2012 Race Schedule (Page 3)

Gman,

What people fail to realize when telling RD's that the long races should come first is the logistics behind making the longer race come after the shorter one. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Regardless of what people think is the best idea there are plenty of things (some far beyond the RDs control) that factor into when the races are scheduled to be. For instance. Our decision to have the Houston Oly after the sprint this year was due to traffic control and congestion but it was also dictated by the city. That's what a lot of people don't realize. We are at the mercy of the venue and the cities and a lot of time the roads (mostly on the bike) and how the bikes effect traffic effect it all. Unfortunately when this happens the race becomes secondary to vehicular traffic flow and the disruption of the people who live there. Right now, triathletes are walking a fine line between being able to do the races and not all over the city/state. Everyone needs to know that most cities are cracking down big time on these events and a lot of them see them as a hinderance and not something that they necessarily will allow in the future. As RDs our job is to make sure we make the city officials and venues know we appreciate them letting us put on the events and we will do what it takes to make them happy. If we don't cater to them and the citizens of the area we may soon find ourselves not being able to race our favorite races. Please know that if we (most RDs included) do something a certain way there is almost always a legitimate reason. Just wanted to offer some insight. Hope this helps.

Aaron, I was giving you some good natured ribbing because I spent most of that 6.2 mile run in the 95 degree heat cursing you guys out in my head for not letting us Oly folks get on the course earlier.

Thanks for the insight though.

Here's what I'm thinking for 2012 schedule, with A races as Olympic/HIM, all others sprint distance.

Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon (Duathlon) 2/1/2012 - Houston
BP MS 150 (Cycle) 4/21/2012 - Houston
Gateway to the Bay Olympic Triathlon (Triathlon) 4/29/2012 - Kemah 'A'
Capital of Texas Triathlon - Sprint Distance (Triathlon) 5/28/2012 - Austin (??)
Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Triathlon (Triathlon) 6/30/2012 - Sugar Land (??)
Bridgeland Triathlon (Triathlon) 8/5/2012 - Cypress
CajunMan Triathlon (Triathlon) 9/9/2012 (est) - Lafayette , Louisiana
Houston Triathlon - Olympic Course (Triathlon) 9/30/2012 - Cypress 'A'
Katy Triathlon @ Firethorne (Triathlon) 10/23/2012 (est) - Katy
Oil Man Texas Triathlon HIM (Triathlon) 11/11/2012 (est) - Conroe 'A'

Maybe CB&I Tri - The Woodlands 5/7/2012 (est) - Woodlands instead of Austin but too close to Kemah?
I think Sugar Land is pool swim so probably will look for something else to replace it.

Here's what I have signed up for so far:

Jan 15 - Houston Marathon (going for PR)
Feb 18 - Surfside Beach half marathon (training pace)
Feb 19 - Austin half marathon (training pace)
Mar 4 - Little Rock Marathon (training pace, against the advice of several people on this forum)
April 1 - Galveston 70.3 (going for PR)
April 22 - MS150 (strictly training pace)
May 19 - Ironman Texas (just want to finish, not worried about time)
June 24 - Buffalo Springs 70.3 (home field advantage, probably just recovery pace)

Not sure what after that, but most likely Detroit Marathon on Oct 21 and then Dallas White Rock Half (re-do of this year, both were PR's for me)

I would do Kemah, Bridgeland, & Houston because they are AWESOME races but I'm the race director so no-can-do. Here goes:

Andy Potts Training Camp - Houston
Houston Marathon
Du the Polar Bear
Tim DeBoom IMTX Camp - Houston 
Ironman 70.3 Texas
Ironman Texas
ESCAPE from Alcatraz (maybe)
Buffalo Springs 70.3
Chicago Triathlon
Try Andy's Tri
Ironman 70.3 Austin (maybe)

My sched is now pretty much finalized for next year:

Texas 70.3

NOLA 70.3

Syracuse 70.3

Houston Triathlon (Olympic)

Ironman Arizona

For me - it's looking like:

(C) 2/11/2012 - Hot Chocolate 15K
(B) 2/26/2012 - 2/26 Cowtown Half Marathon
(A) 4/1/2012 - Galveston 70.3  (my 2nd HIM - looking for <5:30 this time)
(C) May - Mckinney Kiwanis, Classic Rock
(C) July - Iron Bros Super Sprint ?
(A) July - Cooper Sprint Tri
(B) Take on the Heat Sprint
(A) 10/7/2012  - Toyota US Open Olympic (<2:30)
(C) 11/5/2012 - NYC Marathon (lottery if I get in - will by my first one if I do)
(A) Dec - Dallas White Rock Half  (<1:38)

I basically try and peak in April for the HIM, and also in Oct for the US Open Oly, then a 'running peak' in Dec.  I don't have the time needed to train for anything longer so I'm focusing on just going faster every year.  I have no desire at this time for an IM - maybe another couple of years into the sport, I'll do one.  I just have to work more on my swimming and my running (cycling won't be an issue - I usually do 60-75 mile rides with the roadies on the weekends from Spring to Fall).

Achilles feels better

1. Dec 2011  Du Bourne Duathon
2. Jan rest
3. Feb  Hits Corpus OLY
4. Mar  Rookie- Sprint?????
5. April Lake Travis Tri Sprint
6. May Cap Tex Tri OLy
7. June Gator Bait Tri  Sprint
8. July
9. August-Avia Austin Oly
10. September Dillo Tri Lake Travis Sprint
11. October
12. November Natural Caverns Duatholon.

Any one have any suggestion for Mar, July, October.  The Small, Big Texan in Berne is to Hilly for me.  The Small Texas Olympic was TOUGH.  Walked for the first time during the run.

Need to swim to cold in Austin.  Happy Holidays.

January - Houston Half Mary

April - Kemah Oly

May - CB&I

June - ? (are there any good oly's in June within a few hours of Houston ?)

July - ?

August - Boulder 70.3

September - Houston Triathlon (Oly)

Brand new to the sport...

3-11-12 - Blue Norther Duathlon - Seguin

6-23-12 - Gator Bait Sprint Triathlon - Boerne

9-30-11 - Memorial Hermann Houston Triathlon (Oly) - Cypress

Hope all goes according to plan.

Would you recommend limiting races in lieu of future long distances?

My humble return-to-tri's schedule is as follows:

Feb- Calaveras Du

Mar- Sprint

July- HIM??

Aug- Hotter 'n hell 100

Dec- New Year's Double 26.2

1/14/2012        HotCake Hustle 5k R

4/14/2012        DFW Mud Run  10k

4/29/2012        big Earth Spring Classic 800m / 25mi / 5k R

5/20/2012        TexasMan Sprint 880y / 16mi / 5k R

6/3/2012          PlayTri Sprint 500m / 12mi / 5k R

8/19/2012        Big Earth Fall Classic 800m / 25mi / 5k R

10/7/2012        Toyota U.S.Open  1500m / 40k / 10k

12/02/2012       White Rock Half   13.1mi