Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Personal Duathlon

Today I rocked my very own 16 mile Duathlon!  This is quite a feat considering I could hardly get my butt out of bed this morning.  I'm finding it easy to be lazy with the kiddos at Grandma's house for the week.  However, I'm determined to make the most out of the week, allotting time for activities I normally can't do with the kids.  So this morning, I loaded up the bike and headed to the Rock Island Trail.

It was a beautiful sunny morning with temps in the high 60's.  Oddly cool for this time of year, but I'm loving it!  I ran four miles out and back on the trail, happy to cross paths with my friend Cathy for high 5's.  The gravel trail was a bit muddy in spots from all the rain, so I had to do some side-stepping and jumping.  My whole body felt good, and I remember thinking, "Is it wrong that I seem to be happiest while running?"

I love trails with mile markers!  I kept nearly all my mile splits under a 10 minute pace.  That's pretty good for me on an 8 mile jaunt.
9:44 - 9:40 - 9:52 - 9:16 - 8:52 - 9:48 - 10:09 - 9:52

I swung back to the van for my bike, and headed down the trail once again.  For those of you who don't already know, I'm not a fan of biking.  In fact, I'm kinda scared of it!  Something about it makes me feel like I don't have control... and I simply dread falling. But today I felt so free, like a little kid, whizzing down the trail on my mountain bike.  I went the same 4 mile route out and back, bringing today's mileage up to 16 miles.  Sixteen seems to be a good number for me these days!  (see Saturday's long run post)

Total 16 mile Workout:  1:56:58
8 mile Run: 1:17:15
8 mile Bike: 39:43

After all that, I felt like this...

No, I'm kidding!  Really, I felt amazingly GOOD and HAPPY!

A Duathlon is defined as an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg, and then another running leg in a format bearing resemblance to triathlons.  Okay, today's workout wasn't exactly by definition a "duathlon" but I'm calling it that anyway!  :)

Have you ever done a Duathlon, team or individual?  
If not, would you like to?


15 comments:

  1. Swimming intimidates me, so I will have to go for a duathlon sometime!

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  2. Its a biathlon! :) Great job!

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  3. Great job!
    I've never done a duathlon, but I'd love to try. I'm a little intimidated, though and I have a mountain bike- no road bike. Maybe if I could find a race on a trail I'd be a little more inclined to try.

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  4. My bike is broken and I can't swim, so I run! Great job yourself!

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  5. Way to go on that Duathlon. I would love to try doing a Duathlon. Along as it is bike and run not swimming.

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  6. I have had my eye on a few duathlons around here! I am really looking forward to trying one! You did great!!!

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  7. I am a one trick pony so all I do is run. But yup, I am happiest when I am running too.

    You did an awesome job! I am super impressed. :)

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  8. What a great workout! Glad you are enjoying your quiet time without the kiddos!

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  9. Great job! I always thought a duathalon was a bike and run. I'm also intimidated by biking, but need to get out to do it :)

    Enjoy your week 'off'.

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  10. Great job! Duathalons would work so much better for me since I am terrified of the water part of a tri. I am not a good swimmer at all.

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  11. wow, awesome workout :) VERY impressive!

    Yes, I competed in a Duathlon in 2008! I LOVED the feeling of accomplishment BUT I had a pretty crappy bike, so people were FLYING by me the entire race...not exactly a confidence booster! But I did it and that's what matters!

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  12. Sounds like so much fun! One day, I keep saying.

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  13. Wow! That is impressive! I have never done anything like that before. Maybe once I get the 1/2 under my belt I'll look into a tri...

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  14. Congrats on the duathlon! And, no its not wrong that your happiest when you're running - enjoy it!

    Oh, and love the fun pics!

    Winks & Smiles,
    Wifey

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  15. Awesome workout!!! I love my duathlons!!! But I am definitely a runner at heart! No doubt about it!

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I appreciate your feedback and comments!