Kicking off 2008 the 'tri' way

Well folks, that's it. The days of blowing off workouts and making it up as I go along are over. It's back to structure, plans and goals - just what my Type A personality ordered. With the much needed guidance of my trusty coach Jason, I am going to rock the 2008 Triathlon season.

Post-Ironman I resolved to do more of the things I had neglected all year long - travel, more time with friends and family, projects on the home front, sleeping in.....I worked hard at the 'go with the flow' type approach to my training and fitness. Of course, I tried to maintain some structure. I've never been a student of chaos. At the very least I needed something to work off of. So I swam 2-3 days a week and ran 2-3 days a week and biked 2-3 days a week. Ok - so I didn't cut back as much as many people did. But, I got to decide when, for how long and how hard I would go on any given day. The mandatory 6 hour training days were over, the tri-top/bike short tan lines were fading and the glory of the Ironman became one of those experiences you can't believe you had. Just as all those other parts of my life have settled back in, the time for training has once again begun.

2008 is the year of the half Ironman for me. I plan to race as often as my coach and pocketbook allow me with a few key races in there. The top 2 races of the summer include Ironman Kansas 70.3 and Steelhead 70.3. I'll also do the Door County Half Ironman in July. There will be other races mixed in here and there. Stay tuned for the full schedule. So why the half this year and why not another Ironman?

I really thought hard about doing another Ironman this year. My first experience was amazing - why not do another one right away?

1) It's a year-in-advance commitment - of my time and money. I wasn't willing to lay down the money up front or lock down the next year of my life. Training for an Ironman is demanding and there are other things I want to do with my life in the coming year.

2) It's only been 2 years since I started doing Tris. There is a ton of room for improvement yet. I want to focus on improved technique, building endurance, increasing my speed and becoming stronger mentally as well. An Ironman is so emotional that I needed to line up a series of shorter goals that would not demand as much emotional energy as an Ironman.

3) The first experience was damn near perfect. I'm not ready for a less than perfect Ironman experience and I know the longer I keep doing these races, the more likely it is that I will have the less than perfect days.

The first month of the new season is going to be spent on building up training volume, working on technique and just getting back into the groove. The ultimate goal for the season is to see some pretty large improvements on the bike. I'd be very happy to just maintain my swim and run from last year, although I'll take any speed improvements I can manage.

This is also the year where USAT ages me up an age group. Yes folks, the big 30 is approaching later this year. In fact, I won't actually be 30 until after my big races. Unfortunately USAT puts you in the age group you would be in as of Dec, 31 2008. So, 30 it is. Look out ladies :)

Stay tuned for more updates no the 2008 training season and my racing schedule. 2008 is gonna be a good year, I can feel it.