Guess what I did yesterday? I signed up for a duathlon! Which one, you might ask? THE ONE THAT TERRIFIED ME LAST YEAR! The duathlon is a 3-mile run, followed by a 13-mile bike ride, followed by a 3-mile run. Last year? It took me 1 hour and 11 minutes to ride the 13 miles. For those of you who are not really familiar with bike speeds enough to know how that performance translates, let me tell you this: The guy who won our local half-marathon this year – which is 13.1 miles – did it in 1:06.
Guy on foot? Faster than girl on bike.
But! I had just learned to ride the damn bike AND it wasn’t a road bike (meaning it’s heavier/slower) AND I was terrified. This year? I have a new-to-me road bike that I rode for the majority of last summer and I’m only mildly nervous.
Last year, I said to my friend when we started out, “The interstate makes me nervous.” The interstate was about 400 yards away across a field. But seeing those cars flying by 400 yards away? SCARED ME TO DEATH.
So! I’m doing it again. I remember when it was over last year, I honestly thought Oh, man. That was awful. I may never do that again. Mainly because I was just tense for being terrified for 1 hour and eleven minutes. I’m actually kinda shocked that I’m as excited as I am about it this year.
But the bar! It’s set so low! How can I not PR?
Every year do at least ONE THING that scares you.
That was what one of the triathlon coaches told us last year. With one duathlon and 3 triathlons in 2013, I should be covered in the “things that scare you” category through 2016. This year? I’m going for
Look at how tiny you are in the end-of-season photo!
I know this isn’t the point, but wow those photos really show how much better shape you were in at the end of the season than the beginning (which is pretty good itself). Gorgeous.
I just signed up for my first triathlon, with no previous swimming or cycling experience. We can be terrified (and have fun!) together.