It was a bit muddy out there...
This was my first experience at a duathlon or tirathlon type effort where I was not part of a team. Run as a fund-raiser for the Medicine Bow Nordic Association (and well run I might add), there was a 5k run followed by a 20k mountain bike ride followed by a 5k run. The run was a loop with a bit of a climb halfway through. The second 5k run ran the loop in the opposite direction. The mountain bike ride took you from the top of the Happy Jack area to the base, back up, back down, and back up again. Each lap of the bike section probably entailed about 400 feet of climbing. To make everything more exciting, a bit of snow was to be found on the course which made the downhill sections a bit more challenging. Suprisingly, the uphills were not too affected by the snow.
I have never really run seriously. I only started to run for this thing two weeks before the race and I figure I put on about 12 miles total in preparation. I found that I could carry a 10 minute pace comfortably, but going any faster caused me great pain. Once again, I made sure I was the last of the 22 individuals and 17 team runners to cross the starting line after the gun went off. I ran the first 5k in about 28 minutes -- I would have figured it as a blazing pace but for the fact there were probably only 4 people behind me at the finish of the leg. However, this served as an adequate warm-up for the biking leg and I had a great time. All of the really good cyclists were well in front of me and I was able to pick off about a dozen riders during the second leg. I guess that I shouldn't be surprised, but half of those were riders from teams. There were a couple of truly fast teams out there (not that I ever saw them), but a number of them were weekend warriors having some fun. The second 5k was much more fun than the first -- it took me about 30 minutes this time, but I was a lot more comfortable. At the beginning of this leg, I was trotting down the trail through some trees and heard this fast approaching pounding coming up behind. I figured this person must really be sprinting down the trail. I prepared to step aside, but when I glanced over my shoulder it was a horse and rider following me at a polite distance. When I thought about it rationally, I realized it would have to have been one hell of a big person to make that much noise. Anyway, I finished up 26th out of 39 individuals and teams. I had quite a bit of fun, and I would do a duathlon like this again in a heartbeat. But first, I figure to put a few running miles on my legs -- like maybe 20 or so in the two weeks before the race.
It was a bit muddy out there...