Spring Classic Duathlon - from home...

Event location: Amboy - by the base of Mt Tum Tum
Number of participants - 1
Weather conditions - wet and cold

There is a duathlon 5k walk/jog - 15 miles on a bike - 5k walk/jog  - that they do today in Portland near the airport.  I have done this event 2 times in the past, one with good weather, and another with not so good weather...

If I had gone there today the weather would be iffy at best...

I found a creative solution...  I did the duathlon from home...

Planned out my layering for the walk/jog portion of it by wearing a long sleeve shirt, a vest and a windbreaker. Found a winter headband to wear to keep my ears warm and the headphones in... (priorities right?)

The first leg - 3.24 miles (just over 5K) of walking/jogging

Got my GPS all ready and started it out and went out on my first leg.  Walked the 1/4 mile to the end of our gravel road and then started my jogging/walking rotation. I would jog for 60 rotations (sets of paces) and then walk for 120. Worked really well as this is the first time that I have tried doing this in anything of endurance length. Cut some good time off of my average mile too!

I had used the car to map out the landmark of where I would be turning around for the out and back to come out to close to 5K (or 3.1 miles) ended up with a bit more than that, but it's all good... This allowed me to not really need to pay attention to my GPS, but just to allow it to keep track of the time and speed I went.  It was raining pretty steadily so I adjusted the hood on the windbreaker to come down around my face a bit more & still maintained a hole to be able to see out of...  LOL

This first leg went really well and quickly as I got lost in the music and the concentration on counting out the paces for my walking/jogging rotation. Got back in 47 minutes, averaging 14:24 minutes/mile.

The second leg - 15 miles of cycling

The thought had crossed my mind of possibly riding this out on the country roads, but the weather nixed that idea totally...  So my bike remained in one place in the garage on the training stand (allows you to ride your road bike in place like a stationary bike).  I had originally planned on trying to watch something on the internet, but when the internet connection would not connect to the computer I was using, I took that as a sign that I was supposed to continue reading in the Love and Logic for Teens book I have.

Felt almost like cheating because I was able to concentrate on something else in the time it took me to ride the 15 miles...  I would alternate between sitting up all the way and not holding on and leaning over like I would have been riding out on the open road. My back usually gets pretty sore leaning over, so being able to alternate was a blessing in this instance.

I was cooking (warm) while doing this - and the air in the garage (where my equipment is set up for right now) is cold. It was so funny to look down at my arm and see that dew had accumulated on my arm!!!

I completed the 15 miles in 57 minutes and 25 seconds - averaging 15.7 MPH - woo hoo...

Time for a bit of fueling up - ate a snack and had a bit more water...

The final leg - 3.24 miles walking/jogging

When getting ready to go back out and walk again I went to put back on the windbreaker I had - that was a no go, it was soaked through - and I didn't want to start out wet...  So I grabbed another jacket I had and adjusted everything to go along with it. Changed back into my walking/jogging shoes and headed back out again - telling my hubby to have a camera ready for when I came back in about 45 minutes...  He made note of the time and said "OK..."

Back out there again. It was just drizzling at the start and then developed back into full rain again...  I was amazed that I was able to get back into the walk/jog rotation again after having done the time on the bike. The first cycle was a bit difficult, but I got right back into the groove again.

Nothing much eventful on this leg again - definitely is different doing an "event" and not having other people to watch. (Reminds me of the Newport Marathon I did where I was virtually alone for 4.5 of the 6+ hours it took me to do the marathon!)  I did have company of some cows, horses and birds.  A few cars went by in the time I was out there, but not too many...

I had lots to think about having just gotten a bunch of stories from Mom about their blessed adventure they are having in Vietnam. I kept thinking about how amazing it is that my Dad is able to push through each and every day and every ache and pain he has with all the ailments he has... I am so proud of him!

For being the third leg of the duathlon I felt really good...  As I was approaching the finish line (aka home) I could see hubby outside - he spotted me and was scurrying around the house to run in and get the camera!  Silly man - told me I was speedy quick!!!  LOL  I finished this 3.24 miles in 46 minutes averaging 14:06 minutes per mile.

I am so happy that I chose to figure out this creative solution to be able to do the duathlon without going all the way to Portland and back to do it - not knowing what the weather was going to be like and all... (don't get me wrong if it was going to be sunny and all today I probably would have gone all the way there and participated in person.)

Sweaty and wet, but proud to be done!

Here are my results:
Leg 1:  3.23 miles - 47 minutes of walking/jogging
Leg 2: 15 miles - 57:25 minutes of cycling
Leg 3: 3.24 miles - 46 minutes of walking/jogging
Total distance: 21.47 miles in  2hrs 30 minutes (not counting about 5 minutes of transition in between each leg)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...