Monday, November 15, 2010

Looking to the Future...

My last post was a recap of STP. Yikes. That was in JULY. Sheesh.

My lack of posts is due to a lackluster year. Biking 200 miles in one day has been my only claim to fame for 2010. The events I did after the ride were nothing to (literally) write home about. I dealt with some annoying bouts of plantar fasciatis (aggravated by running 4 miles at the Sandman tri in August) and had a cold in October that had me on the couch instead of training for two weeks. I also took an Improv class through comedysportz for 8 weeks in September and October, so I didnt focus on race training as much as I could have. I did a half marathon in Morgan Hill last week, which was about 17 minutes faster than the Kaiser 1/2 in February, but still a pathetic race time in comparison to Mermaid race in 2008.

So now is the time to now is the time to reflect on the past and look to the future. I am gonna just say it: I did not train in 2010, and hence I had a not-so-stellar race year. Even with Seattle to Portland I only got serious about training 1 1/2 months before the race, which in reality I needed another 1 1/2 months of training. But I did finish it and I did finish a 1/2 marathon last week without having a training run longer than 8 miles since February. That is saying something, though not quite sure what is is saying.

What does the future show? Thanksgiving I will do what I always do: the Turkey Trot in San Jose. Though this year I decided to sign up for the 5k and make it a fast training run for the Vegas half marathon on December 5.

Yup, Vegas. I am gonna something CRAZY. I am flying to Orange County Dec 2, playing in Disneyland for a few hours with mermaid friends Dec. 3, driving to LA that afternoon to pick up a good friend, and the two of us will fly out to vegas together. I will race that Sunday in the rock n roll 1/2. Though honestly, I have no dreams of a PR because, well, it is Vegas. My one goal is to not hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off on race day.

Here is my plan for 2011 races:

Jan 1 Resolution Run 5 miler, Los Gatos
Feb 12: Mermaid 1/2 Marathon, San Diego
April 16: Tierra Bella Bike Ride (distance TBD, depending on dedication to get on bike)
April 17: Reservoir Triathlon, Morgan Hill (though if I do the 100 mile or 120 mile ride at Tierra Bella, most likely will not do this one
April 23 Mermaid 1/2 Marathon
June: Mermaid tri? possible long course silicon valley tri?
August 13: Santa Cruz Olympic Tri
September ?: Mermaid Santa Cruz?
Thanksgiving: Turkey Trot


Now, one thing I do know is I want to do a long course triathlon and a marathon. (hmmmm...deja vu, since that was my goal for 2010 AND 2009)
There are a couple factors in place. If I get my name pulled for NY Marathon lottery (race is in November) I will do Silicon Valley long course (it is in June, and for some reason 4 miles short of a 1/2 iron distance on the run). If I don't get into NY, I will do Big Kahuna in September and California Marathon in December.


I also plan on doing Splash and Dashes as training workouts, and may toss in some centuries for good measure.

So 2011, I say to you, "bring it..."