2011 Plans

I’m not much into resolutions for New Years.  There are some things that I’d like to do before the year is out, but I’d rather call them goals or plans!

First off, my biggest plan for the year is to race Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains on 10/2!  I’m very scared!  But also excited.  A half iron in the summer is a much scarier proposition to me, when I’d probably have to swim with no wetsuit, and deal with super hot temps.  I think in early Oct the weather will be great, even if it is  unseasonably warm or cold.

As a result, the bulk of my year will be focused on swimming and biking.  I’m very concerned in finishing the swim portion of the half iron before the cutoff, and dealing with that is first and foremost.  Secondly, my longest bike ride ever is 50.3 miles, and that is also my only effort greater than 40 miles.  So, I will work hard to ride my bike often and build up to being able to easily do 50 miles.

That will unfortunately dictate less running.  That is fine though.  I hit my 1000 goal last year.  I expect to be in the 700-800 range this year, considering I have a spring marathon, a fall half-iron, and possibly a very late year marathon.

Another big event of the year is the Tough Mudder in April, joining Joe and #teamsuck.  I’ve been thinking about these adventure races for quite some time.  A friend of mine was telling me about adventure races a good 5 years ago.  Then they had the Urbanathlon a couple of years back in NYC, and in recent years, these mud runs have been popular.  A friend of mine did the Warrior Dash last year, and since then I’ve really wanted to run one.  So when Joe put the feelers out there, I bit.  I have to say I’m a bit nervous about it.  It is a 9 mile event, but on a ski slope mountain, and with multiple obstacles along the way.  It will be a test of endurance, will and strength, and I can’t wait!

My other big event of the year will actually occur in 6 days.  On that day, I will turn 40 (age group bump) and also run in the First Light Marathon in Mobile, AL.  Since I realized over a year ago that my b-day would fall on a Sunday, I knew that the best way to mark it would be with a marathon.  Luckily, my wife is supportive and has not given me a hard time and is happy to tag along, even though Alabama is not her idea of a vacation spot.  We will spend 2 days in New Orleans, which I’m sure will be a great time!

Otherwise, I’ll fill in the year with other tri’s and races.  Firmly also on the calendar is 13.1 New York in March, Flying Pig Marathon (15th marathon, 9th state) in May, and Red Bank Triathlon (Olympic) later on in May.  Once the summer hits, it will be all about swim and bike training.  I’d like to do another marathon late in the year, but I have to research where the late year races are and compare to the states I have not run in before.  I’ll leave that research for another day.

I’ve been burned several times with hanging my hopes on running a marathon in 4:30, and failing, so going forward, I will go in with no time expectations, and see what that does for me.  Along the same lines, I have absolutely no time expectations for Tough Mudder and 70.3 Pocono Mountains.  So, in a sense, this will be the year where time is irrelevant!

The final goal of the year is to lose some weight.  I used to be diligent about weighing myself, and when doing so, my weight and body fat stayed constant.  However, since I stopped checking my weight about 6 months ago, I’ve gained a good 10 pounds and some body fat percentage.  Therefore, I’d like to halt that behavior, lose the 10 pounds I’d gained and then the next 10 pounds which was my original goal.  I’m not good at watching what I eat, so this will be very difficult.  That will easily be the toughest goal to attain in the year.