Revamping my goals **fixed

**Looks like this didn't post correctly, so I made some corrections and added a little update below.

My goal after Ironman Lake Placid in 2011 was to qualify for Kona. There's a draw to the Big Island that is very easy to get swept up in. For some reason qualifying for Kona becomes the end-all be-all in triathlon. I remember going to roll-down the day after IMLP and even though I was tired, broken down, and didn't even want to think about racing another IM, I secretly hoped I qualified. It was as if I needed validation above and beyond the fact that I was in the best shape of my life and I just did an IM!

Thus, in reviewing my goals, I'm trying to rid myself of this need for validation.

I want to focus my goals on things that are within my control. And I'm going to layer them in tiers - the first tier being the most important, the second taking priority once the first goals have been met, and the third being the icing on the cake.

Tier 1:
 - Be happy in my life and training finding a balance of work and play
 - Be healthy and in control of my diet, weight, and rest
 - Be fit and fast through following appropriate training and completing the workouts on the calendar

Tier 2:
 - Build bike strength by riding upwards of 200 miles/week starting in May
 - Improve running base and performance by adding purpose to each and every run
 - Swim enough to be competitive
 - Build overall through regular gym sessions through April and then with decreased frequency through July

Tier 3:
 - Get damn close to 4:30 in the half ironman I will race June 1
 - Get damn close to 9:30 at IMLP on July 27

The biggest thing I'm doing is taking priority away from results. I want to focus on what's closest to me and most important in the long run - being happy. What happens on race day happens. Time is just a number, and I won't allow myself to get caught up in it.

Also, because of some family and work obligations, I don't think I'll take a Kona slot this year even if it is offered. I've teetered on this for a while, but the cost and stress just isn't worth it. If I can make it in 2014, there's no reason I can't do it some other time. And that's that.

Lastly, I had a pretty good February. Much better than February of 2011 anyway. The foundation is coming together well. It's a recovery week this week, which I needed. I took Tuesday completely off because I was running a fever. I'll get some quality in this weekend and then back to it next week.

Solid start to IM training

Things are rolling here in PA despite the weather trying to keep me inside and unmotivated. Yes, we are covered with 6-8" of snow. Yes, the temps are frigid. Yes, the roads are icy and torn up from the salt and snow plows. And yes, the trails are covered with snow, extremely wet, and pretty much useless...

BUT I'm finding my groove. The motivation is back, and where there's a will, there's a way.

The training plan I'm using started on Feb. 11, and the first two weeks have been pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good.

It's all about developing a good base so I can handle the higher stress later. I skipped a swim last Friday and couldn't handle the 3hr trainer ride as planned on Saturday. This week I missed a strength session Thursday. If I can hit the weekend work planned (3hr ride Saturday, 1hr ride and 1.5hr run Sunday) I'll be good. It looks like it will warm up enough to get outside tomorrow. Now I just need to decide if I trash my road bike on the chewed up pavement or if I get on the mountain bike again (which I don't really like riding on the roads because I'm just wearing away tread on expensive mtb tires)... We shall see.

Looking back on my training log, I haven't done a 10+hr training week since 2011! Yikes! I'm feeling the fatigue, but I'll get used to it. Comparing this year to 2011, I had a little more time/miles in the bank going into Feb. 2011, but the training is about the same. I feel like my running and swimming are behind where I'd really like them to be, but there's still plenty of time. I'm happy to put in a good bike foundation first.

I've been thinking a lot about my goals for this race season lately, and I'll write something up in a future post. The teaser is that I really focused on goals that were out of my control in 2011, and I rolled those goals into this year without really thinking about them. I want to get away from that. I can't control whether or not I get a Kona slot. If there are 4 soon-to-be professionals in my age group, there's just nothing I can do. I don't want to put myself in a situation where I could end up disappointed, so I've got to adjust my goals to things that are within my control. More later.

Happy Friday and thanks for checking in.

PW

January in review

Well I certainly put the blogging on the back burner in January. To be honest, I think that's how it will stay from here on out. I just don't have the mojo. I enjoy being able to look back on the training log and see how I was feeling during certain parts of the training, but there are just too many things going on to keep up with it. My new blog goal is just 1-2 times per month. I'll kick this one off with bullet points.

• January was a light training month, but I got into a better routine than I had been in. I am confident my body will be able to handle the 12-15 hours/week that February and March are calling for. 

• I tried a juice cleanse that lasted all of about 12 hours. The biggest problem is that I don't have a juicer - I was just using my blender for everything. Maddy and I both tried it. We couldn't choke down the 3rd juice of the day. The goal was to get my weight down a little. It has come down, but I'm heavier than I have been in previous years. I (also optimistically) think I'll be down to a good training weight once things get going.

• I've gotten some good trainer rides in - 3 of 2+ hours. I have a group of buddies here all training for IM, so we line them up in a basement and slug through. It really does make the time go faster.

• I got a cardio-pulminary test on Jan. 31 to see how the ol' ticker is doing. Some interesting take-aways were: 
• My VO2 max is a bit lower than I expected. 57.7 is all I could muster. I thought I would be in the mid 60s. It just shows what I have always known, though, I have a weak top end.
• The doc diagnosed me with exercise induced asthma. After the VO2 my lungs couldn't exhale nearly as much as before. I was prescribed an advair inhaler, and I'll go back next month to see if it helps.
• My aerobic threshold HR was 177 pushing 280 watts and my anaerobic (lactate) threshold HR was 187 pushing 315 watts. The HR's I can work with. I have no way of measuring watts, though, so besides an fun number, it means very little to me. I guess the W/kg is kind of interesting. Right now I'm about 153lbs, so 4.1W/kg. I'll take that.

• Lastly, I went for an AWESOME mountain bike ride this morning. I love that bike. The roads are snowy and salty, so there was no way I'd get outside on the road bike. Well worth the investment to keep me going through the cold winter months.

So, that's where I am. 

Onward and upward.

Thanks for reading.

PW