Dirty Du

Good health and fitness requires a little bit of teamwork (or in some cases a lot of teamwork!).  Whether you rely on a friend, spouse or family member to remind you to get to the gym or help cook healthy meals, it’s nice to have someone in your corner.  Some people like to work out together or race together.  Think about a friend or family member that could become a health advocate for you.

Heading to the finish
line at the Dirty Du!

One health advocate in my corner is Jason.  He helps push me through tough workouts and cheers me on as I compete.  This weekend we had the opportunity to cheer each other on as we competed together as a relay team in a duathlon.  This particular duathlon, put on by the Central Iowa Trail Association (CITA) in Des Moines, was a trail duathlon.  CITA, by the way, does an amazing job of helping support, maintain, and grow the trail system in central Iowa.  They offer a wide variety of races and volunteer opportunities throughout the year so be sure to check them out!

For this race, I did the trail run portion and Jason did the mountain biking.  It started with a two mile trail run, followed by 16 miles of mountain biking and finishing with another two mile trail run.  It’s been awhile since I’ve done a pure running race and I went out way too hard.  I tried to pace myself based on others and that never works out well for me.  My chest was pounding and I ended up walking up one of the big hills.  As I tagged Jason for his leg of the race, I wanted to throw myself on the ground and take a nap.  Instead, I walked back and forth in the park area for 10 minutes.  I knew that if I sat down, I’d run the risk of getting too sore and not being able to finish my leg.  When skipping a cool-down or not stretching, I run the risk of injury.  After walking, I sat down and stretched a few minutes.  I had around an hour to wait until my final leg of the race.  After stretching, I added more layers of clothes so I wouldn’t get chilled.  About 20 minutes before restarting, I had a very small snack to give me a quick boost of carbs.  Jason was very quick on the bike and made up many positions on his leg.

Trying to stay ahead of a
competitor during my
leg of the race.

During the final transition, the competitors had spread out enough so that as I started there was only one other person within eye sight.  I started out the leg much more controlled.  My breathing was much more relaxed and I felt better through the entire run.  Running a more controlled pace resulted in a faster second leg than first.  Unfortunately I still had to walk up the last big hill and a few people passed me.  Fortunately, I caught back up to one of them and passed them before the finish.  Midway through the final leg, I caught a competitor who had a 1-2 minute head start on me so I felt good about my run.

There was a lot of tough competition and we didn’t win, but we both felt good about our race.  For me, it was a good reminder to work on a controlled pace and not worry about how fast someone else is running.  I also enjoy competing as a team, knowing that someone else is relying on me to bring my best.  It’s a good motivator to not give up, even when you don’t want to run up the big hill!  

Have you competed with a friend or even trained together for an event?  Have you found a buddy to cheer you on and provide support through your health and wellness journey?  Think about ways someone could offer you support and advice and ask them!  Also, you could consider joining a local group (a running group, biking group, etc.) to meet new people and find a support system.  Feel free to share how your family and friends help support your health and wellness.

Miss FitGab