A few months ago, I registered for the Auburn long-course duathlon, which is now three days away. I still consider myself to be primarily a runner, but hanging around a bunch of triathletes makes you feel like an underachiever if all you do is marathons. After all, Ironman competitors do a marathon after having already swum 2.4 miles and cycled 112 miles. So, I started training on a road bike six months ago and I thought a duathlon would be a good way to see if I enjoy both sports before potentially getting into swimming and triathlons. In that sense, the duathlon is a gateway drug to triathlon. Of course, my impatient and impetuous nature took over too soon (I blogged a few weeks ago about signing up for next year's Ironman St. George), so I have already committed to a hit off of the triathlon crack pipe.

Cycling has been a humbling experience for me. I have always felt comfortable with running. I don't have the highest maximum heart rate or lactate threshold and my form isn't perfect, but I can usually conjure up a respectable showing in a small local race. I casually assumed that the same qualities would translate over to the bike. My notion was misguided. Although some of the cardiovascular traits can carry over from one sport to the other, there are a lot of abilities and skills that great cyclists possess. It's amazing how I can feel confident on a Sunday run after feeling totally inadequate on a Saturday ride.

My cycling journey began with weekend group rides where I would fall off of pace quickly and make the return trip alone every week. The thing many people don't realize about cycling is the significant impact of drafting. It might sound far-fetched, but a person riding in the middle of a group can be working up to 40% less than one who is alone. Simply put, the turbulent wake left by the leader(s) cuts resistence a lot. Understanding this concept makes it a lot more fun to watch races (such as this week's Giro d'Italia) because the strategic dynamic of riders pulling for their teammates can be really interesting. On the downside of drafting, not being able to keep up with a group ride adds insult to injury because the moment the group starts to pull away, you begin working significantly harder to try to no avail to catch up. Let's just say I went on a lot of lonely Saturday morning group rides ; )

However, riding alone was a great way to build strength. I gradually improved and, although there are certainly a lot of group rides that I can't keep up with, my Saturday mornings have become much more fun. Riding alone also helped me learn that group rides might be beneficial for competitive cyclists (so they can practice their technical handling and their surges) but they can detract from the preparation of a triathlete (drafting is illegal in almost all triathlons). Plus, there is a mental component to cycling by yourself. It's a lot easier to reduce your pain level when there is no one around to try to pass. Making yourself continue to work hard on your own is a skill that translates to every facet of life, whether it be physical, mental, emotional or professional.

So, this Sunday should be interesting. This super-hilly race is actually the National Long Course Duathlon Championship, so there will be a lot of fast people ahead of me. It is essentially the same ridiculously hard course as the "World's Toughest Half Ironman" that will be held concurrently.  So, unlike many of my running races, I won't be making any goals about times or places.  I'll just be happy to complete the 3km run, 56mi ride and 13.1mi run without any major meltdowns (and only a few minor ones).