Final Week of 2010

Monday Off
Tuesday 1 hour bike trainer session
Wednesday Off
Thursday 30 minute treadmill run
Friday Off
Saturday 50-mile New Year Resolution Ride
Sunday TBD (May get a run in, may go for a walk with the family, may go for a bike ride with the kids, may do all of the above, may do none)

After 37 consecutive weeks of hard training in 2009, I took it pretty easy most of 2010. I tried to sneak in a run and/or bike every week, but other than that, I had no planned workouts and did no races (did the Shiner 100 miler). Waking up at 3 and 4 am to get my training in on top of my daily commute and work and family obligations took a toll on me...physically and mentally. Granted, it made achieving the goal even sweeter, but it was not a schedule I could sustain. It required sacrifice on the part of my entire family and required a focus that took away from a lot of other life areas. There was no balance. I needed to step away and get my "fire" back. I needed training to be fun again (that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, mind you).

Watching the Ironman World Championship did a lot to motivate me. I wanted to read my triathlon magazines again. I thought about racing again. I bought new triathlon bike racing shoes. The "fire" was back!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/29/phys-ed-if-you-are-fit-you-can-take-it-easy/

I started the New Year by getting my butt out of bed and going for the longest bike ride I've done since last May's Shiner Ride. I hadn't ridden over 25 miles in 8 months, but I took off with the lead group. While I wasn't able to keep their pace all morning, I rode hard and averaged a little above 17 MPH for the day. All my runs this year have been negative split runs and my pace is not much slower than it's ever been. These are a great motivator for me because they show the potential for the year ahead. Just like the article I pasted above says, when you are already fit, it doesn't take much to keep your fitness at a pretty high level.

2011 is my walk back into training and racing. I started by signing up for my first triathlon of the year: the CapTex Triathlon in May 2011. It's an Olympic distance triathlon I've competed in a couple of times before. It's one of the largest in the US and brings competitors from across the US and the world. This year's CapTex was added to the Lifetime Championship series, so it will include many of the world's best Olympic distance triathletes.

In order to keep better balance, I plan to train less but at higher intensity, race more (do more 5 and 10k runs and long (high intensity) bike rides throughout the year), and listen to my body and heart more. It will be less about training because I HAVE to and more about training because I WANT to. There are so few areas in life where we get to do WHAT we want WHEN we want. Why should our training and racing not be one of those areas?

Like Dino shared last week, I too hope we can get the TTT group together for an event this year. GABRAKY seems to be a good option. There is a rumor, however, that a certain TTT member may be doing the Ironman 70.3 Austin race on October 23, 2011, so we'll have to see if GABRAKY can fit into his racing schedule. In any case, I have some free Southwest flight coupons, so just let me know where we're going and I'll do my best to be there! Schmidt Dog, I just may need a bike to borrow.

In closing, I'll share there are some other personal and professional goals that I've begun working on over the holiday break. More to come on those as things develop. I just ask for your thoughts and prayers on making the right decisions.

Our new year will be what we make it. Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. Let's all be prepared to make it our best year yet!

Kia Kaha!