I haven’t competed in the same race twice which is kind of hard to believe since I’ve been racing for 81 years! OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. It’s only been 11 months but it FEELS like 8 decades since I splashed around haphazardly in a lake in Tallahassee trying to finish my first sprint triathlon. After that, I did two more sprint triathlons and now I have proof that I did my second duathlon (recap of my first duathlon here)…
Yep, that’s my right foot. *so proud* All the training for the last month was in preparation for the 5K run, 12 mile bike, 1.6 mile run and I have good news… I didn’t embarrass myself! There are better pictures of me in the race but that was my favorite. It makes me feel anonymous like Sia. The race was really fun (and by that, I mean once it was over it was really fun because it was over). I love the nerves as the race is about to start. Everyone’s kind of chomping at the bit to go but waiting for the official to count us down. It’s exciting. Adrenaline rushes. Then the siren sounds and boom, we’re off and running.
Measurable goals for the race were to be one of the top 15 males and finish with a time under 1:09:00. I accomplished one of the two: With a time of 1:10:57, I was one of the top 15 guys so I’ll take that as a partial personal victory!
Now my sights are set on the Freedom Springs Sprint Triathlon, the first race I will have done twice. I’m very interested to see how, or if, I’ve improved as a triathlete. I know, though, that soon I’ll have to dip back into a pool to practice my “It’s OK, I’m not drowning” stroke. But for this particular race that didn’t include swimming, I’m mostly happy with the results. I will keep trying to improve my run speed, and there’s still lots of potential for being a faster cyclist. It’s certainly not the bike holding me back anymore (my last bike was a 1970s Sears brand commuter and she’s still lovely, but she’s retired from triathlons 🤪). So as I start thinking about the next races, I will pay special attention to improving my leg strength and endurance. Scroll down for the stats from this second duathlon.
Until next time, if you see me running or riding my bike through your neighborhood, say hi or better yet, come along with me!
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 