Update

It's been a little while since I posted last.

I didn't attend the clinic a couple weeks ago. Don called me up a couple days before and had some higher priority commitments that required his attention so I opted not to go. I'm not the type of person that enjoys going and doing new things with a whole bunch of people I don't know. Instead, we will attend the clinic another time. I'm actually glad I didn't attend because the second day of the clinic there were 40+ mph winds blowing. I want something like that to be fun not misery.

I had the Devil Dog Duathlon yesterday down at Camp Pendleton. The day started at 4 am. I got the car packed and left. I was on the road slightly after 5. The race started at 8:30. The first leg was a 5k run on mostly level dirt/gravel. Around mile 1.5 the guy I was using as a pacer in front of me cleared a rock sticking out of the ground that I didn't see. My right toe caught it and I went flying. I'm quite sure I looked like Superman for a second or two. Banged up both knees a little bit above the kneecap (which means I was fully layed out when I hit the ground). My right palm suffered too. Later I found a couple rocks embedded in it after I finished racing. According to my Polar watch I averaged about 7:58/mile. That's slower than I wanted but the run actually turned out to not be that level. I also didn't run or ride the past two weeks which I'm sure was a contributing factor.

I came in off the run a bit bloodied up but totally focused. I got out on the bike and flew. At least until the headwind reared its ugly head. I started feeling my left knee wince a little but worked through it. I passed many people on the bike and after seeing transition after the run almost empty of bikes I was happy to be making up positions by the masses. I came in after the 30k bike in 47 minutes. The bike course was challenging with the wind changing directions so much and the undulations.

Transition #2 came and I was tired. When I racked my bike in the wrong spot I knew I was tired and I knew the second run was going to be a pain. I found my racking spot 1 rack over and changed over for the next run.

Run #2...

This run was the most painful run I've ever done. It was the same as the first but my MCL was tight and the abrasions on my legs were not feeling well since all they wanted to do was scab but I forced them to keep bending back and forth. Thank goodness for my ability to just keep going and block the pain to a point where I could finish.

I averaged somewhere in the ballpark of 10:00/mile on run #2 I think. It was not pleasant and I had to stop a few times to stretch on out left leg and take in some water a 2 stops. This run I was blown by just as many people as I passed on the bike or so it felt.

Coming up to the finish line a guy came up beside me and was going to pass me and I really had had enough of being passed so I broke out into a full sprint and he tried keeping up for a very brief time and gave up. Obviously, that energy would have been better spent on the course elsewhere but in my mind I had enough and wasn't going to let another person pass me up.

I went over to the Navy Corpsmen to get my wounds cleaned up and dressed. I cannot say enough how PAINFUL alcohol prep pads hurt on open wounds!!!!! Holy CRAP!

All things considered I had a lot of fun. I'm definitely fatigued today.