2013 Schedule

Got these Asics Fuji Racer trail shoes yesterday.  This is a $110 trail shoe, but with discounts through various race registrations, I only paid $41 for them!  They're super-lightweight with amazing feel.  I haven't had a chance to run them yet because of the disgusting, rainy, 39-degree weather this morning.  I think I'm going to test them tomorrow morning at one of my trail spots, Colonel Francis Beatty Park.

White Lake is super shallow with crystal clear water and
a white sand bottom.   It is only 9 feet deep in the center!

This past Wednesday I met with my tri coach (who I'll refer to as Mel) and devised a training plan and race schedule for 2013.  Much to my approval, we decided to forego any marathons and strictly focus on a couple of half-ironmans, the full ironman and some Olympic distance races sprinkled in here and there.

I'm going to do the White Lake half-ironman April 6th in NC.  White Lake is a pretty famous race that everyone seems to love.  I'm super stoked for it because I feel like the half-iron distance is going to be my favorite distance.  A half-ironman consists of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike and ends with a 13.1-mile half-marathon.  The half-marathon is my favorite running race distance, so I'm hoping my love for this distance converts to triathlon.

I've already registered for White Lake.  The other half-ironman Mel wants me to do is called Patriots Half and is in Williamsburg, Virginia.  I'm not 100% sold on doing this race because it is on Septmeber 7, 2013--which is only 7 weeks before the Beach 2 Battleship ironman.  I'm a little apprehensive about doing a half-ironman that close to my full ironman.  I would be devastated if I get injured during a race just 7 weeks before my goal of the full ironman.  I'm going to wait a few weeks before I make the decision to register for Patriots.

Patriot Half swim course.

The cool thing about the Patriot Half is the swim takes place in the James River and the run takes place next to the Jamestown Settlement.  The run is flat and fast with no hills.  I'll probably end up doing it with the frame-of-mind that if I feel anything weird going on with my body I'll drop out.  The purpose of the half-ironman races and whichever Olympic races I decide to do are all for training.  I'm not going to "race" them, I'm going to "do" them.  There is a huge difference.






My 18-week half-iron distance training program begins December 3rd.  Until then, I'm going to continue to ride a little, run a little, swim a little and lift weights.  I'm also going to enjoy Thanksgiving and some Sundays with football and beer.  Cheers to the off-season!