2009 race season in review

So triathlon has pretty much dominated my life this year.

I had decided to dedicate a good portion of my life to this triathlon thing after a pretty successful 2008 triathlon season, it being my first.

For the 2009 season first thing I did was set goals and choose races. By February I was signed up for every race I wanted to do for the entire season. My goal was to finish in the top 5 elite and/or 1st in my age group every race. Next step is training...

Training for the 2009 season began in November 08. Winter months were filled with many many hours grinding away on the indoor bike trainer and occasionally getting out for some icy cold rides, long long cold and wet runs and logging many hours in the swimming pool.

My first 2009 race was the Shamrock marathon. Training for that also started in November. I started by training a group to run the Shamrock Marathon in 3:30. This meant dedicating myself 7 am Saturday morning for 18 cold weeks to run run run. It also meant no more partying Friday nights. I owe a lot of my race season performance to that run discipline. I ran a 3:07 marathon and qualified for the 2010 Boston Marathon. I actually never intended to qualify for Boston until a few weeks away from the Shamrock Marathon. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season.

Longer bike sessions began shortly after the marathon as the weather started warming. It was awesome exploring new bike routes out in the middle of no where. Definitely one of my favorite things. I think I've covered every road within a 100 mile radius so far.

Two duathlons followed the marathon. The first one was the week after my marathon. It gave me a good measure of where my fitness for run-biking was at the time. The next race was Duathlon National Championships. This was my first official 10k 40k 5k Du. It took place during a heat wave where temps were in the upper 90s. I was fast enough to qualify for Team USA and race at the World Championships.

My favorite training is done during the hot and humid summer months. Because of the hard training completed in the winter and spring I had a really good base to where I could start pushing my endurance in the heat. Most summer weekends included a long run (14-18 miles) Saturday morning followed by a 30-50 mile bike then maybe a few miles of running off the bike. Sundays would include a long bike ride (70-100) miles followed by a run anywhere from 5-13 miles. I continued swimming 3-4 times per week. Hard, fast run/bike training sessions were done throughout the week.

In the beginning of summer I finished 1st in my age group at the Smith Mtn Lake, DC, and Richmond triathlons. So far so good. As the end of summer neared I started to include more and more speed workouts, such as track sessions and tempo runs and thresh hold sessions on the bike. I also had been doing hill repeats on the bike. I only managed to make it out to the Blue Ridge Mtns once this year to train.

The Luray race was next up. If I had to pick my biggest race of the year it was probably Luray.. would have been World Championships, but I'll get to that. The first person overall qualified to represent the State of Virginia in national triathlon competition. I put in my best effort that day and had a personal best 35 minute 10K on a super hilly coarse and finished 1st in my age group, 4th overall.

During this whole time I had also been training for the Marine Corps Marathon. My plan was to run that in 2:55 and I was on track until my big build up weekend 2 weeks before the Patriots Triathlon. I injured my Achilles tendon that weekend. This literally became my "Achilles Heal" for the rest of the season. I stopped run training immediately. Continuing to race was going to prolong my recovery, but there was no way I was going to just not race. Long story short I raced my last 4 races without training. I finished 1st in my age group in two of them and 2nd in that last one. I would say my fitness dropped to 80% during Duathlon Worlds and the Lake Anna Triathlon, but at least my legs were fresh.

Now that the season is over I can honestly say I'm happy with it. I had a blast training. Yes, the injury put a damper on tings, but these things happen when you push your body to its limits. This was my first year being in condition to be one of the top finishers in every race. I would call the 2009 season my first official year of triathlon. Knowing what I've been able to do this year drives me for next year. The major thing holding me back from finishing 1st overall is my swim. I know I can only get faster.

Every season requires a break from training and racing. My break started right after Giant Acorn Triathlon. I'm now 2 weeks without races or running/biking training to get this injury healed up. I think it might be another 2 weeks before I can consider biking or running. I cancelled my Marine Corp Marathon this year and I have a duathlon in mid November I would like to be healthy for. I probably won't start run/bike training again until early November. Last week I joined the masters swim program. I've been told it is guaranteed to increase my swim speed. Only time will tell. I'm starting to get together races and goals and sponsors for the 2010 season. So far, for sure, I'll be doing the Boston Marathon and the Eagleman Ironman.

Here is a list of things I've learned from this season of racing:

Train really hard in the winter and reap the benefits in the summer.

My swim training needs to be more focused and more intense.

Every training session should have a purpose.

Build endurance back after the winter as soon as possible.

Track sessions can dramatically improve running times.

Running on hills can dramatically improve running times.

Training for the hills on the indoor bike trainer makes for faster bike times.

Travel to the mountains more to train.

Its important to finish long bike rides and long runs strong and fast the last few miles.

I don't need as much nutrition as I thought I did during an olympic distance race.

The importance of eating healthy and getting enough sleep is amplified when you need need perform on the highest level.

Tapering is super important.

The more you love training the faster you can get... I do love training!

Keep a blog of race reports!