Race #1 of the Season: Icebreaker Sprint Duathlon

... did I sign up for this race, knowing that I enjoyed it the year prior? Yes. Did I train for it? No.

Is this my life these days? Unfortunately, yes.

Still, I paid my money so I showed up to race. Got there early for parking and then just hung out. Eventually made my way to race. Weren't a lot of people racing the du again as usual, and the other women I saw were first timers to multisport in general.

One B was helping with her bike and we realized she needed her tires pumped up badly so we quickly managed that with a few minutes still to go prior to the start.

Lined up, waiting to go. Glad to have the new winter weather cycling jacket.

The Bike:

Similar to last year, the two older dudes racing took off and left the rest of us in the dust. I did not forget the two terrible hills early on, but they were a bit more terrible with very few bike miles on the legs. Also, it was cold. I don't think the legs officially thawed out until the second loop.

Which, I might add, I did NOT miss the turn off for this year. I swear it wasn't labeled as clearly last year. I SWEAR.

(I did, however, encounter a car that, had I not been paying attention, I may have collided with, since they do not know how to turn with urgency on a race course.)

More people were on the course for loop two - people finishing the swim portion of the tri as well as more cars - but I managed well. Ate a maple candy at the halfway point and continued dealing with the shitty hills.

Time: 47:21

T:

So this was a lot slower than last year, but I also peeled myself out of my cycling jacket since I knew it would be way too warm on the run. So eh.

Time: 2:04

The Run:

Like last year, B was there for the first little bit. I ate a maple candy right out of transition - oh look! I'm learning how to fuel! - and wandered off. I didn't really run much of those two nasty hills - the run course follows the bike course for a bit - having learned my lesson from St. George. I was fine walking them if it meant quicker things later.

Other than that ... fairly uneventful. Ate a maple candy at miles one and two. Felt like there were fewer people on the run course with me than last year. Saw B a bit earlier on the run but I'm not mad at that.

And it was short, again. But I'll take it.

Time: 34:11

Overall Stats:
Time: 1:23:36.03
1/3 gender
3/5 overall

Slower than last year, but faster than the others who showed up which means ... podium for meeeee.

I dunno where the other two went. I had seen them around prior to the official awards ceremony ...

Glad to have raced ... even though damn do I need to figure out a way to train. Also: did race for pancakes again, but they were WORSE this year. No butter? For shame.

(Flippin' Flapjacks, I miss you.)

February Round Up

... baby steps?

Swimming: 0m (0 mi)
Cycling: 11.39 mi

Running: 11.7 mi

Lifting: eleven sessions (3:40)

Other: two sessions hockey (1:59), two days skiing (3:36), ten walks (4:24)

Still haven't managed to get back in the pool - why that is so hard I'll never know - but I did finally get back on a bike. Once for a small trainer ride (bust the mental barrier) and once outside on my gravel bike to take advantage of a nice day.

Running ... is a thing. I'm attempting to build up mileage, but it ain't easy.

I am grateful I upped the strength a lot.

Hockey was a lean month, but March will more than make up for that. Went skiing finally ... but the other half broke his hand last time out so we'll see if I get out again. And I really do need to keep walking and walk even more.

I did sign up for the Icebreaker Du again so, um, let's hope I can get on my bike more in March?

January Round Up

It was not intentional (getting sick for like two weeks doesn't help things), but January ended up being a lot of the same old, same old.

Swimming: 0m (0mi)
Cycling: 0 mi
Running: 7.84 mi
Lifting: four sessions (:59)
Other: three sessions hockey (3:15), two walks (:31)

I did actually attempt to sketch out whether I could feasibly do IM 70.3 St. George and ... well ... at my current level of fitness? It's not smart. Given that my run base is non-existent right now, I could safely work my way up to 8 or 9 miles which isn't the worst, but not what I'd feel comfortable with. Especially on that course, which is a brutal bike. And with the swim being what it usually is (typically cold AF)? Yeah, not smart. So I miss that opportunity, and I'm going to have to live with it.

If I can claw my way back to a decent base by the summer, I may still consider signing up for Challenge Roth in 2026 since it does fall on my birthday, but I'm also still unsure about that. Fear rules a lot right now, and I don't enjoy it.

2025 Goals

... I should probably not make this post while I'm sick (came down with one of the plagues that's been going around for everyone - got it from B), but here we are.

Do I have goals for 2025?

Truth be told ... I don't know.

Get healthier. I feel like I took a large step back last year - I rarely get sick and yet I was sick multiple times last year. I hate the way I look, the way I feel in my skin - it's definitely a year where I felt like I came out worse than I entered it.

So for 2025? I'd ideally like to finally FIGURE OUT MY DAMN SHIT, but I've been hoping for that since 2021, so good luck?

I was considering signing up for St. George 70.3, since it's being discontinued after this year, but I still haven't quite decided. Whether I want to do it for the right reasons, or just because it's going away.

I definitely have a dinosaur-themed 5K that we were supposed to do last year, but had a conflict with something else, so we deferred it a year. I may do the Icebreaker du again, but we'll see. Brineman sprint is also a possibility. I in theory said I'd do a sprint up in Idaho with a friend, but I haven't officially signed up for it.

This is rambling. I don't know.

2025: may I end the year feeling better and stronger than when I started it.

December and 2024 Round Up

... let's just get into it.

Swimming: 0m (0mi)

Cycling: 0 m

Running: 2.27 mi

Lifting: one session (:10)
Other: six sessions hockey (5:56), one walk (:22)

The intentional rest from November turned into somewhat unintentional rest in December. There were some perks - I had a hockey tourney mid-month and we ended up having to play four games in three days ... and, unlike the Germany tournament, they were actual, full-length games. I also survived it (though my lack of endurance is starting to show) ... and I played some of my best hockey.

But really, the month seemed emblematic of the year. Idle. Stagnant. Never truly getting going.

What was good about 2024? 

I played a lot of hockey.

I ran my first (standalone) marathon.

I broke a very old half-marathon PR.

... and in terms of athletic accomplishments, that might be it. I'm slower. I'm definitely heavier. I'm weaker. And my brain still hates me.

But it is. It's done, and it's in the past. All I can do now is try to hopefully move forward.