Desert Classic Duathlon

On Sunday I competed in my first Duathlon! I signed up back in December and was constantly counting down the days.  I live in a state where it only rains 10 days out of the year, Sunday was one of those days.  Most of the rain came on Saturday so I was hopeful that there would be zero rain on Sunday but I was wrong.  I woke up at 4:15 am on race day to prepare and get a good breakfast before hand.

We arrived at McDowell Mountain Park at 6:45am where the race was taking place.  I got my bike and gear into the transition area and was ready to go! The first wave of athletes went out at 8am which included the male and female pros.  Then the men age groups, then women and relays, then last the mountain bikers. My wave started at 8:20.  My first obstacle was a 3.5 mile trail run which was very muddy because of all of the rain the night before. I felt so amazing on this run and the views of the park were so beautiful.  It's hard passing someone on the trail because it was very narrow in certain parts.  You just have to scream "Left!" and it's known to get out of the way.  

The bike had to be the most difficult portion of this race.  I feel like I can bike and bike and bike until someone tells me to stop.  But this 21 mile bike was up and down hills the whole time.  Not little bunny hills, but gigantic straight up hills. The bike was also cold and windy.  There were people on the side of the road with flat tires and I was hoping and praying that it wouldn't happen to me. I thought about eating this amazing burger at our favorite restaurant called Daily Dose about 80% of the ride. Cody took me there later that night and it was the most amazing burger I had ever had.   The last 5 miles were so difficult but I pushed myself through it and jumped off the bike to transition into my last run. 

Once I threw myself off of my bike my legs resembled jello.  I started running with my bike into the transition and couldn't feel my legs at all but knew they were moving.  Such a crazy feeling! On the second run, a 3.1 trail run, it started to rain on me about a third of the way through. Cody was right there at the start of the run and was giving me so much encouragement, I couldn't have done it without him! I was really beating myself up in the last rain, it was so hilly and the rain made the ground so hard to pull my foot up out of the mud.  It's crazy how your body will just keep going if your mind is telling it to.  I hit the last water station of the race and there was only a mile left to go, felt like the longest mile of my life. 

 

I finished the race in 2hrs and 36 minutes.  I am very happy with this time, heck I'm just happy to have finished it! I would have to say the hardest thing about doing this was not having my iPod.  None of the athletes were allowed to have it, well let's just say I saw about 5 people with them and was totally mad that they were getting away with it.  I would have loved to have some Beyonce and GaGa pushing me through the bike.  Oh well, I had my thoughts and motivation to get through it.  I would definitley do another duathlon, maybe in California :)

Valentine's Day

I must say that I have never been a big sucker for Valentine's Day. Why do we need one specific day to show our love and affection for someone? Cody and I have always laid low for this day over the years.  I know it might sound girly but Cody shows me every single day how much he loves me.  Wether its waking up to his hand made breakfast or him fixing my bike, he never fails to amaze me.  For this Valentine's Day I woke up to beautiful red roses in the morning and came home from work to a delicious dinner with asparagus, chicken, and kale salad. Not to mention two cupcakes from my favorite bakery.  I don't need jewelry or fancy dinners out on this day.  I don't need anything but Cody went above and beyond to make it a great day for me.  I will say it again and again, I'm the luckiest girl in the world.  Hope all of you had a great Valentine's Day and realized to appreciate the person you love each and every day.  

Hello February.

The weather has been rather cold.  The city for the past few nights has issued a freeze warning.  Going to work at 5:30am this morning the temperature in my car read 32 degrees.  Everyone here is freaking out because of it.  But during the day today it was in the high 50's.  For February, Ohioans would happy with that number! This weekend it's going to go back into the high 60's low 70's. 

One of my best friends from Ohio is coming out next weekend for a few days.  She now lives in Colorado and is moving from the NorthEast border to Colorado Springs the day she gets back from Phoenix.  I am so happy for her and can't wait to visit her multiple times! 

16 more days till my Duathlon! I am so ready for it to be here.  Every time I bike or run I just get this urge to drive to where my race begins and just start it already! I got some new bike shorts from this great local Scottsdale Triathlon store called Triple Sport.  Unfortunately I won't be allowed to have my iPod when I run and bike so I will have to handle running without my rock music.  

My parents are also coming out the first week of April for 9 days.  I got them in at the JW Camelback Inn for $89 a night, right now the rates going for that property is in the $400 range per night.  Oh how I love my Marriott discount! My boss was actually the GM for that property and she is planning on getting them a very nice room (in all honesty every single room is nice!).  Towards the end of their trip we will be heading North to a little city called Las Vegas :). They have never been so I will be showing them a good time! So many thing happening right now and I am loving every minute of it!