So, a few weeks ago I was in the middle of a great workout streak and decided that I was going to do a race. I proceeded to look up any races in the St. George area and found a Duathlon and for some reason felt compelled to sign up...so i DID!
It was a sprint distance; which means it was 1.5 mile run, 12 mile bike, then another 1.5 run. It was in a gorgeous area of town and part of our bike ride was in Snow Canyon State park...pictured below.
Today was race day and I have to say that I wasn't AS prepared as I could have been, but I had been running a lot in my off shifts and had biked a couple of times at the gym. My boss graciously let me borrow his wife's road bike so that I didn't have to ride my mountain bike..which are not fun to ride on roads for long distances!
I got there early this morning and got nervous right away when I saw a lot of serious looking competators and me strollin up without a helmet (oops) wearing my KVB jersey! So, I called dad and told him I needed a pep-talk and he sure did deliver (just like every other time!) So, I got off the phone remembering I'm a Washburn for heaven's sake!!! And that is something special.
My first run started off fine and I did my best to not let my competitive spirit get in the way of me having fun. I am usually hard on myself when I do races and don't let myself enjoy the journey, that theme was starting until I jumped on my bike, it was so much fun to ride that smooth bike through the beautiful red rock scenery and I had great music playing and found myself smiling the whole bike ride.
I had gone into the race wanting to finish under 2 hours, but didn't get my hopes up so I didn't get disapointed at the end. Well near the end of my bike section I realized I had a great chance at beating 2 hours and then some, so I kicked it up into high gear even though my legs were killing me and I knew I had to run another 1.5 miles. I got off my bike and had to walk a bit to regain my walking legs and then was able to find some kind of a grove for the last bit.
My final time was 1:40:00 flat!! When I crossed the finish line I almost started crying I was so proud of myself! I am pretty hard on myself most of the time and don't let myself enjoy a lot of stuff. So the fact that I crushed the time I had set for myself was enough to let me celebrate!
My only sad point was that there wasn't anyone waiting at the finish line, but hopefully I can keep doing these races when I move back home and I know that there will always be a clan of Washburn's cheering me on to the end!
Snow Canyon
This was the image that was on my finisher medal!
1 comment:
Loved hearing about it! Sooooooo very proud of you! Email me what you find for upcoming races in the area. Let's put the dairy dash on the list b/c that one was really fun and had yummy food afterward! I also really enjoyed the nature one we did. Was it Shelby Bottom park? It was supporting something to do with wildlife or something...do you remember which one I'm talking about?
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