Finishing up the year and setting new goals

For some of us, it has been a long season of racing. We are now nearing the end of the season with some headed to Kona after a great year and maybe others completing their first season of Tri. For me, it has been a difficult year in some ways but good in others. I started my 3rd year of Tri with a goal of completing two full distance Iron Man races. Arizona was my first attempt back in April and although I finished the race, I simply did not feel well at all and I was not happy with my result. So I went back to work, determined to do better in the second half of the season, targeting the Inaugural Louisville Iron Man race. How did it go... even worse! I came down with an infection in my large intestine and could not even start. Since I had focused only on the "long course" this year, it was hard to think or want to do any remaining local races. So I decided to take my lumps, figure out what I did well and where I need to go from here.
Here is what I did well in 2007:

1. I put in a LOT of training, looking back at my log, I logged more miles running, biking and swimming than I ever have.

2. I got more efficient! I am a faster at all three sports while maintaining a lower heart rate.

3. I was able to train consistently all year long and utilized my recovery interval better, thus building more quality into my training sessions.

4. I never quit, I always got back on the horse!

Where do I need improvement and what can and should I work on?

1. I need to watch how hard I push towards the edge of overtraining. We all suffer from our strong desire to perform but I might have pushed a little too far and thus put undue stress on my body causing some of my medical issues.

2. I need to do more races ( short and intermediate), I need this so I can better judge where I am in my training and have a "win", "a mental boost", if you will during the season.

3. I need some winter measurements to see how my training is progressing. Last year I had only completed 3 1/2 distance races and I was moving to the full distance by April, so I focused hard on volume and pure endurance to get the distances I needed. This year I need to not only continue this "core" building but also do some additional testing either through training or through racing to determine where my fitness is and when to move to muscular endurance work and speed work thus setting up my race season at the top of my fitness.

What are my goals for 2008 and what is the plan for reaching them.

I have 3 goals to date:

1. Run the Myrtle Beach Marathon in Feb in 3:20 or less.

2. Shoot for top 10 or better finishes in all races next year.

3. Race Iron Man Florida well!

I will reach the first goal by doing a run focus through the fall and winter to prepare myself. That training started this week.

Goal number 2 is very doable. The tougher races like White lake and Timberman will bring national talent so it will be a good test to see how I can stack up. The shorter local races I have and can podium. I need to select the right races and prepare accordingly with good training and good taper.

Goal 3 should finish 2008 off the right way. Simply running an IM is tough, running one well is even tougher and something I really need to do to get my confidence back for that distance. That will be my AAA race of the season and one I will prepare the most for.

I am probably early to the game with all of this, most of you are still looking for a little down time to rest some injuries and get some much needed rest. For me, that was done over the past few weeks and I am ready to get back training again.

See you all out there riding, running, and swimming soon!