February: A solid month of training for March’s South Bay Duathlon – which means a little more riding…a little less running. I’ll be honest, I like cycling, but not as much as running. That said, I do know that mixing in cycling sessions does have its benefits to a runner; so even after the DU, I’ll keep cycling on the training plan.
I’m looking forward to the duathlon, though I am a bit nervous: it’s my first multisport event. I’m confident at the two disciplines; however, the transitions are making me nervous as the event gets closer. It’s mainly the act of moving about in my cycling shoes. We’ll see how it goes, but my main goal is to have fun. OK, I won’t lie – do have a time goal as well! As of now, this is my only multisport this year, as there aren’t too many duathlons in the area. So it will be “go for broke” on Saturday!
No biz trips this past month – WooHoo!
HIGH/LOW:
- HIGH: New half marathon PR!!!
- LOW: It was a great month…nothing really to consider a “low” – except maybe a tumble I took on a run one morning…
As far as new equipment & such:
- Altra Instinct 1.5 shoes. This is my third pair of Altra shoes, having added their 3-Sum and Lone Peak models in my rotation over the past few months – and really loving them. I picked these up at Sports Basement for $50, so it was a great deal. Technically, I only got one run in the Instincts in this month, so I don’t have too much to write about at this point. I did like the feel on the 9-mile run I did in them. I will share more about them soon, but early impression is great.
- Ultimate Direction SJ Ultra Vest 2.0. With some 50Ks on the calendar later this year, I wanted to try this option for schlepping stuff like fluids, fuel, etc. I’ve read quite a bit about vests and went with the UD SJ v2.0. I only have one run wearing this, so I will postpone a detailed review. I will say that after the first run (a 10-miler), I really liked it. I did not have any issues with chaffing or not being able to get the bottles out/access the front or side pockets. I did notice some stiffness in my back after the run; but that is probably from having weight on my chest (water bottles) vs. carrying the handhelds and probably eases after repeated use. More to follow on this great product, but early impression is great.
With that, here are the February 2014 stats:
Training Program(s):
- Duathlon-focused plan for the South Bay Duathlon (international distance) on March 8. The plan is a mix of bike, run, BRick, and duathlon (R/B/R) sessions, keeping the rest day on Saturday.
whitespace!
Races/Rides Completed:
- 2/2: Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon [report]
- Race Count: Month: 1 / YTD: 2 / Lifetime: 43
- 5k: 0 / 0 / 7
- 10k: 0 / 0 / 3
- Half Marathon: 1 / 2 / 22
- Marathon: 0 / 0 / 3
- 50K: 0 / 0 / 1
- Other: 0 / 0 / 7
- Ride Count: Month: 0 / YTD: 0 / Lifetime: 1
- Century: 0 / 0 / 1
GIDDY-UP!
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