So what is next?

Ok, so my first triathlon season is over and I have survived - what’s next? A few times during the year (actually, during the swim leg of most events) I wondered if there would even be a next year. Well there will be and it will be a great year. I am in full training mode now, working on my conditioning. While I am still waiting for most of the race directors to release their 2011 schedule, I have a few dates that are set that I am training towards. I am expanding beyond just triathlons next year; I am registered for Ragnar, as well as planning on running the Salt Lake City Half Marathon.

My dear friend Terra had the crazy idea to put together a team for the Ragnar Wasatch Back relay race in June. It will be a 12 member relay team running from Logan to Park City. I have been assigned my 3 legs and will be running approximately 18 miles total. It is one of the longer segments, but it doesn’t have the drastic uphill or downhill’s that some of the others will have to run. (My shins can’t handle the extremes.) Considering that this is a “running” event, along with the half marathon, I have been mainly focusing on my running abilities. Up until this fall, the farthest I have ever run without stopping is a 5k (3.2 miles) and never with any real speed. So now I am taking a different approach and following a specific training plan. And of course, there is an app for that! I am using the Runner’s World Smart Coach app and I am amazed at the progress I have made in only a couple months. Last week I put in an 8 mile run without stopping and yesterday I did a 6 mile tempo run with miles 2-5 at a sub-10 minute mile pace. All things considered I am confident that I could complete a half marathon (13.1 miles) right now, not fast, but I would finish. What I like about this training program it is the mix of speed work, tempo pace and long run days. Up until this point I had always just done the long runs and saw only limited improvement, but with this plan I have almost tripled my long run distance in just two months. I have embraced running outdoors and my only concern is the upcoming winter months. I can’t go back to running on a treadmill for extended distances, so I will mostly likely have to use the track over at the Olympic Oval, but that is only slightly better than the treadmill. Regardless, I am committed to continuing my training all winter, so that I can establish a strong base for next year’s triathlon, running, and cycling season.

As for cycling, I took a little time off after Spudman from the bike, partly due to my own clumsiness. I took a face plant into the asphalt at a Daddy/Daughter activity and messed up my hands pretty good (not to mention the side of my face). So I only recently got back on the bike. I am disappointed that I missed some good fall riding weather and that it will be winter and unridable before too long. I usually do my riding on Sunday morning, since I prefer to ride U-111. Sunday is the best time as there are fewer big rigs and cars to deal with. The last two Sunday’s, I have put in 33 miles each day on two different routes. One of the routes I had never even driven before and I was sucking wind about half way through. I rode out to Herriman and then back down U-111 to 54^th. The killer was that from 2700 W to U-111 it was 50-60 blocks of false flat and it kicked my trash. Not to mention that as I turned the corner to U‑111, it dropped into a swell and the ride out was a significant climb (at least for me). I was grateful the US Trisports, Daybreak Triathlon fans who had written on the road encouraging the athletes - it helped me know how close I was to the summit or I might have just given up. I would love to do some cycling events next year, namely a century ride. I will have to look at the calendar to see what will work into the schedule. I may do The Fall Tour of St. George as it is later in the season.

My calendar will consist primarily of Sprint and Olympic triathlons, mixed with the running events and hopefully a cycling event or two. As for triathlons, I plan on doing the a couple Sprints to start the season, the Icebreaker and the Kearns Sprint. Last year I committed to doing one event a month from April to July. This year I am planning on at least two a month with a combination of tri’s, running and cycling. Swimming still remains my nemesis, and I just don’t have the motivation to get in the water. I know, however, that if I don’t get in the water soon I will never accomplish the goals that I have set for myself. My sister-in-law, Carey Laney in New Jersey, has signed up for the 70.3 Ironman Poconos Mountains next September and I would like more than anything to do that event with her. I am confident that I can handle the bike and after the progress I have shown in the run, that doesn’t scare me either, but that damn swim. Now granted, the 70.3 swim is only 450 meters or so longer than an Olympic distance swim, which gives me hope. The Pocono’s event is a new event so I image it won’t sell out too quickly, so I am not going to count it out completely. I will see where I am mid-season, both financially and physically. It would be a wonderful experience to participate in that event with Carey, so that is the “in the back of my mind” goal for next year.

I once heard that if you don’t write it down it doesn’t exist, so here are my goals for next year…

• At least two Sprint Triathlons (Icebreaker and Kearns Sprint)


• Four - Five Olympic Triathlons (Spudman, US Trisports Series, a couple BBSC events, Scofield and Kokopelli)


• Salt Lake City Half Marathon


• Ragnar Wasatch Back


• Century road bike event, The Fall Tour of St. George


• "70.3 Ironman Pocono???”

So there it is, the framework for my 2011 season! Now if I would start eating properly, and continue the training, including getting in the water, it will be a GREAT year.