas of the course". We all do this, don't we? We could have run faster, harder... I was thirsty to complete another one.
These are the types of races that make you a better athlete. They show how strong you are - you have to be fit physically and mentally. I underestimated what it took to complete a duathlon but I sure earned my medal. I know what my weaknesses are and where I want to improve.
Don't let the race break you down - show some grit and break through those barriers. Show your strength but let go of the ego. I don't know how many times I had to remind myself that finishing last doesn't mean I lost. Quitting because it was hard would mean I lost.
What type of power will you unleash?
***I thank all of you for all the encouragement along the way -
I read your IG and FB comments before the race to calm myself down. And the outpour of love and support afterwards was amazing. You guys are the best!
What's one of the most important things you can do in preparation for your race? Rest. Guess I neglected? Rest. I was working 1st, 2nd, 3rd shifts throughout the week and catching few hours of sleep where I could. Including the night of the race. I logged off at midnight and slept for 3.5 hrs before getting up for the 2.5 hr drive.Do not do this.
Oh, the joy and excitement of seeing the course signs & cones, race tents, start/finish line and volunteers scrambling for last minute set-ups! Even now, I get giddy with the thought of these sights. The anxiety is lost for while you get caught up in this moment.
When I got to the transition area, I surveyed others' set up. Some didn't have a towel but I could see by their bike & equip that this isn't their first time. Does that mean I'd look dumb if I had a towel out? Oh look, the helmet is set up so that the top is on the ground and the straps out to the side for easy pick up and snap-on. Genius! I learned so much by just looking around. I decided to use my towel after all and to try the helmet trick. I also had an extra pair of shoes for run #2. And my gloves just in case. Seeing other athletes and their equipment and lay outs was intimidating for sure. But I decided to stop being nervous about this. It doesn't matter -- we all have to start somewhere. So if that means asking more questions, then so be it.
Then we were off! Run 1 was a mind-game. I want to go fast. But I should save my energy. I could so PR. Seriously, go easy. I guess it was a compromise :) I finished around 25 min -- just 2 min short of my last PR.
Transition 1 --really smooth. I took a swig of my Cocogo, put on my helmet and was off again. In hindsight, I should have maybe taken 30 sec to stretch my legs.
Cycling - holy hills. I was not prepared for this and I wish I had a GoPro on me so you didn't think I was exaggerating. I'd like to see the elevation comparison on these compared to Heartbreak Hill. They were enough to make me break down a few times. With the first few, I went for them hard. I figured it'd be all downhill from there. And I'm sure these hills will be scarce. But no.
Even after some decent hill, it turned out to be flat before a higher one came into view. There was one in particular where I looked up and my heart just sank & I had to keep from crying. I was in pain and this view just broke my heart. And almost my will. I got about 1/4 up and had to hike the rest (I wasn't the only one!) Once I reached the top, I had to just stop to cease the nausea. There were a lot of curse words yelled out during this one!
There were no mile markers along the course so my only way to keep track was my Garmin. I was feeling pretty good about finding the feature where you can easily transition from one activity to another - including the transitions on the course. But you know what I didn't know? It didn't start the miles over with each activity. So when I though I was at the end of the 20 miles, I found out from a volunteer that I still had 3 miles left. I thought she said 3/4 of mile left to the cyclists in front of me so I just yelled out what she said -- "Nope, you have 3 to 4 miles left!".
I was truly in hell.
Transition 2 - we were told to dismount our bikes before getting to transition. "Gladly! You don't have to tell me twice!" I replied back. I didn't want to be on this bike another second.
Run #2 - I had been battling ITB flare up for the last few miles so I figured this will be a run/walk. And honestly, I just wanted to finish. That's all. Didn't expect more.
 |
| Finish line |
I wasn't the only one hurting ~ 2 guys in front of me also stopped a few times to stretch their ITB. And the 3 of us turned into the "Mighty 4" as one of the guys named us. As another runner and I were talking, I mentioned how great it was to have company and how this is what makes racing such a great event. I train all by myself so this is a chance for me to meet other athletes! I sprinted towards the finish line and received my finisher medal.
Overall, this was a true test of my will. This race almost broke me. Besides the one DNF (due to injury), I wondered if I would be able to complete this. I gave thanks and praise for this opportunity to take part in this adventure. Then I questioned God -- you sure you got me on this? Cuz this is hard. I decided to take on my approach of giving thanks with each difficult hill. And I'm pretty sure I threatened to break off our relationship a few times.
I did get through it. A few times, I thought the vehicle behind me was the sweeper. I truly thought I was last for most of the ride. It was such a humbling experience. But I was not last. In fact, I placed 3rd in my age division (3 out of 15). I had joked that though finishing the race is the main goal, placing would be fantastic! And I did it.
I moaned & groaned about the course after I was done. But on the ride home, I thought "I bet I could've gone a little harder on some areas of the course". We all do this, don't we? We could have run faster, harder... I was thirsty to complete another one.These are the types of races that make you a better athlete. They show how strong you are - you have to be fit physically and mentally. I underestimated what it took to complete a duathlon but I sure earned my medal. I know what my weaknesses are and where I want to improve.
Don't let the race break you down - show some grit and break through those barriers. Show your strength but let go of the ego. I don't know how many times I had to remind myself that finishing last doesn't mean I lost. Quitting because it was hard would mean I lost.
What type of power will you unleash?
 |
| FINISHER SHIRT! |
***I thank all of you for all the encouragement along the way -
I read your IG and FB comments before the race to calm myself down. And the outpour of love and support afterwards was amazing. You guys are the best!
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