Run/Bike/Run

I have been giving some thought to participating in the Du-State-Du, which is held at Loud Thunder State Park in Rock Island. My friend, Mark has invited me the last two years to do the biking leg and he would do the running part. My schedule the last two years hasn't allowed me to participate.

This event is a duathlon, which includes a 2.0 mile run, followed by a 15.0 mile bike ride and then finishing with a 2.0 mile run.

After returning from Colorado I began running behind my house on a path I keep mowed in our woods. This path is roughly 0.4 miles long and I have been doing two loops. This didn't seem to cause any difficulties, so yesterday I took out on the gravel road in front of our house and did 2.5 miles. My time for this run was 21 minutes, which translates into an 8.5 minute mile. If I want to be competitive in a duathlon I need to get down below 7 minutes.

I found this to be extremely difficult and I have some sore muscles and ligaments today. I haven't did any running since high school (40 years ago). Back then I was a sprinter and did the 100 and 220 yard dashes and the 120 and 180 yard hurdles. I tried to think back and can't remember ever running this length (2.5) of a run before. My cardio-vascular system is accustomed to exercising at a high heart rate. The difficult thing is that you use different muscles when running vs. biking. My feet are a little sore today, but I used an old pair of tennnis shoes that weren't designed for running. Today I went to a running store in town and purchased a pair of shoes designed specifically for running.

I plan to do some more running this week and possibly some running during RAGBRAI and will evaluate how I am progressing and decide whether to enter the DU State Du race and do the whole thing or to enter with my friend and enter the team section and just do the biking leg.