Rabbit Food

A couple of weeks ago 2011 began, the year of the rabbit according to the Chinese. The Chinese New Year doesn't begin until February 3rd, however here in the States we are already kicking this New Year. All triathletes and runners eagerly await the beginning of the year to set new PR's, tackle mileage goals, finish an epic race, or just simply continue improvement. Just like the hare (rabbit), some athletes tend to get way too excited, way too early, about diving into a new season. Instead, I tent to take the tortoise approach to signing up for races and beginning training cycles. Of course I pick out my "A" races like every other endurance junkie, but my tune-up races and other races through the year I like to formulate a list of races that I am considering and just sit tight until the first couple months of the year shake out. I don't like to stick to a definitive schedule because I think you can get too wrapped up in the "next race" and for myself, I like to be able to train and see exactly where I am before I sign up for something.

Due to the nature of some races it is necessary to sign up for them months in advance, especially Ironman races. So this week I went ahead and pulled the trigger on Ironman Louisville at the end of August. It is a race I have done, it's close to home, and the course is magnificent. Of course the temperatures can be dicey, but you take the good with the bad. Additionally, the Boston Marathon is on tap for the middle of April. Again, I've done the race, but this time I'm coming back for some redemption. Sure, my marathon PR is in Boston, however I think I left a lot on the table by going out to hard and not obeying a strict taper schedule. I never felt comfortable and in my qualifying marathon, 2007 Austin Marathon, I was never really working hard until the last couple of miles and that is to be expected. I just want the same feeling as I had in Austin, my first marathon. For the Atlanta Marathon in March 2010, I toyed with 75-85 mile weeks in my build-up to the race and found out that just isn't for me. I was sick twice during my training cycle and I never felt like my body was recovering properly. So for Boston, I'm capping it at 65 mile weeks, less workouts per week, and more focused workouts. I also plan to keep my cycling and swimming numbers much higher than I did before Atlanta and hopefully the results work. Good news is my swimming is at an all-time best and I'm putting in a lot of time in the pool and more riding on my bike. I'm also sleeping more to help the recovery process, which always seems painfully slow for me. Hopefully this will set me up for an easy transition from marathon training to Ironman training, as the turnaround between races is a little less than to be desired.

Signing off for now,
The tortoise