Feel the burn...and hear the smoke alarm

Almost everyone who's ever trained for a race remembers the turning point workout.

In case you're wondering, no, this is not
what caused my smoke alarm to go off

It's the workout when the anxieties you had about the big day -- angst about your fitness level, nervousness about your training schedule -- get overtaken by positive thoughts; the "I can do this!" thoughts.

For me, that workout came early last week in regards to my upcoming duathlon. However, it wasn't a turning point for the reasons that it normally would be.

It didn't come from an all-day training ride, nor did it come from a negative-splits run to the tune of "Eye of the Tiger." It came from a fairly standard 50-minute ride on the trainer bike stand in my apartment, the type of ride I've done dozens of times before.

The aspect that wasn't so standard about it? When I took off my headphones at the end of the workout (with my mp3 player blaring a Metallica mix at full volume the entire time), I came to realize that the smoke detector in my apartment was going off.

Once I quieted the alarm's blare, I did a checklist in my head for reasons when it would've gone off in the first place. Was I cooking or baking anything at the time? Nope. Did I replace the batteries recently on the alarm? Yep. Was it an overly humid day? Nothing out of the ordinary. Were any appliances or electronics overheating? None that I could think of.

After taking all of that into account, I came to conclude something that every exercise addict wants to claim:

I was working out so hard, the smoke alarm went off!

In this case, that meant that the friction of my bike's rear tire against the trainer stand wheel was enough to create smoke and -- literally -- burn rubber. It sort of seemed possible (and awesome) at first, considering I already had to fix two flat tires from riding on the trainer and was told that it wears down tires faster than normal biking.

Perhaps my cycling-acclimated legs were getting strong enough where they could create that kind of friction. After all, Road Runner often left a trail of flames when he sped past Wile E. Coyote. That has some translation to real life, right?

The optimist in me wanted to believe this. However, the realist eventually went to work to disprove it. I spent a solid 20 minutes browsing Google to see if there were similar stories of smoke alarms going off and looked up product reviews on the trainer stand to see if it ever created smoke or burned rubber. Both searches came up empty, though I DID find a story about a guy who set off a smoke alarm by burping into it.

I also came across a couple of stories of people who set their smoke alarms off due to the steam that came from their showers. This is probably the more likely cause of the alarm, seeing as how my living room has poor ventilation and most workouts on the bike leave me dripping with perspiration.

So I guess in a roundabout way, you could say that the harshness of my workout caused the alarm to go off. It's not nearly as cool as being able to say that I burned rubber on the trainer stand, but it gives me confidence that the workouts are strenuous and that I'll be ready for Saturday.

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!