2008 in Review

17 Races Completed:

7 marathons (3 sub-4 BQ race times!), a half marathon and a 5K

3 half iron tris and a sprint tri

4 bike time trials

Two of Three 2008 Race Goals Met:

Run at least 5 marathons - Check!

Work on speed and do shorter distance races - Incomplete. Did some bike time trials but managed only one 5K and one sprint tri before I pulled a hammy and had to lay off speed work :-(

Sub-5:45 Half Iron tri - Check, 5:42:32 at Miami Man!

First year I tracked my training (except for vacations). As of today:

Swam 196,906 yards. Will break 200K this year!

Biked 2540.30 miles.

Ran 723.95 miles.

Other workouts 34.58 hours.

A Year of Patience:

Signs of plantar fasciitis at the start of the year. ARGH!!!

Bike crash in February (no upper body workouts for over a month due to bruised ribs and major loss of confidence on the bike!).

Stepped on glass while barefoot at the Gulf Coast half iron tri in May (foiled race goals).

Pulled hamstring end of July (greatly reduced running but an opportunity to improve my swimming).

An INCREDIBLE Year for Blogging and Giving Back:

Made it to the finals of the second Evotri sponsorship contest. Thanks again to everyone who voted for me and got others to vote for me!

Logged over 100 hours helping out with local races. Thank you Track Shack for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of your staff!

Supported some awesome blogger friends by coaching and donating to their fundraising efforts. Congrats to Petra, Fe-lady, Iron Eric, Tammy, MarathonChris, Stef, CewTwo, Maddy, Planet3rry for challenging yourself to meet new goals and helping others!

Opened EnduranceSportsBar.com to have an additional outlet for inspiring/motivating others. Is one blog ever enough?

Please help me give away four $25 gift certificates by voting for your favorite blogger in two polls currently at the Bar. Just click on the image below. (Voting ends Sunday, Dec. 14, at midnight Pacific Time) THANKS!!!

2008's Gonna Be Great

All righty, I think I've got most of the pieces in place for my 2008 race year. Here are my goals:

1. Get back to running more (30+ MPW).
2. Work on strength, flexibility, speed and the mind-body connection.
3. Run 5 more marathons in my 50-states marathon quest.
4. Shoot for a sub-5:45 1/2 iron tri (maybe a 5:30-something?)

This year, I'll not be able to get away with running only 20-30 MPW, not with 2 marathons scheduled a week apart in the fall (9/28 & 10/5). So goals #1 and #3 will go hand in hand. I'll use Pfitz's 12-week program to rebuild my mileage for my first marathon of the year (3/30) and then just maintain it. I've done this 2-marathons-one-week-apart nonsense 3 times in the past and it works well for me. Namely, I find there's much less time involved training and recovering when running marathons a week apart than when running marathons further apart. So, for me, it'll be more like running 4 marathons rather than 5 this year, which is good because I've got other things I want to do!

Like Goal #2, which is something I've let go by the wayside since getting into tris mainly because I felt like I just had too much on my plate learning how to swim, ride a road bike, figuring out nutrition and transitions, etc. Strength training, flexibility, speed work, plyometrics, balance, breathing, visualization and focus drills were all an integral part of my martial arts training a few years back and what made me feel really strong, inside and outside. I want to incorporate them into my tri training this year and bring back that feeling. I also think they'll be my keys to achieving goal #4.

And if you haven't yet heard about about the cool sponsorship opportunity with Team EVOTRI, go to their website now. ***ANYONE*** is welcome to apply, even if you have never done a triathlon before. The deadline is 2/15/08. I'm thinking about it!

Out with the Old ...

Wouldn't it be nice to have a Roomba that roamed around your mind, swept up thoughts and posted them automatically for you?

Especially when you know things from the previous year need tidying up and it's already (Ahem) the third week in January.

Time to pull out the Hoover upright ...

My 2007 goals? Well, I actually never posted them but I had written them down elsewhere:

1. Become a faster swimmer
2. Become a stronger cyclist
3. Run 5 more marathons in my 50-states marathon quest
4. Do a sub-6 hour half iron tri

Basically, 2007 was a developmental year for me. To focus on #1 and #2, I took a big step back from running, halving my weekly mileage to only 20-30 MPW and doing mostly easy-paced runs. In swimming, I learned a new, faster way to freestyle and worked up to swimming 4-5 days a week. In cycling, I learned how to get up out of the saddle to climb hills and sprint, spin, draft, and handle my bike better overall.

So perhaps it's not surprising that I'd run slower marathon times, but I had some help in the first half of the year: a sprained ankle at Little Rock (4:05:50), severe GI problems at Olathe (4:27:58), and altitude issues at Colorado (4:32:05). More in line with what I expected were the sub-4s later at Siouxland (3:50:15) and Las Vegas (3:58:44), but who ever said running a marathon would be easy?

Still, 4 of 5 were negative splits and 2 were a couple weeks before half iron distance tris that were major PRs for me: 6:07:43 at FL 70.3, and 5:46:20 at Miami Man (previous PR, 6:39:51 at the 2006 FL 70.3, also my first half iron). So, no complaints.

Now I can move on to 2008.