Triathlon. Swim, bike, run. I swam in high school and before that so becoming a swimmer again was easy. I'm not sure when I became a cyclist but I suppose it was when I rode my first century. Becoming a runner, though, has been a bit more elusive.
Running has not been fun. In the swim you have the water to float on. On the bike you have gears to downshift into. On the run, though, it's nothing but you vs. gravity and, as a big guy (but getting smaller), I have a lot of gravity. Though things have been getting easier in the past month or two I still didn't consider myself a runner. Not even after my first bloody top on a long run. That changed today. Two weekends from now is the Hanford Half Marathon and this coming weekend I had planned a 6 mile run to wind down before the race. I just changed that plan to a 9 mile run because 9 miles has become so easy. It was after I did that that I realized I had finally become a runner. 9 miles? Easy? Really? Yep. Slow (even when I'm going fast) but easy.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Next Year...Or Two
Haven't posted anything in a few months. Stuff has come up. Life, mostly. But I've been training all along and am seeing some good progress lately on the run. And even though we're barely into the new year, I find myself with just over a month to go before my next half-marathon and less than two months before my next triathlon.
So what's the plan for the coming year? To answer that, I have to tell you the plan for the coming two years. The plan is simple, really:
Simple, right? Just train for a marathon later this year, which will get me ready for the run portion of the M3. Ride the M3 bike course during the year (it's really tough). That will get me through this year.
I can do that. I can get through a half-Ironman. I can even get through a marathon. Just keep training and it will come together. I won't be fast, of course, but my goal isn't to win or even place but to finish respectably. I can do that. An Ironman race, though, is another matter.
The goal for a first Ironman isn't necessarily to finish but to survive. Can I really run a marathon after 112 miles on the bike? All kinds of things can go wrong but the big worry is nutrition. Don't want to crash, either. I know I can reach this year's goals. However, an Ironman is a whole different beastie and a real question mark. That's the goal, though, and to get there I have the 2011 goals as intermediate goals to get me to 2012.
So what's the plan for the coming year? To answer that, I have to tell you the plan for the coming two years. The plan is simple, really:
- Magic Mountain Man (M3)Half-Ironman-Distance Race this October.
- Marathon a month or two after that (I have three to choose from and haven't made up my mind yet).
- Ironman Arizona in November 2012.
Simple, right? Just train for a marathon later this year, which will get me ready for the run portion of the M3. Ride the M3 bike course during the year (it's really tough). That will get me through this year.
I can do that. I can get through a half-Ironman. I can even get through a marathon. Just keep training and it will come together. I won't be fast, of course, but my goal isn't to win or even place but to finish respectably. I can do that. An Ironman race, though, is another matter.
The goal for a first Ironman isn't necessarily to finish but to survive. Can I really run a marathon after 112 miles on the bike? All kinds of things can go wrong but the big worry is nutrition. Don't want to crash, either. I know I can reach this year's goals. However, an Ironman is a whole different beastie and a real question mark. That's the goal, though, and to get there I have the 2011 goals as intermediate goals to get me to 2012.
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