My First Du is Done

And it's only taken me a week to write about it, that's how fast I am!

As a part of Fleet Feet Baton Rouge Halloween runs

They had a 2 mile, 5k, Little VooDu, Big VooDu and Dirty VooDu. I chose the Little VooDu which was a 2mile run / 10 mile bike / 2 mile run. I wanted to do the Big one but since this was my first I decided to play it smart. Good thinking on my part.

We had a rough night the night before and didn't get enough sleep. I drug #4 along even though he didn't get to bed until 3 am. I'm that thoughtful.

The event was at a Super Walmart and the route was kind of plain and simple. But in the defense of the race crew, they lost their permit to have it somewhere wonderful due to the city actually do work and start early. It definitely took away fear of getting lost on the route.

I had planned to wear a costume.

Pipi Longstocking

However my sewing machine decided not to cooperate. Probably due to be stored in a plastic box for about 15 years :(. I was determined not to let that get me down. Turned out only about 3 people had on costumes. I guess everyone around here is just too serious about racing (*rolling eyes).

We got there in plenty of time. I put my bike and gear with a couple of ladies from my half class that were also racing. Only to find out it need to go somewhere else. #4 tried to help place things in a way that would be most efficient but this was new to him as well.

All the races started together. We had chips strapped to our ankles so it didn't matter where we were in the line up, timing didn't start until we crossed the mat. This was probably a good thing since I tend to linger in the back.

My plan was to run the first run slow (10:50ish), ride about medium effort (15mph) and book it on the last run (10:30ish - don't hurt yourself laughing). First run felt good and slow. I was afraid I started out too fast. I don't like to be in a group so I usually have to run faster than I want to get to a spot that is all for me. My right shoe came untied on the way in, I didn't bother to stop and tie it since I would be taking it off anyway. 

I got on all my bike gear and hoofed out the back like I was told to do. I have a love/hate relationship with my bike shoes. They are great on the bike but walking in them is such a pain. I hit what I thought was head wind on the way out and I pedaled hard thinking I would coast on the way in. Turns out the head wind was on the way back. I managed 16.5-16.7 out, but only 13s on the way in. Until the last mile when I the wind was finally at my back and I was cruising at 18 (I never ride that fast!). 

For the second run, my legs were like jelly. I knew this would happen but I was still surprised. I felt like I was walking I was running so slow. I guess it worked out since when I came to point where it was time to kick I was able to do it.

I was thinking it would take close to 2 hours to finish. I was not disappointed when they posted my time.

Source

Clearly I need work in the transition area. It was a learning experience and I had a great time! I can't wait to do another one.

#4 tried to take some wonderful pics, but these are the ones he got:

I'm not sure why the rotated one's posted this way, that's not how they are on my laptop. But I'm leaving them because I have other stuff to do :D

A Brick and More Races

I let #4 slide on a bike ride on Sunday. He really likes to be lazy that day and since it is his only day, I decided to oblige. But I did trick him into committing to riding Monday night. The Half schedule called for a 40 minute run which is just under 4 miles for me. So I planned a brick workout.

We went to the lakes by LSU which has become my favorite place to run. Mostly because I can chose a route for just about any mileage and not have to do any laps. Have I mentioned that I hate laps?!? I planned for us to ride the 6 mile loop and then he could ride beside me while I ran the 4 mile loop.

Started out real good. I love my bikes! I do tend to ride all out tho. It just feels like cheating to coast. I brought my hard tail because the full suspension is just too heavy for the lakes and the road bike is too light. It's not really too light, but since I was "training" for a duathlon that I will use the road bike for I don't want to train with it. I want to train with something heavier. We did the 6 mile loop with no problem (other than there were a ton of people to dodge).

When we got back to the truck, I felt a little light headed. I should have taken a break but I prefer to push like I would on a race day. So we just took off. I truly understand the term Brick now! My legs were VERY heavy! I was running really, really slow. I only managed 2 miles of the 4 I had planned. My splits weren't too bad: 10:58 & 11:48. But I hit 13s quite a bit during the second mile. I knew the parking lot with the potty would be about the halfway mark so I decided to stop there.

We walked the rest of the way back to the truck. It took forever,  but was really nice to spend some slow time together.

What did I learn from this? That although I really want to do the Big VooDu, it just best that I do the Little VooDu. Does this mean I am wussing out? I hope not. I looked around at other du's in this state and the Big VooDu is one of the biggest so it makes sense that it NOT be my first du. To me and #4 it makes sense at least.

In order of event, not registration :D

10/30/11 The Little Voo-Dualthon: This race is a 2m/10m/2m du. The Big VooDu is a 5k/18m/5k. I've made the right choice. They also have a dirty voodu and 5k event. I'm pretty excited about this little race!

11/5/11 SJA Sticker Stampede 5k: a friend from High school who is training on her own for a marathon (or half) sent me a message on FB about this one. It's our alma mater and a good fundraiser. I may actually not show up for it tho. I noticed after that my schedule run for the day is 105 minutes. Although I will be in the same general area, if we don't start until 7 am I won't be able to make the 8:30 race start (unless I go a different route and just run right into the race lol).

1/15/12 - The Louisiana Marathon Half. After last Saturday's group run, one of the others was talking about not being able to do the BR Beach half with the rest of the class. That is the race we are all training for. She will be out of town. She mentioned that she was looking at doing the LA Marathon half instead. I mentioned that I was thinking of doing it as well. So we tentatively decided to do it together. I went ahead and signed up!

The Good, The Bad, The Man (aka weekend recap)

My week didn’t go as planned as far as training is concerned and the only person to blame is DH (The Man). But honestly this is a good thing. Cycling, running, racing and just being outdoors in general was such a big part of our life together in the beginning. It has been sorely missed the last couple of years. So much so that I had finally given up on him and started running on my own.

The week started out with him interfering with my Tuesday run by inviting me to a bike ride that evening. No way was I gonna pass that up! We only made it around the lakes once before he was ready to call it quits. Partly because he was pooped and partly because his bike had a mind of its own.

No biggie, I figured I run in the morning on Wednesday. He was up for doing it too. I did get in my distance. He was unable to hang, but got some really pathetic videos of me, which motivated a week long research frenzy on perfecting my form or at least improving it.

The great thing is that he may have finally been bit by the bug! We got up for a run on Thursday morning. Again he was unable to make it as far as we would have liked but he at least had his HOT PINK gymboss with him and a training plan programmed in. We then went for another ride on Thursday. Still not a long ride, we made it about halfway home and stopped for dinner. The boy joined us and we caved and took a truck ride home.

Friday I declared a rest day. I really don’t think I was in need of it physically but having my schedule thrown off so much had me mentally wore out. I’m a tad OCD.

Saturday morning was another scheduled run, a virtual 5k for me. He had worked late and was not interested, but said he would go with me if I would go for a night run instead. Wanting to keep him interested I agreed. Next thing I knew he was making BBQ plans with some friends. So we bumped up our run to 5pm from my planned 7:30pm. BIG MISTAKE. It was horribly hot. And I tried to alter my form by lifting my knees more. The form change was dead on, but in the heat I just couldn’t breathe. I ended it slightly over a mile into it. He didn’t even make it that far.

The next planned event was trail riding on Sunday. I had the bright idea to ride the blue (easy) trail all out and then run. The trail is about 2 miles. It was a good plan in theory. But since it’s probably been a year since I’ve ridding the trails, it was a major over shoot. We ended up doing 1 lap at 1.43 miles on the bikes and then 1 mile on foot. I got totally duded on the run. Here all week he couldn’t even run for 2 minutes straight and at the trails he just took off like he did it every day! Whatever.

All and all a bad week that was great. We did 7 things together. It was awesome! I can’t wait to see what he does this week.

Of course no trip to the trails is complete with out some blood shed:

The pedal ate up the back of my calf. I've got a nice little knot where that blue area is, but figured the rest was just a scratch. Unfortunately woke up this morning to it all being swollen. I hope it doesn't interfere with my runs this week!

Bricks... sort of

I am a big supporter of rest days. Religious even.

Yesterday was a run day. I am trying to increase my cross-training, so when DH suggested we go for a bike ride after work I jumped at the chance. I spent most of the day trying to figure out the best plan for staying on track with my running schedule and my rest period. To no avail.

Luckily (sort of) we only made a 6.5 mile loop on the bikes. DH's bike was being a pain and he didn't feel it would be good to go another lap. So I figured it was such a short ride that I could still get up and run in the morning. And that is what I did.

So bricks in the true since it was not, but in my little world it counts! Go ME!

DH was kind enough to shoot some video of me running so I could see how bad my form is. Try not to laugh:

Kind advice is welcome.

I have one week left of my 5k training plan. Interestingly enough it is the same plan as the first week half marathon training.

DH seems to be bitten by the bug a bit. He is going to start my 5k plan tomorrow morning. Not sure if I will ever get him past that distance, but if I can get him back into adventure racing I would be thrilled!