planning stages

I am finally home form what it feels like a whole lotta travel. The best part was taking a shower in my shower! We loved Tempe. Curt is thrilled with his performance, 45 minutes slower than his goal time but one of his best efforts. See, he's never had to deal with GI issues, never had to deal with that kind of stuff. Looking at his even run split it showed that he could keep his pace well throughout the difficulty. He knows he is capable of better.... so we are coming back in 2010!

Throughout the trip I have been filling my brain with lectures from some really awesome coaches and really breaking down the mechanics of running. I have an upcoming run analysis and I am learning how to sight run flaws in myself and in others.

In one of the lectures some really good points about running form were made. We work very hard on our swimming and cycling techniques, but no one ever wants to touch running. Running is probably the most difficult one to change..... but easy if you are willing to change it.

A 17 min 5K runner who has terrible bio mechanics will likely never be willing to change how they run. Yet they will deal with injuries and buy shoes to help this and help that when to avoid all that and become faster they could do it biomechanically. Running mechanics are described as being just like chiropractics, the change is immediate.

I was especially interested to learn bout running shoes and how they do more to diminish our perception than to help us run. The pronation issues that we believe we have are not necessarily true..... an analysis of running biomechanics can fix that better than a clunky shoe.

I am fully embracing what I need to embrace to become the runner I need to become to achieve the goals I have set for 2010. I have a meeting with Jesse next week where we will break down absolutely every single goal and the plan of action I will take to hit each one.

My biggest goal is to go as close to 10 hours as I can at IRonman Florida. Quite obviously the amount of work that will take is not a small task. The focus it shall require will be above and beyond anything I have ever done before. It will especially require more refinement to my body composition. I say 20 pounds, Jesse says 10. Next week we will know for sure.

It means a complete and I mean complete overhaul of my running mechanics. It means I have to work at swimming. It means I will be on Power Cranks. It means I have to commit to going further that ever.

Now we can look ahead at the year and wonder.... will I do it? Will I make it? That big long term goal is important but what brings us closer to earth are what we call the performance indicators. There are certain indicators that I need to shoot for every 6 weeks or so, in swimming, cycling, running and body composition, that will bring me closer to the big goal I wish to achieve.

So rather than wondering for a year ..... each training block we aim for the performance indicators, from there we can say..... these indicators will yield this result. Are we on track?

I like working through goals that way. As far as races are concerned the races I will focus on are:

Long Horn 70.3
Musselman 1/2 Ironman
Pumpkinman 1/2 Ironman
Ironman Florida

There will be 5K races and other races sprinkled in there..... but these four are the biggies.

Once I have this meeting with Jesse I will share all of the goals with you. Some people wonder why on earth I would share this kind of detail...... won't my competition get the inside scoop and take that info and .... blah blah blah......

OMG get a life, is what I say. People are freaking head cases out there. I know people who won't reveal who their coach is because they believe people are just that interested. What I have for performance indicators and body composition are nothing to be secretive about. Who is my competion anyways? A woman whose cheated on her husband and blew apart her family and has zero else to make her feel good except winning? Someone I don't know from Utah who is targeting to beat me? Someone who views me as some kind of threat?

I don't care who my competition is. I don't care if you develop your entire plan around what my season is. I will think you are a complete psycho, but if that is what drives your performance and helps you to become a better athlete and helps you to achieve your dreams..... as psycho as it is..... then have at it.

It goes back to what Cathy Y and I talked about on the beach in Clearwater...... we've been in this sport so long that the false elevating satisfaction of beating Mary or Cathy, gets old. As we mature and grow older and more experienced at this it becomes more about the personal satisfaction.

My good friend KR from Syracuse is also competing at IMFL with me, she was in Clearwater also, and we are the kind of friends that root each other on. Whether one wins over the other is not important..... we support each other on the journey. I can not wait to race this race with her.

So that's where we are at..... time for planning, goal setting, taking a very honest look at form and composition and what I am going to accomplish this year. I am very happy with 2010. I got back on my feet with the help of an awesome coach. Now we get to start from the beginning.

Upcoming coaching file topics:

Nutrition, swim, bike and run form, and how to plan a season.