Saturday, November 25, 2006

I'm going to try really really really hard not to wuss out

But I still wouldn't put any money on me... It is amazing how much more likely I am to do something if I can con someone else into doing it with me!

So I just found out about a duathlon happening in Ames on December 9th:
(The proceeds go to buying bikes for kids in Youth and Shelter Services in Ames for Christmas, hence the line at the bottom.)

I just started running again. I only ran a mile and the hamstring nagged. I am working on icing and stretching a lot more now. Last year with my calf, my calf still hurt when I started running again, but it went away. I am sorta hoping the same will happen with the hammy. Or maybe a month off wasn't long enough, especially when it wasn't a rest month, but rather a "do everything else but run" month. Hrmm.

But anyways, this duathlon is a 2 mile run/25-35 mile bike/2 mile run. So the running isn't the scary part for me, the bike is.

Now, I have totally been doing a lot of cycling lately. I go to two spinning classes per week and I usually ride the stationary bike a couple times per week too.

But I have totally been slacking on that "actually ride my bike on the road" thing. And I have never ridden more than 30 miles before. AND all the riding is on gravel roads, so that means that I will probably ride my hybrid AND that I actually have to change the tire on it now.

Oh but the fun part? The run segments are "about" 2 miles. Because the run part is sort of like a scavenger hunt. You have to get to two places in the park (which is a county preservation area so it is not some manicured lawn kinda place, but a place with woods and trails and water) in any manner you so choose (on foot).

You can't actually preregister for this, so I have up until the date of the event to totally wuss out.

Oh yeah, and if I ever saw a runner running like the guy in the logo, I totally would think something was seriously wrong...

Just Du It?

4 comments:

ButterPeanut said...

that logo is kind of creeping me out, but other'n that I say DO IT!

it sounds super badass cool, and what a great cause!

And if it weren't for the whole "school" and "no money" thing, I'd be right there with you.

Anonymous said...

yes, just DU IT!! and PLEASE run it like that guy in the logo.

as for the starting to run and still feeling the injury thing...yeah, i don't know. i always think i am falling apart when i feel i start running again b/c the injury (and everything else) niggles and i can't tell if i am psychosomatic, if it DOES feel funny but doesn't matter b/c the injured muscles fibers are just getting mushed back into the running motion, or if i really should stop running. it's just an educated guess really...eeck, good luck!!

feel better toots. and i'm really glad you're back on the road.

Al Dimond said...

I tried bowling like the guy in that logo.

It's very hard. Running would be more difficult because you'd pretty much only be able to apply force against the grounnd with your calves. And almost all of your lifting force would come from the hip-flexors and very-upper quads.

A brief experiment shows that without any driving hamstring power you can't build up much forward momentum and by isolating the hip-flexors you severely limit endurance. I'd give myself 100 meters, maybe 200.

Tammy said...

Yeah! From the pic it looks like this duathlon is a "kickbox, then bike" event :)