less riding :( == more running :)

i just wanted to blog about this - the difficulty (or the acceptance to an impossibility) of squeezing a late afternoon to an early evening bike ride now that dst comes to end. being a typical 9-5 weekday matrix-world worker, getting home around 7p does not provide enough window even for a short ride. more than once i did manage to do a past 5p (dst) ride, and still ended up pedaling in darkness on my way back home, relying mostly on the familiarity with the road + some help from traffic headlights. i do have some bike lights, but this is not enough to warrant a night road biking (my 'dik buddies and i do mtb night/dawn riding, which is also a fun experience). so there, road biking comes to an end this year. from a different perspective though, that means more evening runs - cold, rain, snow, and all.

newton motus

As I have twitted before, I finally bit the bullet and bought the newton running shoes (motus model). These are quite expensive shoes - the main reason why I was very hesitant to get them. So why did I buy them? I agree with the concept of midfoot/forefoot strike vs heel strike running, which I've been accustomed to (probably because the running shoes I've owned provided good heel cushioning). But even with my regular shoes, I've started practicing midfoot landing before I decided to buy the newtons.

They finally arrived last night, and I did an easy ~3miler on them, followed by another 3miler using my regular shoes. First impression on my motus: easy-on-the-knees landing, and a more natural reaction for a forward thrust.

More break-in runs, switching between these and my regular shoes, to get a really good comparison. and then a long run, where fatigue sets in and the legs tend to land heel first, to complete the test.

more updates to follow.

Bassman Half-Distance, October 4

Although I have been consistently doing my training (really?) rides and runs, I finally got the courage to do this just one week before the event, and so register I did. Did the mental preparation on what and what not to expect, and set my goal to (1-moderate) just finish the event (since it's my first), and (2-aggressive) finish it under 6hrs (since i'm not doing any swim, just run and ride, which I'm pretty comfortable with). Did some late shopping at my favorite cheap-alternative-place-to-get-good-stuff for some running/cycling items - found a very good weightless wind vest. Adjusted, re-adjusted the bike many times to get comfortable on the aero position (this is still my old trusted road bike fitted with a clip-on aerobar for this type of event). Also googled for an aero bottle, and found the one I like at my local LBS. Made a quick reservation to the nearest hotel/inn for the whole crew and...

...Off we drove to the event site on Saturday for the packet pickup. Got there past noon, and I thought I still had time to do a recon ride to get familiar with the bike course, but alas, rain poured hard right after I got my goody bag. Went straight to the hotel, unloaded our stuff, and had late lunch. Went back to the event, minus the crew, for the orientation/q&a and some final tips and announcements.

Ordered pizza, pasta-bowl, + lava-cake from Dominoes for dinner (very healthy choice before the event hehehe). Did a final gear prep, and settled in for the night. Man, that was one sleepless night. Got up the bed at 4am, ate the left-over pasta bowl, woke up the crew, and once again...

...Off we went to the event site, this time to face the fear and agony - The Event. The event started late, the sprint started before 8a, and the half distance before 9a. And all the time waiting for the start just added to the jitters. The temp was mild, thus I wore just my tri-shorts, sleeveless tank, the weightless vest, and arm warmers.

Run(3.1mi): There was about 20 participants in the half-du, way less compared to the number for the half-tri. I started in the middle of the pack, and maintained a comfortable pace - not too fast, but not slow either. Mentally looking ahead for the next leg while on this 'warm-up' run.

T1: Transition was fast - quickly changed shoes, put on the helmet, quick gulp of gatorade - nothing fancy.

Bike(58mi): This is where I felt most comfortable with, even with just my old-and-trusted-road-bike. The course was a 2-loop course back to the park, with a bottle exchange at mile 29. I felt comfortable on the first loop, and stayed mostly on the aero position. I so envied those who just zoomed past me like I was standing still, with their zip wheels making that very distinguished sound. At the turnaround point, grabbed a bottle and proceeded to do the 2nd loop. This is where I started feeling the saddle pain. Was it because of staying aero? or was it because of the saddle? It's a fairly new saddle and perhaps I was still adjusting to it. At times, I would change my sitting position - one side, the other side, sit front, sit back. This was to alleviate the pain that was slowly building up. Still, finished the ride at a good time.

T2: Legs were floating running the bike to the transition area. Changed shoes, helmet off, running cap on, on to the next leg.

Run(13.1mi): This is what I call the mind-vs-body leg of the event. I felt ok coming off the transition area towards the run course, but just half a mile away into the course, boom, my left leg stiffened. Uh-oh, i have not even reached mile1 of the run course. I stopped, stretched, limped, walked, stretched again, walked again, trying to relax the muscles so I could resume the run. When if felt a little ok, I started jogging, and then boom, my right leg said it's my turn. Now both legs were uncooperative, so I walked and limped and stretched again, and again. Then, something happened. I was on this walking/limping/stretching mode when a lady participant passed by. She noticed I was limping and asked if it was the quads. I said yes, both legs. She gave me the best advice that would make me grateful forever - RUN BACKWARDS. I didn't run backwards, I jogged backwards. And it seemed to work, as my legs started to feel good again. I did this until I reached the first aid station where I stopped and took a break - heed, water, slice of banana, and 2 capsules of endurolytes. Started jogging normally, and slowly got my groove back. Decided to stop/walk/drink at every aid station and took 2 capsules of endurolytes every 45 minutes or so. Focused my mind on the other runners and telling myself:

If I am hurting, and so are they. And they are still running, and so should I.

Marked the runners ahead of me, and made some of them as my rabbits :)

Finished the event at a respectable time, better than what I've set - 5:21:39. Whew, not bad, not bad at all.

Stayed and shared stories and experiences with the folks I've met - Erick and Raffy, who did the half-tri, Bernadette, who did the sprint-du.

Post-event: Results were posted/updated as every participant hit the finish line. Saw my name on list of finishers and surprisingly, somewhere at the top - 3rd overall, 2nd overall (male). That made me a proud duathlete :)

Addendum: Will work on my swim and hopefully join the club of those who have done half-distance-tri.

And that would be another story.