2010 Race Schedule and Season Goals

Yesterday, I briefly recapped the 2009 racing season, which seems long past since I haven’t raced in over 2 months and have only ridden a bike outside a handful of times since then. Today, my attention turns to 2010 as I publish my first cut at a race schedule as well as my goals…

2010 Racing Schedule:
• 4/24 – KY Derby Festival MiniMarathon (Louisville, KY 1/2 Mary), B race
• 6/6 – Deer Creek Olympic Triathlon (Mt Sterling, OH), C race
• 6/20 – St Peters RecPlex Sprint Tri (St Peters, MO), C race
• 7/10 – Muncie Endurathon (Muncie, IN ½ Iron), B race
• 8/29 – Ironman Louisville (Louisville, KY), A race

Additional 2010 Possibilities:
• May/June – Cycling Road Races and local TT series
• 7/18 – Ride Across Indiana (160 mile west to east cross state ride)
• 10/9-10 – KY Bourbon Chase (200 mile, 6 or 12 person team relay running race)
• Oct/Nov – Fall Marathon in OH/IN (possibly BQ attempt)

Obviously, there is a lot on the plate. My structured racing schedule (top list) is a straightforward build to the IM in late August. Most of the races I’m familiar with and are easy to travel to. With the high cost of IM entry, the goal was to get enough races in earlier in the season to keep motivation high, while minimizing entry fees and travel expenses (see: non-IM branded half).

The additional races focus on giving bike racing a go early on, something I wanted to do after racing a crit last June. Preparing for these bike races should also help develop a solid cycling base for the IM. Post-IM, the training will shift back to a run focus and if I’m recovering well, I am going to attempt to BQ in the fall, probably either in Columbus, OH or Indianapolis, IN. The Bourbon Chase is a nearby event that sounds like a blast, so would be more of a just for the experience activity.

Once the race schedule started coming together, goals inherently followed. With my successes in accomplishing my goals the past 2 years, I decided to be aggressive this year with my goal-setting. I figure if I don’t make it, I’ll still be faster than I am now as long as I get close. Also, by breaking some of the goals down, they seem achievable, albeit a stretch.

So, without further ado, the 2010 season goals:
• Complete the KY Derby MiniMarathon in sub 1:27 (~6:38/mile pace)
• Complete the Muncie Endurathon in 4:40
• Complete Ironman Louisville in 10:30
• Get weight below 180 lbs (currently 191) and keep it under 180 for entire racing season (April 1 – November 1)

A little about each goal:
• MiniMarathon: I am currently working on improving my 5k speed to faster than my high school PR (18:48), this should give me an edge over last year going into mini training. Also, the weight I’m hoping to lose starting January 1 should help get/keep the speed up with the 2sec/lb/mile convention that’s usually thrown around. If things don’t go well, I’d still be pleased to break 1:30.
• Sub 4:40 at Muncie is a stretch goal, my current HIM PR is 4:48:xx, but that was with a current aided swim…I’ll really have to improve my swimming to get here, since I estimate my actual HIM speed from last year is closer to 4:55 on a still course. Biking and running will have to improve some as well, but are close to where they need to be
• Sub 10:30 at Louisville is a big stretch, but stems from achieving the previous goal at the HIM ~8 weeks earlier. I’ve heard that you shouldn’t have time goals for your first IM, but I need somewhere to focus. If I don’t achieve this goal, I’ll have a variety of sub-goals for IM, mostly centered on the experience and learning lessons along the way. So as long as I don’t DNF, I’m sure I’ll be satisfied, but for now I’m going to train to attempt a 10:30.
• The weight loss goal stems from the speed gains losing weight last year, and my disappointment with adding pounds back on late in the season. Achieving this goal will be a key to gaining the speed needed to hit the time goals, so the first focus of the season (starting 1/05/10) will be nutrition. I have made it a long way in the past couple years, but there is still plenty of excess weight to shed.

There they are, the schedule and goals are out there…now all that’s left to do is get to work…after enjoying the rest of the holidays of course!