Club Duathlon and Sunday Morning Ramblings

I joined a local Triathlon Club last month and this was the opening club event of the new year.  It was held at Deussen Park in NE Houston and this was my first Duathlon and also my first time at this park.  First off, the park was just awesome for cyclists.  It had roads that were in decent condition and separate bike lanes outside the park.  Not once did I fear becoming roadkill by the distracted soccer mom in the minivan! 

More importantly, the members of the Tri Club are some very nice people.  They have members who are multiple IM Finishers and then newbs like myself.  And they are all extremely open to sharing  and helping other improve.  I'm going to really enjoy being in this group.

Okay, onto the race.  We had about 15 or so people participating.  The distances were a 2 Mi Run + 12 Mi Bike + 2 Mi Run.  According to my Bike computer the bike distance end up being over13 miles but I did take a wrong turn once so it just might have been me!

The initial run started out fast.  Three guys jumped up to the front pretty quick, I was one of these meat heads.  I figured it was only 2 miles so why not red-line this sucker.  My Garmin had me at 12:47 after 2 miles and hitting T1 third overall. 

Jumped on the bike and followed the markings the club had placed up.  As I have blogged about, this winter has seen me put a ton of time on the indoor trainer.  It has paid off!  At the end of last year I was averaging about 16 MPH on the bike on any distance over 10 miles.  Yesterday I averaged between 19-20 MPH and when I got off the bike realized I could have pushed a lot more because I was still relatively fresh. 

After T2 I grabbed a bottled water and took off down the trail again.  I was hopeful to do the last 2 miles in 16 minutes (8min/mi pace), but as I mentioned above, was feeling good.  The final time on my Garmin was 14:30 (7:15min/mi pace).

Overall I was the third finisher with a time of 68 minutes.  I had a really good time and look forward to training with this group of Triathletes!

Sunday Morning Ramblings:

• My wife Annie recently competed in her first marathon in Austin (Click HERE for RR).  Last night she commemorated the accomplishment with some body art on her hip - I think it is pretty cool:

• Today is the last day of my "Scheduled Recovery Week" and I am glad.  My body is feeling pretty fresh so it was probably needed, but I get so antsy doing short workouts and taking rest days. 

• Couple of good Trainer movies that I have recently watched:  1) Gamer - this one isn't for everyone.  But if you enjoy fast paced and extremely violent sci-fi flicks then check it out.  Gerald Butler is the star but Michael C. Hall (the guy from Dexter) steals the show.  2) Law Abiding Citizen - This is another Gerald Butler movie that also stars Jamie Foxx.  This is one of the better movies I have seen in awhile.  Gerald Butler is the main character.  His family is murdered during a home invasion and Jamie Foxx is an up and coming DA in Philly who strikes a deal with the man who murdered Butler's family.  Butler's character does not like this very much and the action begins 10 years later ... go rent it, you'll enjoy!

• With the Olympics over, our favorite TV Shows are back in full swing.  Some better than others:  IMO, American Idol has officially Jumped the Shark.  We have not seen one performance so far where you just went, "Wow!".  It's not that the kids aren't talented, it is that we have seen it all before.  AI is no longer fresh.   The Biggest Loser is back!  If you can get over all the product placements in this show it is extremely entertaining.  I am really pulling for some of this seasons contestants - except for Michael, he is a freaking slacker.  This guy started out at 530 lbs and just doesn't seem to grasp the opportunity he has to change his life - Jillian needs to make him cry like a baby.  LOST  is down to only 10 episodes remaining until the series finale and last week left us with more questions than answers (AGAIN!).  I have no idea how they are going to wrap this puppy up in a couple of months, but in the history of TV no show has ever sparked more conversation, debate, anger, and emotion than LOST.  If they end it and all of us loyal viewers let out a collective, "WHOA", then this will go down as one of the top shows ever in TV history.  If they pull a Sopranos ending on us then it will be a waste of 6 years of our lives - seriously, the line the creators have drawn it that thin!

• Saw that the new hero of the GOP, MA Senator Scott Brown, was at a Suns basketball game with John McCain sitting in the $800 courtside seats last night.  McCain is up for re-election and it is not a sure thing he will win.  So, he brings in Brown and make sure he is seen around AZ to help his lackluster campaign .....  Seriously, I hate politicians.  Brown has already been sucked into the political machine of back room handshakes.  Think Brown is still driving around in a truck?  I voted for McCain in 2008, it was not a vote for McCain as much as a vote against Obama.  McCain is a large part of the current political establishment and he needs to be voted out.  John, you have served your time, move on and let someone else take over and quit poisoning the new guys like Brown and Ryan. 

• Lately, every time I see a politician on TV I want to puke.  I really think our country is about to explode politically.  People seem to be aligning themselves less with Democrats or Republicans and are just sick of the way Washington works.  Obama promised a Change of this type of politics but since he has been in office it has been business as usual and people are pissed.  Obama voters are feeling lied to and Obama detractors are walking around uttering the,  "I told you so" mantra.  As messed up as things seem in our country Democracy does work and come November the people are going to speak very loudly through their ballots and we are going to see incumbents voted out of office at a historic rate. 

Alright, I am done rambling.  My wife is on her way to St. Louis for a funeral so I will be living the bachelor life until Thursday.  Two years ago this would have meant late nights, mass quantities of beer, and pizza three times a day - today it means more training!  Love this life!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff