Did the Du...

First, I want to say thank you to every prayer, every thought, every reader and every best wish. It's nice to have all of the support you all have shown me. I am very lucky. Thank you all!
On to the good stuff... 'Du the Bear' was a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run. It started at 7AM, check in was at 5:45, which means we had to wake up at 4:30 and leave the house by 5:15. Did I mention I LOVE MY WIFE :-)..... The weather was awesome! Couldn't have been any better, was low 60's maybe high 50's during the race.
The race was a fast track, by that I mean there were no hills, very little grade. I started out running a little bit faster than I wanted but I was staying with a pack of other runners and felt good about it. Before I knew it, I was finishing the first run in 16:51, which is an 8:26/ mile pace! (I usually train between 9:30 to 10:00/ mile pace.)


Then I was on to the first transition. I put my gloves and helmet on, and downed some GU (a caffeinated gel). Then my glasses, which sat atop my head during my run, had gotten fogged up, which limited my sight for the first 100 yards or so. A little bit of water and I was off. It was two 5 mile loops for the bike portion. I really started to hit a groove about the 3rd or 4th mile. I was done in 31:34, which was a 19 mph pace.
The next transition is where I made a mistake.... I come in the bike area, drop off the bike, gear, & grab a shot of water and one more GU for the road. Yet, I 'GU'd-up'! When starting the run, I GU'd without water. I had to wait until 1st mile water station. It was like chewing a piece of gum with cotton mouth. My 2nd run started a little slower than the first, naturally. I was pacing my self behind a fellow racer and looked at my Garmin watch and thought I could actually push myself a little harder, so I did. I passed him at the water station and once I washed the cotton ball of GU out of my mouth and I was on the home stretch.



I finished the 2nd run in 17:06 (an 8:33/ mile pace) for a total time of 1:07:41. Kelli greeted me at the finish line asking, "How was it? How do you feel?" The first words out of my mouth were, "That was too fast." But I felt good, surprisingly good. I didn't need to vomit. Maybe I was all hopped up on GU's and adrenaline... But I felt good. I really enjoyed myself and the race was operated really well and was well organized. A great track for a beginner and a good track to work on tempo and speed. I will try and do it again next year. I have a confidence now that I haven't had before. I am ready for the next phase... A triathlon... Well at least the bike and run portion, to bad I have to swim! :-)

Thanks again for all of the support!

Wade

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