First Duathlon
This past weekend, a few clients/friends and I participated in the Girlfriends and Dudes Duathlon, Triathlon, and Kids Tri in Vancouver, WA. The Duathlon consisted of a 2 mile run, 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. Individually, each of these distances seem easy. Put them together, and it becomes a great physical and mental challenge! The most challenging part was the second transition from the bike to the run. Getting the legs to move was quite a task. Julie and I got to cross the finish line together, each with an overall time of 1:34:48 placing us 5th and 6th overall and 1st in each of our respective age divisions! Sandy and Tom were not too far behind, taking 18th and 22nd respectively. I am so proud of all of them for completing their first duathlon! I have to give a big shout out to Tom and Julie’s daughter and son-in-law, Mollie and Rob, for coming out, supporting us, and being our photographers! Mollie did a great job capturing all of us throughout the race! Thank you both! Mike (the owner/trainer of the facility I operate out of) and a few of his clients completed the Triathlon! They were sure brave getting in that 63 degree water on that chilly and windy Sunday morning! I am not sure of their exact standings, but I know they all did great!
I’ll be honest and say, races are not really my “thing”. Specifically running races. Unless it is for a good cause, paying to run in a crowd is just not what I care to do. I would rather go run whenever, where ever, and with whoever I want. That being said, after this race this past weekend, I am motivated to do more! The energy that comes from being in “race mode” is inspiring and motivating. In high school I was very competitive, but since then, I’ve seemed to have lost some of my competitiveness, or so I thought. I find that when I am put into a competitive event, I not only want to beat my previous mile time, but I want to pass just one more person. As a trainer, I know and understand the benefits of having a workout or training partner, but I find myself working out or training on my own most of the time. Having others around to “workout” with at the races is a great change of pace for me!
I will be doing the Kiss Me Dirty Run with some (female) clients of mine on Sept. 21st here in Portland. It is not too late to sign up! Click here to register (9:30am wave) and then let me know so that you can be included on the race day “Swag” and transportation!
This was a busy weekend with activities! The AEF Kickers had their first kickball game right after the Duathlon! Everyone did great, and we had such a great time! I can’t wait until our game next weekend! Stay tuned, more kickball photos and details to come next week!