2017 schedule

Dave Scott's triathlon training book breaks things into 4 seasons.  They are something along the lines of off-season, pre-season, race season, post-race season.  So if your first race is in March then you probably have some off-season time until the new year where you can focus on one area that you want to improve. Then you have about 10-12 weeks of Pre-season to increase your volume and follow a training plan to get ready for the first race. March to August is your race season.  If I remember correctly Dave Scott said to do a high intensity work out every three weeks if you are not racing during the "race season".  If you wanted to really load up the schedule you could do a race every three weeks.  You could start with some sprints for the first 3 months and then get in 2-3 Oly's before the AG nations.  If you don't have a lot of race options or don't have the time or funds to race that often then just do intense race like training every 3rd week.  

My 2017 race schedule isn't set yet but I have been looking at doing the Cape Cod Ragar Relay in May, IM Bolder 70.3 in August, and Redman 70.3 in September.  So...my Pre-season won't kick off until after the Ragnar Relay in May.  My Race Season will start in August with Boulder and end in September with Redman.  :-)

I also have been looking at doing the Route 66 Olympic Tri in El Reno, OK in June so if I go that route I will try to find another race in July or else just do my training tri course in July to extend the race season from June to September.  

I am loving my bike focused off-season training right now.  It is starting to get cold in the morning though so I am not sure how much longer I will be enjoying it.  It may be to the gym for me which I really hate. 

What else...I plan on doing the Jenks 1/2 Marathon in November in Tulsa, OK and the Aquarium 1/2 Marathon in Tulsa in April.  I also will do a few 5K races to participate in the Choctaw Nation's P.A.C.E. Running program which is open to the public (I am not Choctaw but live in the tribe boundaries so I get to participate in this program which covers my entry fee to the program's 5K races. I likely will do the P.A.C.E 5K's in March, April, October, November).  

2017 is looking like it will be a full year.  :-)

P.S.  If you find any non-Sunday races in the Dallas/Fort Worth area let me know. I have family in Dallas.

Thanks for all the good ideas. I've not done the Jenks, but I've done the Route 66 half. My in-laws live in Jenks. Would be curious to hear how that and the Aquarium are/go. 

Non-Sunday races are hard to find. The Rahr brewery in Fort Worth has a really fun 5k (this weekend, actually), which is on a Saturday. I've not seen many (if any) tris on Saturdays down here. Isn't the logic behind Sunday races that folks are willing to travel on a Saturday, race and return on Sunday, and thereby not miss work? If so, races that tend to be local falling on Sundays is silly. I'll let you know if I find something.

Good Post, had not thought much about 2017 in detail yet. I am going to participate in California Triathlon's 'Grand Prix' which is a series of 20 races, in which your best 3 count. You only have to do 3, but you have 20 to choose from.

This year has been very productive race wise, I kicked it off with a marathon, some trail races, 5k/10k, bike race, a sprint and a long course olympic and I have one more oly coming up end of Oct that just happens to be the first race in the 'Grand Prix' Series. This winter should be a better training season then last as I now have a rudimentary bike trainer and I have a membership to a local ymca that will give me access to a pool during the winter.

This year I really made huge improvements to my swimming and also overcame my fear of the open ocean, I have also battled the heavy surf and swells, I got a wetsuit, my biking skills have improved 10 fold. I am hoping to really take what I have accomplished this year, train hard over the winter and really launch into next year pushing hard for some podium finishes.

Thinking I might just stick to Triathlons only for 2017, Hmmm.....

http://californiatriathlon.org/grand-prix/

Well..I moved to Oklahoma from Utah my Junior Year of High school and attended Jenks High (talk about culture shock).  The Jenks 1/2 Marathon is run by the Jenks High School Cross Country Team every November and is going on 36 years.  I have never done it but now that I am just 75 miles away after last year's move from Marble Falls, TX and the fact that it is outside the "triathlon season" I want to to do it to revisit the o'l stomping grounds. The Oklahoma Aquarium Run is Jenks home town race.  I have done it twice and it is one of my favorite races.  They do a BBQ at the finish line for the whole family and then the whole family gets into the Aquarium free with a race bib.  Considering I would spend $35 on burgers and the fast food joint and $35 to get the family into the Aquarium on a normal family outing the $45 registration fee that include the race shirt and bling is a steel.  It is ran a week or two after the Route 66 Marathon so all the "fast" people in town use it as a recovery run. I make it my A race and PR'd there both time with my first Overall Podium my first year and and New York Marathon Qualifying time my second year (along with another overall podium which looks impressive in a race that average 600 people even if the fast people are in recovery :-).

Ya...I decided when I started doing road races in the 90's to not compete on Sundays.  That was pretty easy to do then living in Utah, but it increasingly harder now.  Last year I think I found 22 Triathlons in the Dallas area but 18 of them were on Sundays and the the others were either indoor Triathlons, Kids Triathlons, super sprint triathlons, or women's triathlons.  I keep looking for more race options.  I need a near by OLY race for July.  :-)