2011 Race Season Review

I've added Duathlon Long Course National Championships to my 2012 race schedule.

2011 Review:
The first thing I did to get ready for the 2011 race season was set goals and choose races. By February I was signed up for the majority of the races I wanted to do for the entire season. The idea was to move away from Olympic distance triathlons and focus on half ironman distance as well as race in more high profile race events. "Quality instead of quantity".  My goals were to qualify for 70.3 World Championships, Run a sub 1:20 half marathon, finish top 10 overall at an Ironman event, finish a half Ironman in 4:10, and win a couple local races. The next step was training...

Training for the 2011 season began late due to injuries.. a stress fracture in my foot and hip issues kept me out of my running shoes for a couple months. I don't think it was until late February that I started running again. I stayed away from long runs over 18 miles and focused more on shorter speed and interval training.  This was my first year without a scheduled marathon, so I could get away without the long runs, although I did miss them.

My first 2011 race was the Dismal Swamp Stomp half marathon in April. Training for that started in March. I know by that time I was more focused on getting in the cycling mileage and improving swim endurance for the triathlon season. And I was just getting back into running at that time. I surprised myself by finishing that race in 1:22.

As the weather started to warm and days got longer I began putting in long bike-run sessions to prepare for my next race, the Kinetic Half Ironman in May. Unfortunately, a week before that race I rolled my ankle and could not run or bike at all. This is how bad it looked http://tinyurl.com/8xl7t4v . It wasn't until a day before that race that it felt strong enough to run and bike on. I had put a decent amount of effort preparing for my first triathlon of the year and nothing was going to stop me from getting to that start line. I finished that race 4:23 and won my a.g. and qualified for Long Course World Championships. I think it was a decent start to the season considering I couldn't train all winter and my foot was still really swollen.

Following that race was Eagleman Ironman 70.3, my first 'A' race of the season. This race is known to have a tough swim, fast bike course, and super hot run. I had high expectations at this race. However I only finished in 4:25 and got 3rd a.g. But did manage to qualify for 70.3 World Championships because I finished in the top 3. I finished the bike course in a personal record of 2:12, beating out many of the pro field. Looking back I was just not in the shape I needed to be in order to run fast in that heat and humidity after cycling.

A week following that race was the Ironman 5150 DC Olympic tri. The course was difficult with all the turns and hills. My run legs were not recovered from the half ironman the week prior. I finished the 1500 meter swim course in a personal record though of 23 minutes. I also qualified for the 5150 World Olympic Championships by finishing in the top 10.

After that was the Colonial Beach olympic tri, which failed. Then there was the Surfers Healing 5k. I won that race in 17 minutes and officially clocked my personal best time at a 5k race, even though I have probably gone sub 16 in training. A couple weeks following that was the VB Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I completed my goal by finishing that race in 1:19, another personal record.

My next race was the Augusta 70.3 Ironman. This was another 'A' race for me and I had high hopes once again. It was one of the few times I've travelled so far for a race. The course is known to have a fast downstream river swim, hilly bike course, and super hot run. So many things went wrong for me this race. I still finished 2nd and qualified for 2012 70.3 World Championships.

To that point I was pretty frustrated with my race season. I think a lot of it stemmed from a poor winter/spring of training.  In hopes of finishing the season on a high note I managed to find a small half ironman in North Carolina to race.   It felt great to finally have a race go well and I finished the course in just about 4:10 and won by over 20 minutes. I solidified my ability to crush the bike course sections of half ironman races with another 2:12 split. This time I ran a little faster off the bike.


After a couple weeks off I ended the year with a 60 minute 10 miler (another PR) at a local race here in Virginia Beach after taking a 2 week break.
It was a slightly frustrating 2011 season. However, I did accomplish most of my goals and improved in every aspect of triathlon. I had a blast training as always. I escaped the season pretty much injury free thanks to the addition of the strengthening and stretching regimen. In retrospect it was a fun and successful racing year.

Every season requires a break from training and racing. Besides a couple run races I stopped structured training from November to January. I completely stopped running for all of December to heal a knee injury. I went a bit stir crazy without training, as only a triathlete would know about. I have to know I am better for the break and now I am super motivated to get back into training. My knee is feeling a lot better now that I think I've remedied the cause... my foot position had slipped inwards on my bike cleat putting outward pressure on my knee.

The passed week I dove head first into training with four 2 hour bike-run brick sessions and a couple 12 mile runs with the motivational help from my training friends. I begin swimming five times a week now, trying to use a re-structured stroke, which will make me faster as I think I've hit the limit of my speed using an efficient but wrong stroke to this point.

Here are some pointers one should always keep reminded of if they want to get faster:
* Train really hard in the winter and reap the benefits in the summer.
* Swim training needs to be focused and intense.
* Every training session should have a purpose.
* Build endurance over the winter as soon as possible.
* Use track sessions to improve running times.
* Bike and Run hills to improve efficiency and speed.
* Get out and explore new training grounds.
* Finish long bike rides and long runs strong and fast the last few miles.
* Practice race day nutrition.
* To perform at the highest level you need to eat at the highest level.
* Know that you won't lose fitness during the taper phase.
* The more you love training the faster you can get.

I know I was long overdue for an update so hopefully that satisfies!  I have received a decent amount of emails from those wanting advice on triathlon training while being vegetarian.  Instead of replying to all, I will post something on that very soon.