aw, you done did it now...

Hey, guess what I did yesterday? I signed up for a duathlon.

I haven't run since forever (or, you know, last fall), but I figure that with 5 months to train, I can probably manage 4 miles. Especially since they were kind enough to make it the bread in the multi-sport sandwich--2 miles on each end, with the biking in the middle. Maybe all duathlons are like this, I honestly don't know. This will be my first one. :)

So, whatever possessed me? Well, there was a triathlon in town a couple weeks ago...in fact, the same one that I mentioned in passing last year. Probably goes without saying that I didn't do it this year either. However, someone from my beginner ride did, someone else is doing the Muddy Buddy this week, and I am still trying to find a teammate for this year's UAR...so I've had competitive/multi-sport events on the brain lately. Then we were having dinner the other day, and Rob's friend called. They started talking about training for the Cinco Ranch Tri in September. I jumped at that, until I realized that it was the same weekend as my dad's wedding and a business trip. Trying to squeeze a long, stressed-out workday, a Wisconsin wedding, three plane trips, and my first triathlon into one weekend would definitely be a recipe for The Crazy. I had to pass.

However, with all the talk of tris and adventure races, the seed that had been planted at the bike skills clinic a couple weeks ago* took root. I wasn't giving up that easily. I started googling around for tris in the fall, and hit upon this duathlon. As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was the answer...mildly competitive, reasonable distances, and--best part!--no swimming to worry about. Count me in!

Now I just need to learn to run again.

*which I just realized that I didn't write about here. Hmm. Short version: four hour clinic put on by the club, covering cornering, bumping, pacelines/echelons, time trial starts, general bike handling. About a dozen people showed up, mostly race team with a few of us recreational riders in the mix. It was fun, a good way to get out of my comfort zone and see how my bike-handling skills measure up. Answer? Not all that well...I was repeatedly shown up by the 10-year-old mountain bike racer. However, so were some of the race team, so I didn't feel quite so bad. :) Anyway, kind of a reality check where racing is concerned, but totally worth the $10.