SWBKRUN -CLOSED DUE TO TRAINING (Page 18)

I sure hope you're right!  I just went through the former in 2011, and I am aiming for the latter this year. 

Yep, much easier from 3.1 to 13 than 0 to 3.1

1.  I am a triathlete.  Completed my first triathlon in September.

2.  I am a runner.  Couch to consistent 5K's this year.

3.  I am healthy and injury free.  Oh, and 20 pounds lighter.

If anyone is buying a road ID  and needs a coupon for $1.00 off.

ThanksAnthony9754063

No race this weekend. 

Accomplishments for 2011 (sport related)

#1. Ran my first full Marathon

#2. Podium finish in local 10K

#3. Re-started serious training plan after taking the summer off

If Beer counts as a recovery drink then so does hot chocolate and Bailey's!  I'm actually running in a 10 K in a couple of weeks that has a Hot Chocolate theme.  Can't wait!

And, Happy Birthday!

2011 Acccomplishments

- Becoming a triathlete - completing 3 sprints and one olympic.

- Getting past my fear of open water.  Despite panicking in my first OWS race, I recovered, finished, and most importantly did it again.

- Running a sub-60 10k (56:33) - I always considered myself a "slow" runner and saw sub-60 as the holy grail goal that I could only dream of hitting one day.

- Doing my first half marathon, then doing my second 30 minutes faster (2:40:12 for the first, admittedly in a blizzard, 2:10:04 for the second.)

- I struck the words "I can't" from my vocabulary and let go of some of my self imposed barriers - my identity as a "slow" runner, my frequent comments that I'll never place, etc.

Some misses:

- Not getting down to a lower weight.  After my Oly triathon in September, I lost an additional 5 pounds (bringing me to a total of 50 lost, though most of it in 2010).  I commented that those 5 pounds made a bigger difference to my running speed then any of the 45 before.  After my Nov half marathon, I gained it back and have since confirmed that opinion.  I am of the belief that I can make huge gains to my performance by losing more weight.  I can (and should) lose at least 20 more pounds.  Might even be able to lose 40, but will wait to reevaluate.  I'm tall and carry it relatively well, but I can feel every pound lost makes a difference on the run and I know it does on the bike too - particularly since there's lots of hills around here.

- Not properly logging my training.  I am pretty good at getting it in, but not good at keeping a record.  If it wasn't for my garmin, I would have far less of a record then I do.

Holy Cow - my body's post birthday present to me was the flu.  I haven't felt this awful in a long time.  I am supposed to run a 10k on Saturday and the plan was to run hard.  We'll see at this point if I even make it to the start line.  On the brighter side - what better way to shed the holiday pounds I put on. 

2011 Accomplishments:

Shifted gears a bit to be more run focused because it was easier for training and I had a lot of fun with it.

- Goofy Challenge in Jan.

- Broke the 4 hr. barrier for a marathon in March

- North Face 50K June

- JFK 50 Miler in Nov.

- Did a few sprints for fun and had 2 podium finishes

Misses:

- still looking for my Boston time but I've got some plans for 2012

- tried to trash my brand new beautiful bike w/ a crash but fortunately my face took the brunt of the face and not my bike.

IT LIVES!

Mike, LIVESTRONG has a great nutrition tracker.

I totally agree.  It's called MyPlate and it is the bomb.  It could be a little more user friendly with meals you eat everyday, but has a ton of restaurant and prepared selections to use in your daily tracking.  I use both the online version and bought the app for my phone.

I am loving reading all the great accomplishments from this team.  Very impressive.  Also think it is great we can reflect upon things we need to do better next year.  Never forget how far you've come when you start to get a litle down on yourself.    I have learned to do that and it helps.

Going into 2011, I had one very important goal.  It was to remain injury free. It was the sole reason I moved from one coach to another.  I was willing to give up performance for health after being injured for multiple years in a row.  Fortunately with Brett I got my wish to stay injury free and a whole lot more...

Accomplishments:

Remained Injury Free for the first time since 2008 (HUGE!!!)

Improved in all three disciplines on 20% less volume:

• Run: 2010 10K: 50:18, 2011 10K: 46:23, 5 podium spots running, 1 podium spot triathlon
• Bike: Dairyland Dare 150K (13,000 ft climbing), 2010: 7:36:35, 2011: 6:10:43 #1 AG
• Swim: December 2011: First ever sub 2:00/100--1:54, 2010: 2:12

IM WI 18 minute PR after losing 25+ minutes due to bike mechanical (25’ side of road, 1 hour riding in 39). Moved up 2 AG slots to 25.

Misses:

Inability to break 6 hours in a HIM. Best was a 6:08 under 102F temps. Need to be tougher on the run under any conditions.

Inability to have breakthrough IM Swim. Was hoping for a 1:25 and landed with a 1:34 (1 minute PR vs YA)

Things to improve upon:

Mental toughness on the run, both in triathlon and stand-alone.

Ability to push harder on the bike knowing the run is coming

Wow!  I'm so impressed with everyone's accomplishments for 2011.  You are all an inspiration!

This was my first season.  I am new to both running and swimming and just bought a bike last May (had biking experience years ago). 

1.  Recovered from surgery on both legs for exertional compartment syndrome.  Went from only being able to run for 2min30sec at a time, to completing a 10.5 mile trail race!!  I took this VERY slowly and methodically.  This is by far the accomplishment that I am most proud of. 

2.  Learned to swim, bilateral breath, and to keep going, going, going.  AND learned not to freak out in open water--most of the time.

3.  Completed 1 Oly and 3 Sprint distance tris. 

4.  NO INJURIES -- several niggles, but no injuries!  and lost a lot of weight

Things that need improved upon:

Speed--I don't have any.  But, I really haven't trained for speed yet.  That's coming.

Consistency--I have a hard time getting back into a routine after recovering from a race.

Lose another 5-10 lbs.  This will take some focus on nutrition.  I have a lot to learn.

No racing for me.

2011 accomplishments:

1. PR'd four triathlons this year

2. Podiumed 2 times.

3. Swam 50 yds. in 33 seconds.

4. Got a sponsor

5 Made it in to IMFL for 2012!

Misses:

Weight was all over the place throughout the year.

May have IT issues that have been causing my knee pain. (BUt I can fix that!)

Wow, this is one terrific group of inspiring athletes we have here!  Congratulations to everyone on their accomplishments and it's going to be fun to watch us trying to hit those misses this coming season!

1. For me, running the Boston Marathon was an absolute blast, a once in a lifetime experience!  Doing it on a picture perfect day and having a PR to boot, pretty much put the cherry on top for me.

2. Am super proud of nailing my Vineman 70.3 run after the two previous years of run/walk made me do a fist pump at the finish line of that race!  (1/91 in AG on the run!!!!!)--we'll talk about 84/91 on the swim in the "miss" section! 

3. Training for and finishing strong at my first Ironman (IMWI) was pretty awesome too.

Misses:

Not able to improve in the swim...in fact my swim times have gotten progressively slower from 2009 to this year.  Working on that by taking lessons since mid-November and working really hard to keep practicing thoughtfully and staying positive and focused.

Ended up with a bit of a heel issue in early November despite taking time off of both run and bike after IM. Working through the injury and still plan to run (maybe some run/walk) the Goofy in a few weeks.  Vowing to be more diligent with my Trigger Point and foam rolling. Being a slacker with regards to that is a huge pitfall and one I hope to avoid in the future.

Hits: 

1. Completed my first triathlon July 16. 

2. Re-committed to getting in shape. 

3. Realizing I have no excuses for the misses and screw-ups and figuring out what it will take to prevent them from happening again. 

Misses:

1. Went back to smoking in July and am still trying to quit.  Have cut down to less than half of where I was last week.  No drugs, no patches, gum, etc. 

2. Weight went down, then right back up.  Poor diet and laziness were the main factors.

3. Quit training after my first race. 

Top 3 for 2011:

- 2 Olys, 2 sprints
- finishing my HM in 1:48 despite my knee giving way!
- getting my 10k time below 49mins

Considering racing on New Years day in the "Run into the New Year" 5K, still deciding. 

2011 Accomplishments: 

1.  Cheering the Twins to huge PR's in "sneaky" Hot temps at IM-Moo!

2.  Catching Tony in T1 at REV3 in Knoxville. 

3.  Not drinking to many beers with everybody at the MG dinner the night before Knoxville.  

Racers .....  REPRESENT!!!

Baxter,

Good job on cutting back.  Keep it up and take it all the way.  Then, never start again. 

I grew up in a household with parents who smoked.  My dad finally quit the day he went to the hospital for a quintuple heart bypass.  My mom was never able to quit and I held that last cigarette to her lips for her as she was dying from cancer in 2009.  Don't make anyone have to do that for you. 

Second year of triathlons for me.  The first year I did 5 sprints.  

Successes this year:

1. completed first 69.1 in New Orleans with a sub 3 hour bike split in high winds

2. completed my first 70.3 (from my house with a friend)

3. completed my first (and second) Olympic with a 20+ mph bike at one of them

Misses:

1. Improving my run speed.  There is no reason I shouldn't be able to run faster.

2. I had nutrition failures at both HIM's.  I need to learn to take in many more calories on the bike.

3. I have at least 10 more pounds to lose.  After losing 25 pounds 2 years ago,  I replaced all the extra calories burned doing triathlons with extra food and switching from light beer to regular.

No races for me. 

2011 Accomplishments:  training consistency was the enabler for all of these...

   1. Oly PR of 2:36 that included a 10k PR of 46:11.  The weather (cool) and advise from Birdy about pushing the run made this one possible.

   2. Completed my first HIM - sort of.  Weather caused the swim leg to be shortened to 1.2 km.  

   3. Set a HM PR at the end of Oct (old PR was 17 years ago) and then bettered it by 3+ minutes (1:41:08) at the end of Nov.

Misses:

   - swimming went nowhere.  I'm still trying to sort out balance and breathing so I can swim faster.   My goal is to get this sorted out in Jan.  

   - I was not able to ramp up my running and cycling distances to the levels I wanted -- too many niggles.  I listen to my niggles and back off before they become injuries.  The good news is that I have less of them than I used to.

Wow, great work Dan! Impressive PR's!