It's almost GAME TIME!

Here it is... the cusp of the official start of my endurance season!
Sure, I ran the Groundhog Run 5k and 10k, but that was a warm up.  What's the official start is the God's Country Off Road Duathlon!

While I couldn't wait for the season to start, it kind of snuck up on me.  With kids, time FLIES!  You're so busy changing poopy diapers and sitting in pediatricians' offices that you lose track of reality time.  Don't get me wrong, love the family, but if you thought you had no free time before kids, you're in for a surprise with kids!  If you don't want them falling down steps or sticking their fingers in power outlets, you better watch them like hawks!  They have yet to do either, but I'm not taking the chance!

I signed up for the long course duathlon, which in reality entails a 2 mile run at the end instead of being done after the mountain bike portion.

I've raced this course several times in the past and it's always been a fun time.
I'd bore you with details of the past performances and what my goals are, but with changes to the course, rain, obstacles changes on the course, it's not really comparing apples to apples.

2011 Wakarusa Off Road Challenge on same trail system

I'm usually hanging around the end of the front of the pack and race more for fun.

The biggest strategy is to get at the front of the pack before we dive off a levee trail into the single track.  If you don't pass people here, good luck on the bike and last run.

It's all trail running and mountain biking.  I'm looking to break in my Puma Trailfox shoes, but with all of the rain the past few days here in Kansas City, I'm not sure I want them to get trashed.  The trails contain a lot of sand and drain quickly, so it may not be an issue.

The other wild card is my funky knee...
It's been nagging me lately.  Ever since I hit the HRF indoor track for a 10 miler where I forgot my running shoes and ended up running in trail shoes, I've had a hitch in my giddy-up.

It worked out well to take it easy this week in prep for God's Country and a rest week in general.  Hopefully using the elliptical at the gym and only riding once on the trainer this week will pay off!  I would hate to have a nagging injury all summer!

In the end...
This is more for fun than anything.  It's in Lawrence (home of Kansas Jayhawks, in the Sweet 16 by the way) and more like a homecoming than a high intensity race.  I'm just hoping my mountain bike still works right and I can find all of my gear from the off-season!