On New Year's Day this year I posted a list of fitness goals I had set for myself. There are only four more days left in this year so I can safely declare my progress on each of these goals.
One side note, I'm actually going to create a second blog for my running/triathlon posts. There are personal essays on this blog that I'm not comfortable sharing with my general family and acquaintances, but I'd like to be able to share my fitness posts with more people. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, I'll be posting the link soon. My 2013 goals will be posted at the new site. If you don't follow me on those sites and want to follow my endurance sports writing, leave a comment below with a way to contact you.
Back to the year in review.
Running:
I set three goals for myself in this category: 1 Qualify for the A starting wave of the Peachtree Road Race. 2. Run a sub-20-minute 5k. 3. Complete a full marathon.
Verdict: I qualified for A starting wave with the very first certified course I ran after I posted my goals, which wasn't surprising as I had already done it in an uncertified race a month before I wrote down the goal. I also successfully finished a marathon, although much more slowly than I had hoped. I fell apart around mile 18 as I hadn't been obsessive enough about training or the last month and a half of my training. I have already decided to continue with my training and try again with an early spring marathon to get the sub-4-hour time I was hoping for. I completely failed at the sub-20-minute 5k. I did manage to drop almost 30 seconds off of 2011's best time during the spring of 2012, but that was it. I've decided that my problem is my weight. One of my goals for 2013 is to really focus on my diet and lose about 15 pounds to start the year. This would make me lighter than I've ever been since I grew to my terminal height (although I'd still be in the top half of the healthy weight range for my height). If I can get down to around 190, I think I have a lot better chance of getting that 5k in under 20 minutes.
Biking:
I only had one goal for the year in this category. I wanted to manage to maintain an average speed of at least 20 mph for at least 9 miles. I was successful in that and my best ride was actually in the bike leg of one of my triathlons. During the Jacksonville Triathlon #1 in June, I maintained an average speed of about 21 mph for 16 miles. Unfortunately, due to the time spent running from August through December training for that marathon, I've only been on the bike two or three times in the last four months. It's going to take some work to get back into racing form on the bike when triathlon season starts for me in May.
Swimming:
My only goal here was to spend more time in the pool. I technically achieved this. My total mileage in the water for 2011 was 8 miles. My total mileage for 2012 was 14 miles. Despite this, I actually quit swimming as soon as my last triathlon of the year finished. True, that was also around the time I stopped using the bike because of marathon training, but I don't really need an excuse to skimp on swimming. It's my least favorite activity. It's a shame too, because I made some huge improvements in the water this year.
Triathlon:
I wanted to complete an Olympic-distance event: Check. I finished the Bandits Challenge in North Carolina, which is an incredible race, but probably stupid for my first race of the distance. Foothills and triathlons aren't a good combination, especially when you have to run up and down the side of a dam multiple times during the 10k run. I'm planning on doing the race again if that tells you anything.
I also wanted to do more events. That definitely was a goal met. I did one event in 2011. I completed 5 races this year. I actually registered for 6, but the last one of the year was cancelled due to lack o participation.
I also mentioned a 2013 goal of finishing a Half Ironman-distance event. I think I'll still set that for a goal for the fall, but I'm postponing the full Ironman event indefinitely. Why? I can run a half marathon easily. After my first and only attempt at a full marathon, I don't even want to think about trying to run that far after swimming over 2 miles and biking over 100.
My next post will be my final running/swimming/biking stats for 2013. After that, I'll be posting a write up of the 15-mile trail run in the mountains with Mickey I'm planning or this weekend (assuming this cold doesn't get worse) and my 2013 goal, both of which will be going on the new blog.
One side note, I'm actually going to create a second blog for my running/triathlon posts. There are personal essays on this blog that I'm not comfortable sharing with my general family and acquaintances, but I'd like to be able to share my fitness posts with more people. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, I'll be posting the link soon. My 2013 goals will be posted at the new site. If you don't follow me on those sites and want to follow my endurance sports writing, leave a comment below with a way to contact you.
Back to the year in review.
Running:
I set three goals for myself in this category: 1 Qualify for the A starting wave of the Peachtree Road Race. 2. Run a sub-20-minute 5k. 3. Complete a full marathon.
Verdict: I qualified for A starting wave with the very first certified course I ran after I posted my goals, which wasn't surprising as I had already done it in an uncertified race a month before I wrote down the goal. I also successfully finished a marathon, although much more slowly than I had hoped. I fell apart around mile 18 as I hadn't been obsessive enough about training or the last month and a half of my training. I have already decided to continue with my training and try again with an early spring marathon to get the sub-4-hour time I was hoping for. I completely failed at the sub-20-minute 5k. I did manage to drop almost 30 seconds off of 2011's best time during the spring of 2012, but that was it. I've decided that my problem is my weight. One of my goals for 2013 is to really focus on my diet and lose about 15 pounds to start the year. This would make me lighter than I've ever been since I grew to my terminal height (although I'd still be in the top half of the healthy weight range for my height). If I can get down to around 190, I think I have a lot better chance of getting that 5k in under 20 minutes.
Biking:
I only had one goal for the year in this category. I wanted to manage to maintain an average speed of at least 20 mph for at least 9 miles. I was successful in that and my best ride was actually in the bike leg of one of my triathlons. During the Jacksonville Triathlon #1 in June, I maintained an average speed of about 21 mph for 16 miles. Unfortunately, due to the time spent running from August through December training for that marathon, I've only been on the bike two or three times in the last four months. It's going to take some work to get back into racing form on the bike when triathlon season starts for me in May.
Swimming:
My only goal here was to spend more time in the pool. I technically achieved this. My total mileage in the water for 2011 was 8 miles. My total mileage for 2012 was 14 miles. Despite this, I actually quit swimming as soon as my last triathlon of the year finished. True, that was also around the time I stopped using the bike because of marathon training, but I don't really need an excuse to skimp on swimming. It's my least favorite activity. It's a shame too, because I made some huge improvements in the water this year.
Triathlon:
I wanted to complete an Olympic-distance event: Check. I finished the Bandits Challenge in North Carolina, which is an incredible race, but probably stupid for my first race of the distance. Foothills and triathlons aren't a good combination, especially when you have to run up and down the side of a dam multiple times during the 10k run. I'm planning on doing the race again if that tells you anything.
I also wanted to do more events. That definitely was a goal met. I did one event in 2011. I completed 5 races this year. I actually registered for 6, but the last one of the year was cancelled due to lack o participation.
I also mentioned a 2013 goal of finishing a Half Ironman-distance event. I think I'll still set that for a goal for the fall, but I'm postponing the full Ironman event indefinitely. Why? I can run a half marathon easily. After my first and only attempt at a full marathon, I don't even want to think about trying to run that far after swimming over 2 miles and biking over 100.
My next post will be my final running/swimming/biking stats for 2013. After that, I'll be posting a write up of the 15-mile trail run in the mountains with Mickey I'm planning or this weekend (assuming this cold doesn't get worse) and my 2013 goal, both of which will be going on the new blog.
3 comments:
So what was your finishing time for the marathon? Are you planning to run an ultra soon?
4:38:something. Almost a full hour more than what was a reasonable goal based on how I was doing on my half-marathon distances. There's just so much that can go wrong in that second half. I'm lucky I just lost energy and will power and didn't hurt myself.
So, unless my next attempt at the marathon turns out better (I make my next attempt at the distance in March), then now, ultras are out. In fact, this experience has temporarily ruled out my attempting a full Iron Man.
Things change, though. If I successfully lose about 10-15 off my current low weight mark, things may change. I honestly don't think I have much chance of getting where I want with my running at my current weight.
Good luck with your goals in 2013! You've done so well this (last) year.
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