solar squirrel

We got 1st, 2nd, and 3rd!  Way to REPRESENT ladies!

Today was my first attempt at a duathlon.  I’ve done triathlons, of course, so I wasn’t too worried about dying, but I was not sure how hard I should go out on the first 5k.  Of course Elizabeth was going to go all out on the first 5k so I couldn’t run with her…and Janet wasn’t feeling quite up to par since she went to a wedding last night and was hung over…I was on my own.  I didn’t realize the race was starting when it did, so I didn’t even have my watch on - luckily the first mile I ran with Nick and he told me we were a bit under 7-min pace (I think 6:50).  A little after the first mile I pulled away from Nick and just tried to keep a good pace that felt decent.  I forgot how fast a 5k is over, before you know it the transition area was in site.  I finished the 5k in 20-something…I honestly don’t remember what the girl said(I think it was 20:20)!  I felt good, though, and Elizabeth was just getting ready to head out on her bike.  I screamed to her that I was going to catch her and these 2 old people who were watching laughed at me.  (For those who don’t know, if I ever get the chance to see Elizabeth in the transition area I always tell her I’m going to catch her…she’s always ahead of me, but sometimes I can catch her on the bike).

I did end up catching Elizabeth (and Todd) on the bike course.  (Todd was having bike issues…)  Going into the 2nd 5k my legs just felt like they were sooooo heavy.  It’s the weirdest feeling to run after biking - your legs just don’t work right.  I have no clue how fast my 2nd 5k was, but it was good enough to get me first female overall and I even passed a few guys on the run!  Woo hoo!  The one guy I was running with for a little while had passed me at the very beginning of the run and I caught him on the last mile and I was like “come on, we only have a mile left!”  he stayed with me for about 30 sec. and then fell back.  He was breathing pretty hard.  All in all a great race.  I felt pretty good the whole time and the best part was that me, Elizabeth, and Janet were the first 3 females!