Not Quite a Triathlon

I have a feeling my uncles are out to kill me. Yesterday Jeff called me and asked, out of the blue, if I’d like to run a 5k in Prairie City today. Run a 5k? Sure, I haven’t run in over 2 months – why not!

Not an hour later, Steve asked about doing a bike ride in Altoona. Sure, why not. I’d already be in the neighborhood and sweaty.

That meant a tough morning for me.

Prairie City Days 5k – The run went about as well as I could have expected. Actually, it went better – quicker – that I expected. I was able to finish the race at quicker than 10-minute per mile pace (my “normal” speed). I didn’t need to stop and walk. I finished. Overall, it was a success. Near the end I had a shoe come untied and needed to take off the hat so my bald head could breathe, but I did not stop. We even rode our bikes from his place to the start of the race and then back afterwards. It was a great, early start to the morning. Wish I would have remembered to stop my watch at the end, but I’m sure my finishing time was right around 30 minutes – one of my better 5k’s in the past 6 or 7 years. [UPDATED - race results have Jeff and I clocked at 30:15]

Bike Ride – It didn’t take long, only about 12 miles, before I began to notice that the run had eaten away a lot of my power and motivation to be outside in the hot, muggy weather. I also had some stomach cramping (probably should have had more than a granola bar for breakfast) that made the last 8 or so miles uncomfortable. I was just happy for the ride to be over.

And that no birds attacked me.
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Run Summary: 3.1 miles (5k) in 30:15 minutes; ran with Jeff an out and back course on the south side of the main drag east-west through Prairie City; mile 1 at 9:08, mile 2 at 18:51; hot – low 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

Bike Summary: 3.88 miles in 25:34 minutes; rode with Jeff from his house to the start of the Prairie City Days 5k at the ball fields on the south side of town and then back afterwards; hot – high 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

19.07 miles in 1:22:11 hours, at an average of 13.8 mph; rode with Scott and Steve from grandma’s in Altoona on the trail to Pleasant Hill and around Copper Creek Lake 2 laps before returning; hot – high 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.