2009 quickly approaches with many new challenges i have never faced before. 1.) I’m going to be a dad for the first time in about 3 weeks. 2.) I am looking at returning to the workforce full time again. 3.) Coach D made me realize that the goals i had always had in the sport of triathlon are actually achievable.
D and i sat down last week and discussed the season just finished and goals for improvement for 2009. So where am i at?
Swimming: The swim has come along really well. I’ve always been able to swim. I’ve always been really inconsistent. I’ve never been able to gauge how much effort needed to be expended in the pool compared to the bike and run. This year with D i swam a structured program which put me in the water LESS than before, but was totally for me and my race program. I went from 1.02.00, 55.00, 53.40 over the season. We now know what i need to do and when. CHECK!
Bike: I love the bike! I would ride the bike all day every day if i could. This year i had some goals for the bike and everything worked just as we planned (10.00+min Ironman PB ). Do i still think i have a lot of improving to do, absolutely!!! But i think we now have a formula for me that will hopefully turn some heads next season. CHECK!
Run: This is like therapy, i feel like i have to talk about the run. Don’t get me wrong, the run has improved dramatically during the season, its just the area that i can make the most time gains for next season. I am physically one of the biggest, heaviest, pro triathletes out there so running a marathon at the end of 112 miles is challenging for me. Its also the only of the three sports that i never raced as a child so i really don’t know what i am capable of doing. I say that because as we get older we tend to be more cautious, we know what happens when we fail and things fall apart. So we don’t push ourselves to the breaking point as much.
The plan: RUN!!! The 3M half marathon and the Austin Marathon to be exact! I have goals, I have a schedule. I am going in to the next couple of months understanding that i am going to suffer more than i have on the trail and on the track, and i am excited about it. Today is a field test, 2 miles all out!!! It will hurt, i won’t go as fast as i want. But, for anyone interested i will blog the result. I’m still not game to blog my marathon goal time as its a long way away and i still have a lot of work ahead, but as we get closer i may just mention it.
So, today i am back in the swing…................nearly. I just have to get out in the cold now and run.
rf
