Riding and Racing

I can hardly believe, as I look at the calendar, that September is flying past me. It seems like not very long ago that I was just getting recovered from Coeur d'Alene, but already football is on TV and the leaves are starting to change. Usually, this is cause for great concern for me. You see, I basically hate winter in Iowa. I don't tolerate the cold well, and the Iowa winters just seem to go on forever. I like to get out and play in the sunshine, wear shorts and flip flops every day, ride my bike until 7 o'clock or later, that kind of thing. While fall is a fantastic time of year, I generally find myself getting into a bit of a funk when it rolls around because I know that sub-zero temps and fewer hours of daylight are right around the corner.

This year I am fighting the inevitable onset of my winter depression. I have been on my bike as many days as possible and have been getting some pretty decent rides, especially considering that I don't have any races or goals on the horizon. A couple of Fridays ago, I had an afternoon free, so I got on my bike and headed NW. Soon I found myself just west of Webster City and three hours from home! Thankfully, I had a debit card and enough of the day left over to make it home with plenty of sunshine. While I didn't make it home in time to do the 5K I had planned on, I did launch myself out of bed the next morning for a great 10-mile run with Team Vardo.

Cell phones take great pics during long bike rides

Sometime during that run, I had to ask myself what the heck I was doing. Here I was, done with all my racing for the season, with apparently a ton of fitness and nothing to do with it! Talking with a bunch of other triathletes, I realized there were a lot of people I know who are going to do the Longhorn 70.3 in Austin, TX, on October 5th. So, with 3.5 weeks to race day, I pulled out the trusty ol' credit card and bought a plane ticket and a race entry.

With only a few weeks to sharpen for the race, I've been spending more time in DM riding with some folks who are getting ready for Ironman Florida in November. We've had some really fun rides, even when we get lost (and add another 90 minutes to the ride because of it) or it rains. I've made some awesome friends through this sport, and I am so thankful for that!

As I think about this race season, I am also really thankful for the opportunity to do some events I might have shied away from in the past. Last weekend's DOathlon for Life might fall into that category. I've only done one other duathlon: the 2007 Dutchman Tri turned Du. It was the most painful 5K run, 40K bike, and 10K run of my life. This time I decided to embrace the pain and just go for it! Part of the pain would be induced by the hilly 70-mile bike ride we did on the day before the event, but the rest would be self-induced. Although it was a bit rainy, windy, and chilly (not my favorite combination...), the race went well - I ended up 2nd in my age group and won the door prize (a set of clip-on aero bars)!

Next up is another mountain bike race (if I think I can do it without screwing up anything for the Texas race...).