Back to Business

Dooood! It’s been a while. I understand. I’m sorry. Let’s move on. Good? Good.

There’s so much to report on since my last post in mid-July that I almost feel like it isn’t even worth it. But here’s a quick recap:

• I finished out my training for Augusta 70.3 in Colorado and returned back to Miami at the end of August
• I used my extra red blood cells to crush an existing sprint PR at the final Trilogy race on Key Biscayne like four days after I got back. I was bummed though because even with a time of 1:11:07, I couldn’t break top 5.
• I owe a complete race report for Augusta but for right now, all I can say is Holy Cow it was amazing! I finished in 5:53:06 and was super happy about that. I crossed the finish feeling like a fraking super hero and can not wait for another 70.3. Still deciding what and when that will be.
• I rounded out the season with the international distance at Miami Man. Miami Man was one of my very first races when I started this sport ia year and half ago so I was really interested to do it again and gauge improvement. What a difference a year makes! I shaved 11+minutes off my total time and went from 13th to 6th in my age group. I improved in all three disciplines but made the biggest gains in my swim and run.

After all of that, I registered for the ING Miami full marathon but had to pull out due to some nasty achilles issues and an overall feeling of being pretty burned out. I decided it was more important to continue building on the gains I’ve made in tri than to run 26.2 right now. I spent the early part of our off season getting into a solid weight training routine, took two full weeks off from running over the holidays and got back into the hot box to stretch myself Bikram-style. I’ve been in Los Angeles for the last three weeks, resting and relaxing, hanging out with my two zany nephews who are, like, real people now, and slowly building mileage back up around Silverlake Reservoir. It has been a great break but I ready to get back to business.

I’ve set some interesting goals for myself this season. Since my feet still aren’t 100%, I’m going to spend the first five weeks back focusing on strength training and work in the pool and on the bike. I’m investing in a 5-weeks computrainer training protocol which promises to make me 30% more powerful and 2-4 mph faster; some lactate testing; and finally, drum roll, a new ride. More on that in the weeks to come.

Race-wise, right now I’ve got a March 10th sprint and April 7th Nautica classic on the calendar. There will at least be another Olympic in there and maybe a 70.3 in June. We’ll see about that. Oh, and more frequent posts as I attempt to raise tons of money for St.Jude! I am super focused on blasting through existing PRs, pushing beyond my existing fitness level and moving closer to the podium with each and every race.

Happy New Year folks. Hope you’re all out there living life happy and heathy and gearing up for all the goodness to come.