100 Miles of Nowhere: Fort Worth Duathlon Edition

06.21.2013 | 8:40 am

I started reading this blog around the time of last year’s 100 MoN. I thought to myself, those people are nuts. But, as I started riding more and learned more about why this event came to be, I decided that this was something I had to do. Having never ridden 100 miles to anywhere, I figured that riding 100 miles to nowhere was as good a place to start as any.

The Plan

My original plan was a triathlon to nowhere, but I’m not cool enough to know anyone with an Endless Pool, so I settled on a duathlon—95 miles of riding on a trainer with 5 miles of running on a treadmill. I thought it would be nice to get off the bike occasionally, so I would ride 19 miles and run a mile. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat and done. With low resistance on the trainer and high gear on my bike, the day should be downright delightful. The best laid plans…

And….Go!

I wasn’t able to ride on the official race date, so I started riding the morning of Sat. May 25th. I was caffeinated and ready.

(What more do you need?)

(Gaining inspiration from those who have gone before)

This was a terrible idea

Somewhere around mile 21 or so, I realized, I’m not in running shape, which left my legs tired. So, I quickly went from smiling…

To seriously reconsidering life choices…

Settling in

Because I told several people I was doing this have immense willpower and resolve, quitting was not an option. At some point, I settled into a rhythm of bike, transition and run.

(Shoes still clipped in…I hear it’s a thing.)

Done!

I finished 100 miles in 8:46:00, winning my division and setting a new course record. The winning time included the unsanctioned and unofficial 3 ^rd event of sitting on the couch complaining. I daresay it was my strongest event.

(It’s important to refuel after a strenuous effort.)

What I learned

1. I only hate running when I’m doing it. Sitting here at my computer, a run sounds pretty good
2. You can only drink so much orange Gatorade
3. Running in bike shorts is awkward, at best
4. Anyone who would participate in such an event is the best kind of crazy
5. I will never do this event again…indoors

Thank you to Fatty for putting on this event year after year and to all the swag-givers for giving swag. This was an awesome experience…I can’t wait for next year!