There's always a first time

And so it was for me this Sunday – my first duathlon. I spent my Sunday morning thoroughly enjoying myself and surprising myself as I participated in an Olympic distance Duathlon – a total of 15km running and 40km cycling.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am slowly getting back into the routine. And I have always believed that participating in events is a sure shot way of upping the motivation levels and so had signed up for a few. But a duathlon - what was I thinking ? Anyways, I still got the bib picked up, leaving the GO / NO Go decision for last minute. And it was during the Saturday morning run, when a friend said – “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” that the planning really began. The format of the event was a 5km run followed by 40km of cycling and ending with a 10km run. And this is how my scorecard looked like :

My Handicaps
- I can’t even remember when I cycled last. I am not a regular cyclist, infact friends and family get their quota of laughter every time they see me get onto the saddle and finding my balance.

- My old rusty MTB is always in a non-cyclable condition. I did take it for servicing on Saturday evening but all that could be done was getting the nut bolts tightened with the guy at the bike shop telling me that my bike needs repairs and not just a service and it will take more than a day for it.

- Running has picked up and so I knew the first 5km would be a breeze. But it was the 10km after the cycle leg on sore bums that worried me. I even tried a mini FB campaign to get the organisers to change the format from 5-40-10 to 10-40-5 !!!

My Advantages
+ I was pepped up completely and was looking forward to the adventure – irrespective of the result

+ The weather was awesome. Weather prediction of a rain had me worried but thankfully it only drizzled and it kept the fun element intact.

+ The route wasn’t tough. Mostly flat with minimal incline. Hill repeats are my favourite running regime but cycling up an incline is my nemesis and so a route with minimal incline was a big advantage.

And the result

• I breezed through my first 5km – a 27mins odd !!!
• I didn’t get off my cycle even once for the entire cycling leg. Yay!!! And let me confess – there were moments, when I did feel the start of a new romance, when I wanted to let go of my current relationship (with running – mind you!!!) and embrace the new one ….
• But the old flame came back strong - all fun and pumped up and reminded me of the love between us and that what I am today is because I am a runner !!! When I passed many in that lap because I had strong legs and a strong mind, those fleeting romantic moments on the cycle were soon forgotten !!!

 The arrangements for the event were super. The roads we used have fast moving heavy traffic and the traffic police did a good job of managing the traffic in those conditions. Good food at the finish and a lovely medal for my first ever …..

pic courtesy : FB page of the event

Lacing it up !!

Embed from Getty Images

The transition from “no running” to “running” has begun. Discipline around sleeping early, eating well and in general about work life balance is slowing coming back. The schedule is still hectic, but I am making a conscious effort to take time out for a run. I don’t know if its the running that has caused this change in me to become more responsible towards managing my life better or the other way around. Either ways running figures in the scheme of things and so its confirmed – Running = “A Better me”.

What have I been upto 

• Had planned back to back HMs last weekend but ran a 21km and a 12Km – happy that I dragged myself out on the road on a cold foggy morning. It was slow, easy with no time target. Just to get into the mode.
• I was afraid this may remain a flash in the pan – but I followed it up with a 35 km this week, spread over 4 days. So more days of being in the routine. The soreness is gone and while I am still way slower than my best, but runs are easier now.
• I am starting to feel fitter. Despite no running, I had held onto my weight but not to the fitness. I feel better, fitter, less bloated now. Those new tight pants are still in a wait mode but I am more hopeful now of wearing them soon than before.
• Reviewed my 2016 targets and decided to start looking at them like a true corporate - on a Q-o-Q basis. For this quarter, I have a plan to run the NDM end February. The idea was for it to be faster than ADHM- may have to rethink on that. But am confident of turning up for this run. Unlike the Duathlon in early Feb – where I am scratching my head wondering why did I sign up for it. But the bib has been collected and so here's to some cycling and running. This will be followed by a 10k race in early March and that’s it for the first quarter.

The Not-so-good

• Still not getting my desired quota of sleep. Not sleep deprived but can do with some more shut eye.
• I am still not at that stage where I am following a plan or can follow a plan. I just hope that with whatever runs I can get between now and end Feb, I do a strong NDM.
• Recovery is far from adequate and hence I am worried about injuries with the increasing mileage. Rest and recovery are an integral part of any training regime, and I need to spend more time stretching and rolling. 

Recent research shows that it takes about two months for a behavior to become a habit, debunking the inference from an earlier study that it takes 21 days.

 http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/hbrc/2012/06/29/busting-the-21-days-habit-formation-myth/ 

And here I am hoping that for people on a second or third or “whatever it is”th cycle, its quicker !!!!!