Let's Du It!

I finally took the plunge and registered for my 2nd duathlon tonight. My first duathlon was 2 years ago in Baldwin Park. That course sucked because it had no shade, I had to run 2.5 miles before and after the bike, and the bike was 13+ miles over 5 loops. I was also not in as good a shape for cycling. After I finished I determined that duathlons were not easier than triathlons and learned to swim. I went on to complete 5 triathlons, but I've always wanted to try a duathlon again with better training.

This duathlon, the 1st in the Central Florida Duathlon Series, will be in Clermont in just 2 weeks on May 14th. The first run is only 1 mile, which will be a great warm up :) The bike is only 10 miles, but it includes some nasty hills during the last 2 miles. The 2nd run is a 5K that is mostly flat with 2 small hills at the start. I'm not too worried about the run, as I've run the 5K there before and I'm a much stronger runner now than I was in 2009. The heat on the other hand may still be a problem, but nothing a little skirt and proper hydration can't handle =P

The hills on the bike worry me a bit, but I've done the course before when I did the triathlon last year, and we rode it last week. I'm also a better cyclist now than I was then, even though I still don't ride for speed much. Riding 15 miles each way to work with the bike bus is a great training ride, so I'm not too worried about finishing the 10 mile course.  However, the hills will still kick my ass because I just suck at climbing hills. I plan to push hard for the rest of the course until then since I know I'll slow at the end because of the hills. Tomorrow we'll either drive to Clermont to practice again on the course, or do hill repeats at Mt Cady :)

I'm getting excited to mix things up again and have some fun before marathon training starts in June. I wanted to do the entire series (there are 5 races in all, with a tri, du and 5K each day -- Jason is doing all 5 triathlons) but I'll be leading a running group and don't want to miss out on 5 long runs. Depending on how the groups line up, I'll probably have a co-leader that can cover for me so I may do another if this one goes well, and maybe even a tri if I ever get my ass back in the pool.