Tuesday, January 28, 2014

2014 fitness goals (so far)

Although I have deliberately not been actively training for any goals as of late, I do in fact have several lined up for later in the year.

1. SPRINT TRIATHLON WITH KARIN

Karin has been wanting to train for and complete a sprint tri for a while now.  A typical sprint tri is usually about a half-mile swim, a 12-15 mile bike, and a 5k run.  We were planning to do one in Wisconsin last September (which, by the way, brings up a whole mess of logistical issues involving the cost and trouble of transporting or otherwise procuring a bicycle for a race thousands of miles from home.)  It didn't happen because of scheduling conflicts, but we still want to do one, so we are planning to do one within driving distance later in the year.  We are considering one in Flagstaff (http://www.mountainmanevents.com/mountainmantriathlon.htm), which would be beautiful and fun, but the altitude is a bit daunting.  Or perhaps San Diego, which is also beautiful and fun, but, I feel, also a bit daunting, due to the fact that San Diego is kind of the birthplace of triathlon and as such has a huge, serious, competitive triathlon community.

2.OLYMPIC TRIATHLON
 
This would be so fun to train for!  It is long enough to be a serious challenge (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run), and it would involve the same types of workouts as Ironman training, but it wouldn't take over my life.  I love the idea of working harder in a shorter time for a change, rather than going easier for longer.  Although I repeatedly thought during Ironman training about how "easy" training for any running event would seem in comparison (All I have to do is RUN?!), the truth is I love the variety of triathlon training and I know the cross training is really good for correcting muscle imbalances and having well-rounded strength and fitness.

3. HALF MARATHONS

Yep, that is plural!  I love half marathons!  It is a great distance to train for and race!  I want to do at least 2 this year.  I would love to do one just to get back into it, and also do one to try and PR (beat my Personal Record).  I may do another one as part of my marathon training...which leads me to...

4. MARATHON

In all honesty I truly believed my marathon at the end of Ironman would be faster than my first marathon last February.  I was so under-trained for the first marathon, and had no idea what to expect (what to expect, it turns out, is a lot of pain.)  I felt so much more fit going into the Ironman (duh!).  But alas, apparently the 9 hours of exercise prior to the marathon that day wore me out a bit, and I did not beat my stand-alone marathon time.  But I know for a fact that with proper training I can blow that first 5 hour marathon out of the water, and I fully intend to do that.  So I am planning to do a fall marathon (www.portlandmarathon.org), which allows me plenty of time to get into decent general shape, and then plenty of time to do a full marathon-specific training program.

I will begin training for all of these when we get back from Laos in March, and I am very excited about it.  Clearly I am the kind of person who needs concrete goals to stay in shape.

For now, I am still just training to fit into my pants.


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