My First Duathlon

I completed my first duathlon!  Yay!

I participated in the Cartersville Duathlon.  It consisted of a Run/Bike/Run: 5K - 17 miles - 5K.

About a month ago I spent a Sunday seeing if this were doable for me.  I ran 2.3 miles, cycled 8 miles, and ran 2 miles.  Then I did some weight training.  I felt great!  I figured that I could finish this event.  So I set a new goal: Complete said race in 2 hours.

Did I finish?  Yes.  Did I meet my goal?  Close enough!  I finished in 2:01:32.  I could have made the first transition a little faster, but other than that I could not have put more effort into it and still finish.  I finished the first 5K in 26:16 (not bad...) and the second 5K in 26:50.  I was actually prouder of the second time because I was fighting all sorts of issues during that second run.  It all started in the bike part.

When I read that a course has rolling hills, I think of tame hills where the downhills help propel you up the uphill.  You can see the end of the ascent and the descent is gradual but noticeable.  That's the image I have in my head.  Yeah....  Those weren't "rolling hills" yesterday.  I'm not sure what I'd call them though.  There weren't any steep climbs (like up near Lake Lanier - oy).  The ascents lasted anywhere from .5 mile - 2 miles.  Most of the time you couldn't see where the uphills ended (which is demoralizing).  The grade of the ascent would increase slightly as you kept climbing (once again - demoralizing).  The uphills were a bitch.  Pardon the lingo.

Enough about the uphills for the moment....  Now the downhills were a different story.  When you have a long-ass climb, you would expect something similar for a descent.  Nope.  Not yesterday.  The downhills were very tame, gradual and very short.  Boooooo!  There was some flat areas which was nice.  But I really could have gone for some more descents.  At one point in the race (around mile..... 13 maybe?), I had been climbing for at least a mile and noticed that the flaggers were telling us to make a very tight right turn.  It was an exit off of a major highway that clover-leafed around a very steep decline and immediately turned left at the bottom.  So we had to brake around this super tight loop on a long-awaited descent and turn left at the bottom.  Bummer.  Here's the bigger bummer: We had another hill climb immediately after we turned left.  Boooo!  Lol.  Very demoralizing.

There were good points to the bike-leg of the race.  At mile 11, there was an unbelievable view.  To the right of the road was a farm that looked as though it came out of a painting.  It was the perfect looking farm.  Called "Three Bears Farm."  I couldn't stop staring.  Thankfully the view lasted for quite a while.  Of course the "lovely" smell of farm came right after I passed the entrance.  Ha.  Definitely a farm.  Actually that was the best of the bike course....

I think I "bonked."  I've never done so, but I think I did bonk.  Very unusual feeling.  Happened about mile 10.  It was right when I planned on using an energy gel so I went ahead and took it with some water.  Felt better a few minutes later.  The original plan to take another one at about mile 15 and I didn't.  That cost me later.

Remember those uphills I just bitched about?  Those came with a side-effect for me.  Because my feet are attached to the pedals, I was pulling up on the pedals as well as pushing down with the opposite foot.  While I haven't mastered this technique, I do find that it is my saving grace on hill-climbs.  So all the pulling on the pedals resulted in some severe pain in my shin by the end of the bike course.  Didn't think anything of it at the time.

So the second transition was quick-ish.  I kept running, never stopping to walk and plowed on ahead to the run course again.  I was so focused on pushing through the "jelly legs" that I ignored my feet and shins.  When my quads were still screaming but started functioning again, I noticed that my feet were pretty much numb.  This is from the chilly air from the bike course I figured because what I could feel in my lower extremities was cold.  Once I started getting feeling back in my feet I then noticed that I had an agonizing pain in my shins.  It felt like tennis balls were growing in the upper half of my shin.  Then I thought, "Are these shinsplints?"  I've never had them before so I didn't really know.  So I focused on getting my ankles to relax, which helped some.

All this happened within the first mile and a half.  Yay!  So while I'm managing the pain I realize I was passing a ton of people, most of whom passed me during the bike course.  So I pushed through the pain some more.  I wanted to walk sooooooooooooooo bad.  Then Uncle Bill flashed through my mind so I kept running.  About mile 2, I felt like total.... utter.... crap.  I felt absolutely awful.  Remember that energy gel I skipped?  Yeah...  Not doing that again -- ever.  There was an aid station right about the same time so I slowed down and took in some water.  Still felt like complete crap, but I figured I had one more mile to go.  What's one more mile when you've already gone 22.1 miles?  Lol.

At the entrance to the park, I dug super deep and tried to speed up.  I passed a few more people who cheered me on.  I could barely hear them.  I rounded the last corner and a volunteer said, "You can see the finish line!  Go!"  I realized that I couldn't see it.  I knew it was there, but I couldn't see it.  My vision was very blurred and spotty.  I stopped when there was a wall of people within my sight.  Lol.

So I finished and met my goal.  I put in 250% effort overall.  I made a couple of mistakes, but I see them as learning points (like don't skip out on an energy gel -- you'll pay for it later).  I also learned a few things about myself.  The biggest thing I am amazed at is....  Even when my body was screaming at me to quit and that it couldn't give me anymore, I kept at it -- kept going.  I had to dig deeper than I ever have to do it, but I pushed my body well beyond any limits I have ever reached.  I'm rather stunned actually.  It does prove to me that I can accomplish much more than I ever planned.

Dave says I have shinsplints.  They hurt....  A lot.  I get numbness in my left foot from time to time.  He says it's from the swelling.  Makes sense.  I figure I don't really need a doctor.  Dave's been helping me treat the shinsplints.  I have a swim lesson tomorrow with Bill.  This should prove interesting.

I have a lot of pain at the moment: hip flexors, butt, quads, hamstrings, calves, shinsplints, neck and shoulders.  But man.....  I feel like I just conquered Brasstown Bald.  :)