Well, it's now been 2 weeks since my last race of the year. The last month & a half of 2012 are all about strength & speed, then 2013 will be all about the triathlon. I've started my off-season training plan and started planning for the 2013 race season (which will look VERY different than 2012). So far it's gone well. I've committed to seeing how long I can carry on my exercise streak that started with my 21 Day Challenge. I started on 11/4 and today marked 28 days. The only rules are 30 minutes of exercise minimum per day and if I miss a day the streak is over (no doing a double to make up for it and continuing).
On 11/19 I started the Javorek Dumbbell General Fitness 12 week weight training plan. I'm now through the first two weeks and let me tell you, it's kicking my ass!! I'm definitely hoping it produces results because it is definitely making me work very hard. It's been nice being on weight training again. It gives a similar but very different high as a good long run, so it's nice to feel that accomplishment again. I need to get my weight back down, I was all the way back up to 199.6 lbs after the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k; at least I wasn't ALL the way back to my old weight, but that is NOT good. The lowest I got to after starting this journey was 176.6 lbs on 7/8/10, I maintained mostly through my first half marathon in Nov. '10 and my first full marathon in Mar. '11, but after my stress fracture after that first marathon it's been a struggle. I'm hoping this strength training and better eating will help me get it back down. More importantly, my body fat is horrible right now, I need to get on more muscle and lose lots of this fat.
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| I decorated my new office with race bibs! |
In addition to the weight training, I've done some yoga and cycling. I missed swimming the last couple weeks because I ended up getting to move offices. Since 2007 I've been at an office about 25 miles away from my house despite there being one just 2 miles away. Well, after years of begging they finally let me move close to home! The good news is that I'm close to home and in a building much more conducive to a healthy lifestyle. The bad news is that the pool I was going to is not too far from my old work, so I needed to find a new pool. Today I gave a try at the YMCA in Olathe (about 10 minutes from my house) and liked it. It should work as a solution to finding somewhere close to swim. As far as the new office, Let's forget that I can ride my bike or run there from home & just focus on what they actually did with the building. There is a free fitness center with free weights, treadmills, elliptical & stationary bikes, there are locker rooms with showers, an outdoor running/walking trail around a small lake on the back side of the building, a measured out 1/2 mile indoor walking area, and the cafeteria provides easy access to all nutritional & ingredient information for everything they serve and they have a decent salad bar. Working there kind of leaves no excuses for being unhealthy!!! I'm SOOOOOO happy I finally got to move!!!!
I've also been planning for next year. My goals for next year are not going to be what you've come to expect of me this year. I'm very excited about what 2013 should hold for me. In 2012 (I'll do a year-end review after New Years) it was all about quantity and distance. I ran/biked/swam in 23 races/bike tours including 8 marathons/ultras. In 2014 I plan to focus more on triathlons and getting my speed/strength back before getting back to long distance running. I have two big goal races for 2013 that I plan to train hard for and perform well at, the rest will be part of training. The big goals are the Garmin Half Marathon on 4/20 where I plan to finally break the 2-hour half marathon mark. The second goal race is the Redman 70.3 Triathlon on 9/21 as my first half ironman. Here's how the schedule lines up as of now (we all know there will be changes throughout the year):
- Psychodelic Trail 5K, Ice Version on 1/27 (Kansas City, KS)
- Aggieville St. Pat's Fun Run 2 Mile on 3/16 (Manhattan, KS)
- Aggieville St. Pat's 10k on 3/16 - about 45 min after the start of the 2 mile (Manhattan, KS)
- Garmin Half Marathon on 4/20 (Olathe, KS) - shooting for sub 2-hour
- Kansas City Triathlon Sprint Course on 5/19 (Kansas City, MO) - there is some question as to if this race is taking place this year or not, so we shall see about this one
- Summer Intro 2.8 Mile Trail Race on 6/15 (Kansas City, KS)
- Shawnee Mission Triathlon Long Course on 7/14 (Shawnee, KS)
- Cider Mill Century 50 Mile Bike Tour on 7/28
- Sunflower To Roses 63 Mile Bike Tour on 8/4
- Midwest Meltdown Triathlon Long Course on 8/25 (Paola, KS)
- Bike 4 The Brain 55 Mile Bike Tour on 9/2
- Redman Triathlon 70.3 on 9/21 (Oklahoma City, OK) - first 70.3
- Pumpkin Run 5k on 10/12 (Olathe, KS)
- Soldier Marathon on 11/9 (Columbus, GA)
It lines up to be a fun, challenging year and if all goes as planned I should accomplish a number of exciting things!
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