2011 Goals

So as stated in my last post, I'm going to begin my training this week for what should be an eventful season. A lot of the things I have read say don't make the podium a goal because you don't know who else is going to be racing that day...that your goals should be oriented towards your own personal experiences in the race, and for the most part my goals are just like that, with the exception of Wasaga. I REALLY want to podium at Wasaga.

I'm 'starting' the season at the end of March when I run the "Around the Bay" 30KM road race in Hamilton. I'm not heading out to 'race' this race, but just have fun and see what kind of time I can get over 30km so that I have a goal in mind when I do my first marathon

The 6 sprints that I'm planning to do and their coinciding goals are as follows:

June 25 - Muskoka Sprint/go sub 1:15 for the course: this was my first ever sprint triathlon in 2009. It was fun and a great achievement, but I want to improve my finishing time of 1:35:20. Because I'm only focussing on sprints this off-season, and I will be going into my 3rd racing season, I'm hoping to be faster in all 3 disciplines at this race by over 20:00.

July 10 - Huronia Sprint/go sub 35:00 on the bike and sub 22:00 on the run: this was my second ever sprint in 2009. My swim improved immensely, but it wasn't until I got into the TT groove that I really felt strong on the bike. Plus, I hadn't started Kevin's speed work at that point. My 2009 bike was 43:16 and run was 24:36, so improvements can be made, especially on the bike.

July 24 - Bala Falls/go sub 35:00 on the run: I had a horrible run when I first did this race in 2009. I ran a 5:35 split, and even though it was my first season racing and I didn't know what to expect from the course, and despite how incredibly hilly it was, I still felt that I could have done better. I plan on implementing hills into my training so that I can be faster at races like Bala Falls.

Aug 7 - Barrie Sprint/go 30:00 on the bike & sub 20:00: The morning of, I didn't really want to do this race in 2010. Yet again it was raining and cold. I didn't have any adrenaline whatsoever until the run when I felt like I wanted to race. I had my best ever run (4:14 split), but my TT times suggest I should have been A LOT faster on the bike (34:42) despite all the hairpins. I think I can go sub 2o:00 on the run, and be close to 30:00 on the bike. Maybe not both, but one or the other.

Aug 21 - Orillia Sprint/go sub 1:45:00 for the course: last year I improved 6 minutes from my 2009 time, and although I was close to breaking the 1:50 mark (1:50:51), I knew I'd have to have a perfect day to break 1:50. With a focus on speed this year, and (hopefully) dry conditions, I can go sub 1:45.

Sept 10 - Wasaga Sprint/finish top 3 in my age group: They say you shouldn't make this a goal because you don't know who will be registered, but in 2009 (1:20:53) when I ran the course for the first time, I was 2:00 out of 3rd with getting blocked on the bike course, a poor run, and forgetting where my rack was in transition after the bike. In 2010 I didn't run Wasaga because I was doing Muskoka 70.3 (same weekend as Wasaga, which also makes me think I can place due to potential dilution of talent), but my 2009 time had me on the podium in 3rd place by 1 second. In 2011, I expect to be faster on the bike (sub 33:00) and faster on the run (sub 22:00). This 5 minute improvement would have put me in 1st place in 2009 & 2010, therefore it is not farfetched to set a podium placement as my goal. Wasaga is fairly flat, so an increase in time by 5 minutes can be achieved.

You may have noticed that I didn't include any swimming goals for these races. I do not have any time goals for my swims, but my goal for the whole season is to be more aggressive in the water. You don't podium by walking in after the horn and letting everyone go ahead. I'll never forget the Orillia swim start when talking to Lloyd Smith until the starter said 10sec, and he went into a zone then sprinted into the water on the horn. So my goal for the swim is to be a lot more aggressive for the first 50 - 100m, and then swim at a comfortable pace, while finishing the last 50-100m strong. This will help me with my overall swim, but I don't know what sort of times to expect due to fatigue, and the fact that being more aggressive myself means being with more aggressive people and problems could arise.

So there it is, in "writing". They say nothing can be erased from the internet, so once I hit post, I'm held to this! Hopefully I can achieve most of these goals. I don't think they are too farfetched based on the times I was putting together near the end of this year in the 2 sprints I did, the strength I've shown in TTs which is no longer a flat course (although the head wind was killer on Golf Course Road), and the effort I plan to put in with Kevin's speed work (I will be attending a couple in January and then again near the end of February because of ski coaching obligations). I'm keeping it simple this year race wise and training wise because in 2012 I want to do Ironman Lake Placid, so because of the time commitment that will be, I want to enjoy 2011 while still achieving these accomplishments.

2011 preparation

I've slowly been working on a training plan for the 2011 season. I've had my racing schedule set for a couple of months now, but I'm just starting to put pen-to-paper to figure out how I'm going to get that done. I've been doing little to no triathlon training for the last 5 weeks. I've been doing some Hatha yoga and strength training in the gym, but that has been for my general well-being instead of trying to improve triathlon performance. The reason for the break was because I never really took a break from the 2010 season. I took 2 weeks off, but I was still so stoked to continue training that I never did let my body rest. It wasn't until I started doing some running workouts sprinting up hill (hills are not my friends, which is why Bala Falls and Gravenhurst have been 2 of my worst races from a running standpoint) to improve my achilles heel, which is what ended up hurting my achilles heel (oh the ironing is delicious!). The pain in my heel crept up to my knee, which crept up to my piriformis. All these pains started during Muskoka 70.3, but weren't really felt until the Scotiabank 1/2 marathon, and I never really tried to heal them. Now, the achilles feels good, the piriformis feels good, but the knee still gives me problems. The sidewalks do not get cleared very well by my house, so each step has been perilous, and the muscles in my already weakened leg have paid the price for daily walks with Kermit.

So, that lead me to taking the last 5 weeks off from any swimming, biking, running. I must say, I rather enjoy this whole not training thing. Especially during the holidays. It serves to gain some much needed weight, gives the body a rest to see family and friends, but also provides the urgency and salivation to get out there and train. I've never followed a plan before, I've just sort of swam when I felt like swimming, biked when I felt like biking (except for the Tuesday Time Trials and spring time Saturday long rides), and running when I felt like running (except for the casual club run, and when I get the guts to take part in Kevin's speed workout). Tanya bought "the Triathlete's Training Bible" last summer (which I usurped), and I've been perusing their 'how to plan' chapter to get ideas on how to create a workout plan that I can follow without over burdening myself. I do not like to follow schedules like this. I am not a long term thinker when I'm doing things by myself because I will easily quit. The good thing about this plan is that I'm going to be creating it on a week-by-week basis. I don't know what life is going to have in store for me in April on Tuesday night at 7:15, so how can I plan a workout for that time slot? I'm going to map out my training phases, figure out an hourly schedule that will push me, but also leave me with time to have a life. That can only be done if I plan each week as the weeks go by. That's how I've always done it anyways, except in my head. Putting it on paper won't mean anything because if no one sees it and can hold me accountable, then it's easy to quit. That's why I'm going to be updating this blog on my workouts, and tweeting when/what I'll be training so that I feel a sense of responsibility. Even if no one reads it, it's still out there.