Duathlete with a Medal!

I survived my duathlon yesterday!

Over the course of the 1 hour, 49 minutes and 5 seconds that it took me to complete these 17 miles in the Georgia swamp, I had a lot of time to think.  A lot of time to bemoan running in my head and wonder about my future in the sport.

Then I finished and they gave me this beauty for finishing 1st place in my category*.

And it wiped away every thought I had of giving up running.

Because this medal is tangible evidence of how far I've come. It is piece of metal that I can point to and feel the weight around my neck (yes, I am still wearing it 24 hours later) and remember that despite all odds, I am an athlete.

Now more about the actual race.

I loved this course for several reasons:
1) It was beautiful, on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp in South Georgia.  Running and biking around a majestic lake, past towering and enchanting trees is a plus.

2) It was in South Georgia, which means it was completely flat (really the only way I like to run).

3) It was an out and back course for both runs and the bike.  Once you've done one leg, you know what's coming and it's easier to push yourself.

4) We got to see our fans A LOT (clarification: we had two fans, Amie and Bryan).  The course went past the start/finish line like 8 times.  As my friend and spectator Bryan said, "It was like watching a NASCAR race.  You kept coming around every 30 seconds."

5) The layout of the course also meant that I got to see my friend Daniel, who was also running the race, multiple times.  We high fived every time and just knowing that he was up ahead of me kept me going.

Tough competitors who heart WU and wear all black

I did better than I expected during the first run.  And aside from some gear shifting difficulty during mile two of the bike portion, it went really well too.

But multi-sport racing is not all sunshine and roses (or medals and fans).  It is HARD. Hopping off the bike after the 13 miles, I got a severe and sharp cramp in my right calf.  I racked my bike and walked out of transition in pain.  I ended up walking most of the second run portion.  Not just because of my calf, because it felt better after a quarter mile, but because my legs were just exhausted by the first run and the bike.  Of course that is disappointing, but I was, as always, very encouraged by the volunteers and fellow competitors out on the course.

Yes, racing is hard. Yes, training runs often suck.   Even tired and sore today, I would do it all over again tomorrow for the atmosphere of race day and the way it reaffirms my belief in myself and what I can accomplish when I have the courage to try.


*Let me explain more about the medal. For most triathlons and duathlons, they award medals to the top three finishers in each age group category and a few special categories, including two that are based on weight: the Athena category is for women who weigh more than 150 pounds and the Clydesdale category is for men who weigh more than 200 pounds.  


In both the Turtle Crawl Tri and yesterday's Heels N Wheels Du, I entered as an Athena, meaning I would only be competing against other women who weigh more than 150 pounds.  AND I CAME IN FIRST AND GOT A MEDAL FOR IT. Granted, there were only two women competing in the Athena category