Not so impressive: my duathlon debut

So much for good intentions. My plan to end the season was to participate in my first duathlon, a 2.5 km run/19 km cycling time trial/2.5 km run. I had two sessions with a very experienced coach to go over training and transition techniques, I practiced riding my bike with my feet on top of my shoes, I bought a number holder and cool things to lace up my running shoes instantly, I paid the $65 (!) entry fee and even drove out to Cumberland, Ontario to check out the cycling course last weekend.

Since I came back to Ottawa the weather has been gorgeous, with nearly four weeks of sunshine and temperatures pushing up in the high 20sC. Friday was no exception, and I enjoyed riding to work again. I have put in around 160 km on Blackadder during my bike commutes. Then someone in the locker room at work mentioned that the weekend weather outlook was poor.

He was right. After a good night's sleep, I woke up this morning to the the sound of rain on the windows. And it was cold--only 10c. By 8:30 am it was pouring, and there was even a thunderstorm. I need a full hour to warm up for an event and I was not thrilled about the idea of driving for forty minutes, doing a so-called "warm-up" in cold rain, followed by the race itself, also in cold rain. By 9:30 it was obvious that I did not need to get packed up to go and so I waved goodbye to the entry fee. At noon the weather actually looked decent, if cold, but since the race only started then I would not have had a comfortable warm-up. Life is just too short to spend it cold and soaked on a long weekend. I will attempt to salvage something of my Canadian Thanksgiving workout tomorrow and Monday by getting on the bike again or at least going to the gym. Bah! Humbug! No finisher's medal...or even Yet Another T-Shirt.