Team http://NordicSkiRacer.com held its monthly Duathlon at the enormous and lovely Island Lake Rec Area last weekend.

About 10 wingnuts showed up for the illustrious event. However, several of them chose to loiter about and skip the run portion of the special day then provoke and malinger us during the rollerski leg.

I arrived late (gotta get the kids to Sunday School) and had no warmup. Mike Muha took off like lightning and a bunch of foolish tough guys followed him as they left me and others out of sight. At the halfway point, tho, they weren't too far ahead anymore. I was gittin warmed up. As Mike's website says, Doug's transition was BLISTERING fast and he won the overall. Of course the lingering wolves pounced on him and Mike and Rob as they left the parking lot...and left them in the dust. They shoulda just done their own race, the well-rested-up bums.

I was impressed at how tired my ARMS were after the run.

All in all, this event seems like a great training indicator. A 5k trail run seems just right for Old Farts and perhaps tests Classic fitness. Then the 5k Skate lets you drool and froth some yet not overdo it too badly. So you get a nice workout and test in 40 minutes. Then a 5k cooldown ski back to the cars. Just right.

Mike rightfully gloated that his High Tech training is whupping my Backyard training so far. I have WAY too many good cooks around this house and my 10 Pounds goal is a dreadful one. Still...we won't know till the Masters! Maybe I'll switch to 2-a-days.

I'm also still figuring out how to V2. And my ski wheels won't spin: they take effort to turn. Good for training, but I want to get em tuned nice for these durn Duathlons. Kick me some butt. Next time, you guys! I'll get there early and warm up just right...

--JP

PS: What I especially like is how all the bowhunters and squirrel hunters were gearing up at the same time as we were. It's a multi-use park system. Them there bowhunters have SO MUCH JUNK on their fancy high tech camo carts. It takes each GROUP a good half hour to prep their stuff that they unload from their huge new SUVs. Ha, don't fret, I'm a bowhunter misself, so I can talk. But I can't shop. As usual, I'm Mr. Make-Do with this hunting stuff. Travel light. Even if I have junk, I'm outta the car and on the move pronto. A that hightech junk sure makes traditional equipment look good. I wonder how the park handles gun-deer season. I'd think they'd limit the kind of hunting done. Like, maybe not even rabbit, or, say, no pheasant. Do they have pheasant hunting there? That would be weird. But, ya know, proof is in the pudding: I doubt they've ever had an incident. Squirrel hunting points up: fine. Bow-deer is close and careful (by and large): fine. Pheasant, grouse and woodcock is more like whip around and swig and blast away. A little more humorous. I've had birdshot rain on me at a few hundred yards away, just stings a little if it hits a bare leg. (We were fishing in a gravel pit behind the range. The shot would rain across the water. It was interesting.)