Chilly Cheeks (#3) Race Goals

Side note: I'm going to try for a bit more quality as opposed to quantity over here ... for a couple of different reasons, but partially so I don't feel guilty if I miss a post or two thanks to exhaustion. Silly swim streak ... I still have February's Women Run the World write up to do/post (probably in two weeks), but since this race is Saturday ...

Race number two of the season is tomorrow; the third race in the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon series. The weather around here has been gorgeous ... and then the snow rolled in yesterday. Which, I mean, we needed the moisture, but I would much rather race in 40s as opposed to 20s. Oh well.

Race #3 is a bike-run format, so 10.8 mile bike followed by a four mile run. I was able to get out and drive a bit of the course today (bought a State Parks pass) and unless it stays super stupid cold and everything ices up, I should be riding my bike tomorrow. There are very few snowy spots that pop into the road (and easily avoidable), but there are quite a few spots with wet pavement, so it'll be interesting to see what they're like in the morning. I might get there even a bit earlier than normal so I can drive around and see what the conditions are like.

Obviously I'd like to ride my bike, but if it's going to be stupid icy? Not gonna risk it.

That being said, my goals for tomorrow are as follows:

- Pace the bike steadily. With the probable cold temps, my lungs aren't going to like the conditions. I've got more bike miles under me than I did in January, but I have only been outside once since then and riding inside and riding outside are two very different things. 

- Smooth and steady on the run. I will probably undoubtedly have to walk more than I'd like in the first little bit because that's always my life getting off the bike, but I would, if I could, like maybe a marginally faster run. Or definitely a better-paced one.

- Have fun. Clearly these are very similar to January's goals, but I'm treating this race the same way I did January's - this isn't for me to crush, it's for me to get some race experience and to justify my sweats and the treats after. 

Back Wednesday with how it went!