Saturday, August 4, 2007

Mark Mellon Memorial Duathlon

The Mark Mellon Memorial Triathlon/Duathlon/Relay takes place in the greater Gaylord/Otsego Lake area, home to D~ my second eldest brother. He and I have run a number of races together, though neither of us have done a Duathlon.

Something I love about doing a new event- no matter how you do, it'll be a PR. No pressure to meet expectations. :)

A few images I'll take from the event:

Getting marked with the euphoria-inducing marker on each calf, thigh and upper arm. It made me wonder: am I going to be able to wear shorts to work next week?

Setting up my transition area, thinking: Thank God I don't have to swim. Air temp is like 50 degrees!

Looking at the tires of my brother's road bike and thinking: I knew I should have asked him if they were inflated enough! They weren't. Made for a difficult run for him at the end- his quads kept on cramping...

Being asked by that same brother to be best man at his wedding, just as we were passing by his house where is fiancee and kids were waiting to cheer us on. Of course, I said "yes!"

Starting the run thinking- I don't think there's anyone behind us...

Run walking through the last four miles. Like I mentioned earlier, constant quad cramping makes makes for a difficult run. On the plus side it was a absolutely beautiful day, sunny and in the 70s- significantly cooler than earlier in the week, and I was able to enjoy it much more than any part of Heart of the Hills.

Finishing last. I've met people who are deathly afraid of this- they'll go so far as to not go to races for fear of... what? I'm not exactly sure. But I can now honestly say that I've done it, and it isn't that bad. Runners are (for the most part) a kindly bunch, and will cheer on anyone working through the same sort of difficulties they too have fought through. For something that can be so competitive, it's awfully supportive.

Winning a pair of tri shorts. It's something I'd been thinking about buying for a little while now, but put it off because I'd have to order it online, they're too expensive, and I'm not sure I'm committed enough. *sigh* Now I don't have an excuse!

Winning my age group. Even if you come in dead last, you can still win your age group if no one else is in it, and I guess none of the other 22 duathlon participants were in the 30-34 male age bracket. Color me so surprised I almost thought they were joking!

Perhaps sooner or later I'll go on at length about the virtues and vices of a "fun run" vs "race" mentality, and how I try to do both. But for now, I'll relate that I found quite a bit of joy in the race today, in the rewards of sticking with friends and family, and enjoying the whole process of a race, rather than just achieving somewhat arbitrary goals.

Though I gotta tell you, I enjoy that, too. :)

4 comments:

Tina said...

Sounds like a good time; maybe we'll get you into a triathlon yet!;-)

And... Congratulations D~!

Tina said...

BTW, have you heard the latest Phedip episode? Your Heart of the Hills race report made the broadcast!

Fritz said...

Thanks! And yes, I have! I was driving up north on friday, and was extremely shocked when he gave my race report! :)

Unknown said...

Congratulations!!

50 degress???? I wish!