Buzzillions Blogs

Competing in the Wildflower Triathlon in May this year, I have to say I felt a little smug. As the designated runner on a relay triathlon team, I had spent $80 on a pair of sweet running shoes, rather than thousands on the gear that seemed to be standard for pro triathletes and weekend warriors alike. The aerodynamic helmets, bouyant wetsuits & aerobars seemed laughably excessive in contrast to the equipment needed for even the longest running race.  Suckers.

Dude, seriously?

Fast forward three months & I found myself shelling out a month’s rent on a brand new road bike.  Ironically, what brought me to this hypocritical juncture was my love of running. My self-diagnosed achilles tendonitis had been hampering me since well before the Wildflower race thanks to up to 50 miles of running a week. With a marathon closing in a few short months, something had to change.  Not quite ready to hang up the racing shoes altogether, I decided to focus on my training on quality, not quantity, with liberal amounts of cross training. I started prepping for my October marathon using the FIRST training program – three days of running and two or three days of cross training every week. The theory goes that cross training allows for better recovery between running sessions & prevents injury. Perfect.

Being a miserable swimmer, I chose biking as my cross training method. After checking reviews & taking the Specialized Allez & the Trek 1.2 WSD for a test ride, I bought the latter at my local bike store in exchange for my minimalist-runner soul & a good chunk of cash. A few days in & my achilles seems a little bit better. Hopefully, this will all pay off come race day. As for triathlons, I don’t see one in my future, but I know better than to say never.