1/1/13 - I posted on New Year's Day my recap of 2012 with no mention of a resolution, but I was already in week 3 of marathon training for the Carmel Marathon, so I suppose I was already focused.
1/1/12 - I did post a resolution for 2012. It was simple from the standpoint of training over 2012 miles, and I crushed that by going almost 2800 miles. However, part 2 of the goal was to race Muncie 70.3 at 200 pounds and I missed that goal by 3 pounds! (Spoiler Alert Hint)
1/1/11- I truly made specific resolutions and was perhaps my most focused resolution, and I crushed every one of those!
So, what should I do this year? How should I spend my time and what will I focus on? I mean, once you've completed an Ironman, you kinda have that "I've done it all" attitude and ultimately the drive can easily disappear; especially when dealing with injuries like I have the past year. Despite, that pain, it was an awfully good year. Here is a recap of the recaps...March 23 - Sam Costa Half Marathon - 2:05:46
April 6 - Henry County Half Marathon - 2:04:09
April 13 - First Choice for Women 5k - 25:25
April 20 - Carmel Marathon -5:02:20 (PR)
April 27 -Nashville Rock n Roll Country Music Half Marathon- 2:21:59
May 11 - Muncie Olympic Triathlon - 3:10:46
June 8 - Muncie Olympic Triathlon - 2:56:50 (PR)
July 4 - Chesterfield 5k - 26:17
July 13 - Ironman 70.3 Muncie - 6:16:10 (PR)
August 25 - Ironman Louisville - 15:15:23 (PR)
September 28 - Chase Charlie 5k - 37:07 (paced my daughter Morgan to her new PR)
October 27 - St Louis Rock n Roll Half Marathon - 2:17:12
November 16 - Full Beaver Moon 5k - 26:08
November 28 - Drumstick Dash - 39:29 (PR)
For the data geeks (like myself) - here are the totals for the year!
Run - 819.25 miles
Bike - 1557.4 miles
Swim - 46.46 miles
TOTAL - 2424.74 miles
267 hours, 39 min, 12 seconds
over 217,000 calories burned!
And every one of those totals is LOWER than 2012! Now, this may sound strange to many of you, but the first goal for 2014, is to continue that pattern. I want to run, bike, swim, and in general workout LESS! But at the same time, I want to lose weight! Specifically, I want to weigh less than 200 pounds before Ironman Muncie 70.3!
I only have two races that I want to FOCUS and TRAIN for this year. And the focus is on two very specific goals. The first goal is to PR my 70.3 time over last year's Muncie 70.3. I will do this by spending the first two months of the year focusing on weight loss, coupled with increased strength and flexibility. I will spend some time on the trainer, and in the pool as well as on the treadmill and lifting weights. This will all be complimentary to my real focus of losing weight. My mistake last year was gaining too much weight in the off season, and I can sense that pattern beginning already as I am a good 15 pounds heavier now than I was when I finished Ironman Louisville at the end of August. The training plan for me officially begins Feb 24 based largely around the 20 week plan found here. Spring break will be a challenging week at the end of March, but once we return, there should be very little to stop me.
The second race I will be focusing on is the Indianapolis Marathon, October 18. The goal is simple...under 5 hours! I missed this goal by less than 3 minutes in 2013, and firmly believe it was a lack of consistent long runs. I believe I can commit the time to this in the months of August and September and be well positioned to PR this race. I chose this race by total accident when I stumbled into a great pricing deal for it. Only one thing can change this goal...THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON?!? The bucket list race that for the third year in a row I have entered the lottery. If I'm fortunate enough to get into this race, I will simply offset the training plan two weeks later and make it work. I am intrigued by Hal Higdon's 30 week Personal Best training plan. And while 30 weeks would have me starting on the return from my Spring Break week; those first 12 weeks are primarily increased speed and base building weeks. The plan does not cross the half marathon distance until after Muncie 70.3, so I can use this as a cross reference on run days as I build my run miles to 13+ for the Half Ironman and then continue with long runs which includes two 20 milers in September.
Any other racing that I do will be purely for fun or as part of the training plan. In particular if I'm lucky enough to grab a couple free sponsor entries in the RnR series thanks to my continuation on Team Refuel as an Ambassador for the Got Chocolate Milk campaign! And so, I've marked those races as *applied for. If things play out the way I hope, I should pick up 5 RnR races and grab Rock Star status with several "heavy medals"! The schedule will be adjusted depending on if I'm picked for NYC or not.
$=confirmed
*=applied for
* Rock n Roll Nashville April 26 (I enjoyed this very much last year and want to return)
Indy Mini May 3 (Undecided, but if I do this it will be both the 5k and the mini back to back)
Hoosier Park 8k - May 24 (this is just for fun, but fits well with both plans)
Muncie June Olympic Triathlon June 7 (need this one to set me up for 70.3)
$ Ironman Muncie 70.3 July 12 (This is my "A" tri race for the year)
* Rock n Roll Chicago July 20 (Training plan calls for a 12 miler, perfect fit)
* Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Aug 31 (doesn't fit plan, but could be a fun family Labor Day weekend)
* Rock n Roll Philadelphia Sept 21 (I will do this if I don't get NYC it would hit between the 20s)
* Rock n Roll Cleveland Oct 11 (I will do this only if I'm in for NYC it would hit between the 20s)
$ Indianapolis Marathon Oct 18 (This is my "A" run race for the year)
* New York City Marathon Nov 2 (I'm in the lottery, drawing is in mid spring)
* Rock n Roll Las Vegas Nov 16 (This could be a great way to celebrate a great year)
So that's it. That's the plan! I'm confident I can stick to it...IF...I can stay healthy!
What about you?!? What are your goals for 2014? Set a goal, write it down, share it with a friend, and then make it happen!! Let me know if I can help in any way! Make it a great year friends!
