Thoughts on the Upcoming Season

Ah....finally slowed down a bit. This year I am changing my focus a bit. There will be NO Ironman. This year needs to be about steady, consistent training. I feel like my body has taken a beating the last two years. It hasn't responded like I wanted it to. I keep finding myself injured but no source of the problem. My hope is that by dialing it back, my body will play catch up.

My focus this year is getting faster. I am booting the long, slow, steady training and look forward to shorter, more intense training. Here are a few of my goals for the season.

Swimming:
My swim came a long way last year. Something was clicking in the water for me. I know there is TON of room for improvement so I need to keep pushing it. This means that I need to actually attend a clinic or masters. Not just talk about it. I pushed myself a lot last year and I do still think I can improve on my own; however, I feel like I am budding up against a technique flaw to achieve my next big breakthrough.

I am keeping my goals modest for now. I plan on swimming 200,000 yards for the year. And I want to get my T-pace below 1:30.

Biking:
I had several great breakthroughs last year. I actually learned to train with intensity and it paid off in a big way. I feel like I am just realizing some of my potential on the bike.

This year, I need to focus on getting dialed into my bike. I certainly hope I can achieve this without having to purchase another bike. My wallet can't sustain that right now. Also, I am switching to training with power. I toyed with it last year, learning a lot about it. This year will be 100% power. I tested at 250w back in Sept. I want that to be 290w for the year.

Running:
This was the nagging issue all season. I spent the first 6 months having GREAT success and shattering previous times. Then I spent 6 months hobbling along. The issue is not resolved. I can only hope that it is controlled.

I am not ramping up my goals in this area. I am actually backing off from early season racing. I want to take things slow. Like cycling the key will be to focus on intensity. I want to race EVERY race at a sub-8 pace. I think that is achievable and I am typically not too far off. I want to see sub-7 some too. That of course means MORE intensity.

Health:
I still have an ongoing battle with my diet. I am working on it. I hope the new house will create an environment conducive for me to make those changes. But eating enough will still be the problem.

I didn't hit my weight goal for IMFL but I am ok with that. I would still like to see myself around 155 for a race weight. So at some point I will begin to monitor that ago.

I need to listen to my body better. I need to be able to say no when I feel truly fatigued. I need to say HTFU if I am just feeling lazy.

Core work. I can NOT neglect this. My goal is to design my second room into a small personal gym. This gives me NO excuse to not workout. Twice a week. I need it to prevent injury.

Those are just a few on the initial goals for the season. Again, the key is dialing it back and building a better foundation for the next few seasons.