Year to date

A summarization of the events leading up to my decision to blog my vie-sportif:

August 2009: I acquire my first road bike (2010 Trek 2.1 C) after 5 years of cyclo-commuting on an old Schwinn mountain bike, all the while dreaming of taking part in a road race or triathlon.

September 2009: 4 weeks before race date I discover this Blitz duathlon. It's a short distance, 4k trail run, 20k bike ride, and 4k trail run, so I think, perfect way to start racing. I convinced friends Mike and Simon to join too, and Mike invites a couple of his friends too. My goal for the race was to break top 20, and my long shot goal was top 10.
Bev and the kids came to cheer me on, and it helped! I managed to stay around 15th place out of the first run, which included a massive 1.5km scramble up a mountain. I had practiced my transitions and managed to get on my bike quicker than 2 other people who were there before me.
Within a couple kms, I passed a few more riders. One guy from bicisport passed me going up a big hill as my legs were drained from the hill run, but I managed to regain my strength for the 2nd half of the ride. By the time I got to transition 2, there was nobody near me, in front or behind. I coasted through the 2nd run, never once seeing any of the competition through the thick trees, but that didn't stop me from thinking I was hearing twigs snapping...
Overall, I finished 9th out of 100, so needless to say I was pretty ecstatic about my race. Great job by Mike to come in 4th.

Winter 2009: I decide I'm going to start bike racing next year, so as off season training I will continue to commute to work on either my Trek or my Schwinn, depending on weather.
Also got a membership at Hard's Way gym to keep up my strength/resistance training
I meet Scott at iStock, who tips me over the edge in my decision to join SpeedTheory racing club.
I winterize myself and my schwinn and manage to miss only a handful of days of riding, despite the -30C chills. I suffer several spills on the ice, over snow banks, as well as some mechanical failures, and finally I lay the schwinn to rest (RIP). Minh is kind enough to donate his old beater MTB, an old steel Raleigh Ambush. Salvaging parts from the late Schwinn, I create Frankenbike.

Jan - Feb 2010: Weather picks up and I decide to start running outside again. My mother sends me the book, Born to Run, (by Chris McDougal), and I become inspired to try the Vibram FiveFingers shoes, which are basically a cross between toe socks and kayaking slippers.
My initial review is very positive, and within a month I cut my km split from around 5 /12 minutes to 4 1/2 minutes, faster than my peak speed training for that Duathlon. I get so zealous that I finally decide to run home from work (~20k).



March 2010: Early March is nice, and along with Mike and Scott, we start the year off with a ride up the Road to Nepal!

Head to Houston mid-month to visit the family. So nice to do some warm weather rides, including one with my Eric's riding club. (Nice to get a shout out from Sarge! And yes, JJ was an animal out there).
Drive out to Austin for a relay Duathlon on the 26th, along with Eric, Astrid, and her boyfriend Leith.

This is olympic size, so a 5k run, 40k ride, 5k run. Astrid and I were a team, with me biking (Eric picked up an old steel Fuji Team road bike for me) and her running, and Leith (running) and Eric (cycling) were a team. It was a very fun race, and after 2 hours of racing it came down to a sprint finish, with Astrid and I winning by a mere 14 seconds!
Since we were the only 2 relay duathlon teams at that distance, we OWNED THE PODIUM!