Clumber Park Duathlon

Its race day tomorrow and I must say I'm feeling quite nervous. I was really excited as both me and my husband have entered this event but as he has come down with a stinker of a cold its looking highly likely I will be competing without him. I know you race as an individual but with this being our first duathlon it would have been lovely to do it together. There seems so much to think about all of a sudden...what kit to take for cycling, running,food,drink, bike and the kit, sunglasses or not..which lenses...and on and on it goes..not to mention paperwork and ID...Oh I hope I don't forget anything ! ( which we did...a very important item...Lees helmet ! good job our son was able to jump out of bed and bring it to us !! Thanks Joe x)

Physically I have prepared well for this event and I am not at all worried about my fitness or anything...its just the fear of the unknown.
I will update this tomorrow after (hopefully) a successful and enjoyable event. Wish me luck :-)

Follow up

As you may have gathered from our smiley faces...we finished our first duathlon...together...Woohoo. Lee was still quite poorly so shouldnt have really but he took it steady and seemed ok.

The event itself was great, well apart from the weather. It was freezing cold and raining. Couldnt wait to get started but the sprint competitors were the last wave to go which meant alot of hanging around with no shelter. Registration was on the day of the event only and had to be done by 8.15am, bikes had to be racked by 8.45am. Our set off time wasnt until 9.35(and was also delayed) so by the time we got going we were shivering !! Still off we went.

5K RUN 1

The first run seemed alot further than 5k, maybe because of the cold. The run had a few sharp uphill sections, short but sharp but the run back seemed mainly downhill. As I reached the first finish line I was thrilled to hear cheers from friends, Tracey and Marcus who had arrived to support us and take photos ! Thanks very much to them :-)

12M BIKE

My first taste of transition ! I was all fingers and thumbs, my kit was wet and it seemed to take me ages to get going. But finally I was off, short run through the mud to the road then off along a beautiful tree lined route which started in the park then out onto fairly quiet and well marshaled roads. Course was quite undulating but nothing to really make me struggle. I was amazed at the speed of some of the bikes wizzing past me (and that was going at my fastest ever pace of 26MPH) I was still pleased with myself though and just cycled on in admiration of others.
Bike seemed over all too quickly though I did feel my calf's wanting to cramp up, I'd not had that feeling before. However they didnt and soon I was crossing the bike finish line, I unclipped and set off to run back into the transition area. My legs didnt feel like they belonged to me..a strange sensation I must say...how on earth could I now set off to run again ?

2.5k RUN 2

Decided to leave my cycling kit on to run in as it was only 2.5k I just swapped my bike helmet for a hat and stuck my trainers then off I gingerly set willing my muscles to realise what I was asking of them. Things started to click back into place and back onto the same route as the first run only turning around sooner. I wasnt trying to push pace at this point, I just wanted to comfortably finish, and thats what I did to more applause from friends and crowd.
That was it..Id done it..my first duathlon.

My thoughts then turned to Lee(not the first time he'd crossed my mind) I'd caught sight of him setting off on his run as I was coming back in so I knew he wasnt too far behind. I enjoyed being able to cheer him over the line and even Axel (Tracey and Marcus' dog joined in !)

Would I do another ?...without question !

Sock guy, cosy toes

Bought these in a desperate search for something to keep my feet warm. In conjunction with my super expensive seal skinz socks they were fantastic.They are quite thin which worried me a bit as I thought they just couldn't be warm. They fit easily over my shoe and over the cleat. They come in one size only and are made of neoprene. Cheapest I found them online and in stock was £12.99 from chain reaction cycles..delivered free too. Just came back from a cold bike ride (with lots of chilly wind factor) and I came home with cosy feet...YAY...:-) so happy.

Energy bar recipe

Made this yeasterday and its so great I just had to share. Can be used as a breakfast bar if you are on the go.

200g Butter

200g sugar
2tblsp honey

melt these in a pan

stir in 300g oats

2 cooking apples peeled and chopped
200g dates

cook these together until soft with a pinch of cinnamon

greese a tin and put a

layer of oats
layer of apple mix
layer of oats
or mix together and do in one layer
cook for 25 mins at 180 or until it looks golden

cool then chill and slice

makes about 12 decent sized bars

Seal skinz socks

Well I was highly recommended these sock by my local cycling shop. They were very expensive...£24 and that was the "on offer" price. I have to say having ridden in them now on about four rides, all in cold weather, they are not worth the money.

I would imagine their best asset is the fact that they are waterproof, the reviews i have read regarding this were excellent. I really wanted them for their windproof properties thinking they would keep my feet warm...they dont..my feet are still completely numb with cold when I get back off a ride. They are however very comfy and I will continue to wear them through winter.My next purchase to wear in conjunction with the seal skinz are sock guy cosy toes. They are a mit thats made of neoprene and fits over the toe on the outside of your shoe. Fits neatly over the cleat. For £12 thought they were worth a try...anything to keep my toes warmer. Nothing worse that getting off the bike in a race to then do a run...feels like you are running on blocks of wood. I will review the cosy toes once tried and tested !

Bridie run via cottage by lobraes at Garmin Connect - Details

Bridie run via cottage by lobraes at Garmin Connect - Details

First taste of my Garmin today and I must say I'm very impressed. Device found satellite very quickly. Apparently the first time it locates satellites is the slowest after that it looks in the same place, useful if you always start from the same place. Mapping seems very accurate, much better than endomondo which I have been using and much less time consuming the mapping the run once home on map my run.
The data you get is amazing, as you can see on the link above.
Looking forward to testing it out on my bike over the weekend.

My New Garmin forerunner 405cx

Its just been delivered !!!! =))))
I have fancied one of these for ages and really wanted one for my Birthday. My Birthday isnt actually until May but as I have a few events between now and then I decided to get one now !
I looked at all the different models. Some garmin look huge and having seen people wearing them some are huge ! I felt they would be a bit cumbersome on my wrist so I decided to go for the 405cx as it has more of a sports watch look.

It also does all the things I need it to and more.
I bought the bike holder too as the forerunner doubles up as a cycling tool giving speed and distance amongst other things.
Having charged the unit up, played about with the settings, watched garmin tutorials and paired the device...I'm ready to go !