Doing the Du

I've competed in a decent variety of races over the years: everything from 5K's to marathons distance-wise with a few triathlons sprinkled in to mix things up.

I've also signed up for stuff for reasons that went beyond traditional competitive motives. I did the Monster Dash as an excuse to see some outlandish Halloween costumes and did the Warrior Dash last year because the obstacle course sounded fun and registration came with a free beer (to be perfectly honest, I have no idea what my time or placing was in either of those events, nor do I really care). Likewise, I signed up for RAGBRAI two years ago instead of triathlons because I was burned out with competing and wanted to do something different.

This spring, I'll be breaking new ground again when I race in my first duathlon on April 28 in Cannon Falls. I juuuuussst signed up for it today after spending the last 6 weeks or so trying to talk myself into it (sadly, the registration did not come with free beer). It's a 2-mile run, 14-mile bike and 3-mile run, in that order. I picked this race in particular for three reasons: 1.) It's relatively cheap, 2.) It's fairly close to Faribault and 3.) The distances seem pretty easy.

It's a little weird that it's taken me this long to sign up for a duathon. After all, the skills required for it fit me pretty well. Swimming has always been my weakest event in triathlons, and by weakest, I mean slow to the point of being embarrassing. I've never been much of a swimmer and, if given the choice, I'd go biking everyday, run every other day and let my swimming gear collect dust in the closet.

If anything, it's a wonder why I competed in five triathlons and didn't think to myself: "Wait, if I did a duathlon I wouldn't have to swim. That sounds much better!"

Truthfully, disinterest would be the biggest reason why it took me so long to come to that realization. I haven't done a multi-sport event in almost three years, instead opting to focus on road races (my ill-fated attempt to qualify for Boston's Marathon) and using my bike for more adventurous endeavors (RAGBRAI and my Kato-to-Lanesboro trip, to name a couple).

I didn't really have an interest in doing another tri unless it involved racing with friends or doing a relay with friends. It was getting boring doing the training by myself and I reached a point where I knew I could complete triathlons and do fairly well in them. I also had no interest in building up to something like a full Ironman (too much time commitment required for the training).

Really, I just wasn't excited about multi-sport events anymore. To quote B.B. King: "The thrill is gone."

It wasn't until I got an indoor bike trainer for Christmas (again, thanks mom) that I started thinking about competing again. With each passing workout on the trainer, I began to get that old feeling running through my head: the curiosity of how well I'd do if I signed up for a race. After that, it was only a matter of time before I got over the metaphorical hump and actually registered for something.

Signing up for a race is always a big step. It means you've advanced beyond the "talking about it" phase and moved into the "crap, I should probably train for this" phase. You've committed yourself financially to it, so you might as well get your money's worth and commit yourself physically to it.

To be honest, I have no idea how the race is going to go. There are a lot of amazing athletes in those races and I certainly won't be at an advantage equipment-wise (remember, I'm still rolling with an $85 road bike from the '80's, complete with all-steel frame).

But at the very least, I'm excited for it. Considering I haven't been excited for multi-sport events in a long time, that's saying something.

Here's to hoping for some good training rides in the coming weeks!

A duathlete masquerading as a triathlete

Sometimes, we need reminders of how bad we are at something before we start taking the necessary measures to get better at it.

For me, that reminder came a few days ago, when an attempt to break up my recent monotony of running by swimming turned into a 30-minute embarrassment of clumsy kicks, flailing limbs and exasperated lungs. There may have been a point during my time in the pool where the YMCA lifeguard legitimately thought I was drowning.

To be fair, it has been a long time since I've donned a pair of swim trunks. The last time I can remember going swimming was for the 1/3 ironman triathlon that I did last August in Waseca. Incidentally, the 1-mile swim that I did for that race also featured a lifeguard wondering whether or not I was drowning, probably due to the fact that my poor technique had me zig-zagging the swim course like a drunk driver careening across the highway. My overall time in the race wasn't bad, but that's mostly because my biking and running abilities came to the rescue.

As you can probably tell, I'm no Michael Phelps when it comes to swimming. I am competant enough not to drown, but that's about as far as I go for water prowess. Swimming has always been a struggle, even after 8 years of lessons and countless hours spent in Hiniker Pond last summer.

The solution to this is about as obvious to me as it is for anybody else: practice. It doesn't always come easy, but practice always makes perfect. Most people who do triathlons aren't good at all three events right away; they have to work at it to get better.

For myself, improvement might require practice in the form of coaching or classes from people who, unlike me, actually know how to swim.

The Y is offering Triathlon Training 101 class from March until May. I haven't decided if I'm going to sign up for it. The cost is relatively nominal ($47 for members, $94 for non-members over 8 weeks), but the classes are at 6:00 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays (a little early for me) and I'm only REALLY interested in the swimming portion of it. I've attended some of the other aquatics classes sparingly, but those are generally more focused on aerobics than technique. Besides, there is something a little off-putting about being the youngest person in a fitness class by a solid 30 years.

In other words, I haven't yet figured out how I'm going to get better at swimming, but the struggles recently have convinced me that it's something that I need to address.

Mankato race calendar

Anyone tired of having to Google search every race they plan on participating in will appreciate this.

I have made upcoming races (road races, duathlons, triathlons etc) in the Mankato area accessible on the right side of my blog, with the dates of the events and links to their appropriate Web sites. Some of the links are merely to the organizer's site, as the they either haven't set up online registration or don't intend to. Some of the events are also pretty far in advance (9 months to go until the Mankato Marathon!), but since I'm a race-finding junkie, I figured I might as well put my searching talent to good use and make it easier for everyone else.

If anyone finds local events not listed on the side, please let me know via comments or e-mail (avoigt@mankatofreepress.com) so that I can add them to the calendar.

Enjoy!