Above: my favorite part of triathlons and duathlons, the bike leg.
Triathlete Back to Duathlete
After much soul searching and deliberation, I have decided I really don't like swimming. So although I made 2011 the year of the triathlon, I have decided to switch back to racing duathlons and participating in some cycling only events. I wouldn't call the great triathlon experiment a failure, I did manage to complete 9 sprint triathlons and 1 Olympic distance triathlon in 2011. Not too bad for someone that didn't start swim training until January 3, 2011.
Above: although I survived the swim portion of this triathlon, I really don't look like I'm having very much fun.
No Stress Racing
I still have way too much anxiety during the swim leg of triathlons which is taking all the joy out of racing. When I made the decision to stop training for triathlons, about a week ago, it was like a HUGE weight was suddenly lifted off my shoulders. I didn't realize I also really hate swim training, as trying to fit in 3 types of workouts every week was just stressing me out. I still plan on using my triathlon bike for all the duathlons I will be racing, so I need to do at least 2 tri bike or tri-bike-to-run brick workouts per week, in addition to group rides on the road bike.
Trying to fit in all my swim workouts during 2011 had me scaling way back on my bike mileage. I hardly rode my road bike at all this year and didn't do ANY cycling only events in 2011. So my bike endurance and confidence has plummeted due to lack of time on the bike. But now I will be getting back to some group rides on my road bike while training for my cycling events.
America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride
If you look at my schedule for 2012, you will see I have a few run only events planned, lots of duathlons and will now add a few cycling events back to the mix. I'll be doing America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride (AMBBR) on June 3rd with the Palm Beach Florida chapter of Team in Training. AMBBR is a 100 mile century bike ride which circumnavigates Lake Tahoe while cycling through the mountains in Nevada and California.
My husband and I did AMBBR back in 2009 with Team in Training to help raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Here are links to two race reports I wrote for the 2009 AMBBR.
Above: my husband and I getting ready to participate in the 2009 America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride.
Bike Diva's Tentative 2012 Race Schedule
I don't have all the dates for the races I'm thinking of doing 2012, but here are the events on my schedule so far. This schedule will change a bit once I get the exact race dates for the Publix Family Fitness Weekend series of duathlons and the West Palm Beach Race Series 15k time trials.
- @1/07/12 – Disney half Marathon – Walt Disney World – Orlando
- @2/05/12 - 10th Annual Butterfly Run - 5k - Sabal Pines Park - Coconut Creek
- @2/19/12 - A1A Marathon – marathon – Beach Front Ave. - Ft. Lauderdale
- 3/17/12 – 36th Annual Shamrock Run – 5k or 10 miler – John Prince Park – Lake Worth
- 4/07/12 - 3rd Annual Egg Hunt - sprint duathlon - CB Smith Park - Pembroke Pines
- 5/20/12 - Tri Miami - Olympic duathlon - Marine Stadium - Key Biscayne
- @6/03/12 - America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride - Century Ride - LakeTahoe, CA & Nevada
- 6/17/12 - Mack Cycle #1 - sprint duathlon - Marine Stadium - Key Biscayne
- 7/04/12 - 22nd Annual Independence Day - sprint duathlon - Tradewinds Park - Coconut Creek
- 7/15/12 - 23rd Annual Frank Stark Celebration Ride - metric century ride - City Hall - Boca Raton
- 7/22/12 - Mack Cycle #2 - sprint duathlon - Marine Stadium - Key Biscayne
- 8/19/12 - Mack Cycle #3 - sprint duathlon - Marine Stadium - Key Biscayne
- 9/09/12 - Mack Cycle Bonus Round - sprint duathlon - Marine Stadium - Key Biscayne
- 10/14/12 - Multirace Series Championship - sprint duathlon - Tradewinds Park - Coconut Creek
- 11/11/12 – Miami Man – Half Ironman duathlon – Larry & Penny Thompson Park - Miami
- 11/17/12 – 26th Annual Turkey Trot – 5k – Anchor Park - Delray Beach
@ = Pre-registered for these events
Take care,
Lynn Smythe, AKA the Bike Diva
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