Saturday, December 31, 2011

Looking back and moving forward…

This was the list from this time last year…let’s have a look shall we…

  1. Keep it real, fun and with the family! – kids ran their first mile race and then went onto a 5k, that’s a long way when you are 3 years old, good use of the walk/run methodology!
  2. Drop 20lb and get back on the good food bandwagon – currently 17lbs down and actually hit the 20lb lost mark in the fall, gained a few over Christmas
  3. Pick up 4 minutes on my 10k and 7 minutes on my Half Marathon – didn’t race a 10k but dropped a good 2 minutes off of my 10k PR of 44:01 during raining runs. I did shave 30 seconds from my 5k getting closer to 19 minutes flat. I killed my HM PR and went sub 1:30 and took 13 minutes from my marathon PR with a 3:32, although I missed my target and BQ. I also restamped my Ultra Runner Passport for the first time in 2 years!
  4. Plan the work…then work the plan – went with the FIRST plan for the HM and nailed it!
    1. Consistency is king and that's where the results live -  first half of the year was a mess, managed to get my shit together for the second half and finished December really strong! 
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    2. Cross Train; I got the bike now I need to use it! – yeah plenty of bike miles this year!
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    3. Do the good stuff I am supposed to; foam roll, stretch, yoga etc – hmm yeah about that! 
    4. Transition to Mid/Forefoot – spent 6 weeks being very deliberate in transitioning to mid foot, I am in Newtons full time now and I attribute this change to my results
    5. No new kit in Jan, Feb or March! – I think I managed this but I am sure I made up for it in the other 9 months! 
    6. Sleep…get more than I get now! -  total fail!

    So as for 2012, I has my race schedule pretty much locked down, there will be a few more events that will be added, some shorter races and longer bike rides; Centurys and the like. Goals for the races will unfold with the training so here is a list of non “race” goals:

    1. Bi-lateral breathing, I had convinced myself this was impossible but having swam 500 yards doing it this week it seems much more possible
    2. Swim Swim Swim, once I have this figured out swim some more!
    3. See # 7 above
    4. See #10 above
    5. Work more on my diet, and periodize to reach racing weight on race day
    6. Become a better cyclist; stronger climber and more confident descender
    7. Be a better bloger; both as a writer and reader, this year I slacked off on both!
    8. I will (no point setting myself up for failure) am going to try the keep the kit to a minimum although as it has been pointed out to me; triathlon is Greek for wallet rape!
    9. Do it for the kids, my eldest is off the training wheels and has a new bike, maybe I can get him to work on his swim and run too!
    10. Enjoy the journey, smile and have fun…it’s all to easy to take all this way too seriously!

    Happy New Year!

    Fireworks in Ink from karlo benson on Vimeo.

    2 comments:

    1. Happy New Year, Stuart. I hope you will achieve all of your 2012 goals and overachieve on #10! :-)

      ReplyDelete
    2. The first number 5 is something I need to work on and I have long given up on bilateral breathing!

      ReplyDelete

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