2005 summary and 2006 goals
Better late than never, right?
Ok, here's the quick summary of 2005...
swim: 205,700 meters
bike: road bike - 1,912.7 km plus another 30 minutes on the trainer, mountain bike - 38.5 km, stationary bike at the gym - 18.2 km
run: 559.9 km
Plus, I got 2nd place in the national age group rankings (women 40-44) for sprint triathlon (and duathlon) -- I get my trophy on Saturday!
All in all, I had a pretty good year. Now on to my 2006 goals (which also include a brief 2005 summary) as posted to my mailing lists:
In 2005, I completed one 3k, two 10ks, three sprint duathlons, one "triple super sprint" triathlon and seven sprint triathlons. In addition, I had my first ever DNF (at the biggest race of the year -- when I do things, I do them big!) and my first and hopefully last bike crash. I achieved all of my 2005 goals apart from spending less money (a new bike wasn't in the plan), including running 5k in under 30 minutes, which I wasn't sure I'd accomplish and I actually did several times. I also went beyond my goals. My swimming improved beyond recognition (and my times dropped accordingly), my shelf filled up with hardware and I finished the season in 2nd place nationally for my age group in sprint triathlon (which also includes duathlon), missing 1st place by less than half a point. In my wildest dreams, I didn't imagine being ranked second in my age group in my first year of competition!
Despite my screwup in my last race, which cost me some scrapes and bruises and a wrecked bike, it was a pretty good year. Even the screwup wasn't so bad -- I don't know if I would have actually bought the new bike as quickly if I hadn't been in a rush to replace the old one. Apart from Eilat, there was really only one thing that put a damper on the season -- injuries. First it was my knees and then my stiff neck and then my shoulder. The tendinitis in my shoulder was particularly bothersome because it came at such a bad time, just when I was really improving my swim times and just before training camp in Eilat (and the subsequent Eilat Triathlon). However, like most unpleasant things, it passed and I managed to get through it without losing any fitness.
One other thing that made 2005 really great and that I have to mention is the wonderful friends I've made on my team. Knowing that I'm going to be with people I love makes me look forward to going to workouts, even when I'm tired or just not "in the mood". I doubt I would have come half as far as I did in the past year without these people encouraging me, challenging me and just cheering me on. I know a lot of you work out on your own, but it's hard for me to even imagine going back to doing things alone.
Now on to my 2006 goals. Note that these are only my triathlon-related goals. I have several more for my personal life that I won't include here:
1) Improve my bike times. This is a bit hard to measure, as no course is identical to any other and even at the same race, they often change the course from year to year, but in general, I'd like to get my times down. The bike is the weakest part of the race for me, but fortunately, it's also the thing I'm newest at and I believe that I have a good chance at getting a lot better.
2) Start a regular strength training routine to work on basic strength and also to avoid further injuries. Starting, of course, isn't the problem -- the problem is making it a regular part of my training.
3) Run 10k in under an hour. In general, I think specific time goals are problematic and not reaching them when you're doing everything right can be very frustrating. However, I think this one is reachable and I'm going to go for it. The only problem is that my only official 10k race is in February and I don't know if I'll be able to reach my goal by then. If not, it will have to be in a training run, I guess.
4) Learn to like running. This is a tough one, but I'm going to do this. It's a mind over body thing and I'm going to start by never again saying that I hate running.
5) Keep a positive attitude, at least most of the time. Less complaining about hard workouts, less asking myself "Can I really do this?" and less talking about my weaknesses and more about my strong points.
I think that's it, though I reserve the right to add more goals at any time ;-)
When I look back on what I wrote a year ago, I find it amazing how far I've come. It's funny to think that "start bike training with the team" was once a goal when it's now something I do on a regular basis. And "compete in at least one sprint distance triathlon" looks funny when I did eight (and finished seven). A year ago, I was afraid to write anything about swimming in open water with waves, because the idea terrified me. Now I can hardly wait for spring so that I can go swim in the Mediterranean Sea!
2006 is going to be a great year!
Ok, here's the quick summary of 2005...
swim: 205,700 meters
bike: road bike - 1,912.7 km plus another 30 minutes on the trainer, mountain bike - 38.5 km, stationary bike at the gym - 18.2 km
run: 559.9 km
Plus, I got 2nd place in the national age group rankings (women 40-44) for sprint triathlon (and duathlon) -- I get my trophy on Saturday!
All in all, I had a pretty good year. Now on to my 2006 goals (which also include a brief 2005 summary) as posted to my mailing lists:
In 2005, I completed one 3k, two 10ks, three sprint duathlons, one "triple super sprint" triathlon and seven sprint triathlons. In addition, I had my first ever DNF (at the biggest race of the year -- when I do things, I do them big!) and my first and hopefully last bike crash. I achieved all of my 2005 goals apart from spending less money (a new bike wasn't in the plan), including running 5k in under 30 minutes, which I wasn't sure I'd accomplish and I actually did several times. I also went beyond my goals. My swimming improved beyond recognition (and my times dropped accordingly), my shelf filled up with hardware and I finished the season in 2nd place nationally for my age group in sprint triathlon (which also includes duathlon), missing 1st place by less than half a point. In my wildest dreams, I didn't imagine being ranked second in my age group in my first year of competition!
Despite my screwup in my last race, which cost me some scrapes and bruises and a wrecked bike, it was a pretty good year. Even the screwup wasn't so bad -- I don't know if I would have actually bought the new bike as quickly if I hadn't been in a rush to replace the old one. Apart from Eilat, there was really only one thing that put a damper on the season -- injuries. First it was my knees and then my stiff neck and then my shoulder. The tendinitis in my shoulder was particularly bothersome because it came at such a bad time, just when I was really improving my swim times and just before training camp in Eilat (and the subsequent Eilat Triathlon). However, like most unpleasant things, it passed and I managed to get through it without losing any fitness.
One other thing that made 2005 really great and that I have to mention is the wonderful friends I've made on my team. Knowing that I'm going to be with people I love makes me look forward to going to workouts, even when I'm tired or just not "in the mood". I doubt I would have come half as far as I did in the past year without these people encouraging me, challenging me and just cheering me on. I know a lot of you work out on your own, but it's hard for me to even imagine going back to doing things alone.
Now on to my 2006 goals. Note that these are only my triathlon-related goals. I have several more for my personal life that I won't include here:
1) Improve my bike times. This is a bit hard to measure, as no course is identical to any other and even at the same race, they often change the course from year to year, but in general, I'd like to get my times down. The bike is the weakest part of the race for me, but fortunately, it's also the thing I'm newest at and I believe that I have a good chance at getting a lot better.
2) Start a regular strength training routine to work on basic strength and also to avoid further injuries. Starting, of course, isn't the problem -- the problem is making it a regular part of my training.
3) Run 10k in under an hour. In general, I think specific time goals are problematic and not reaching them when you're doing everything right can be very frustrating. However, I think this one is reachable and I'm going to go for it. The only problem is that my only official 10k race is in February and I don't know if I'll be able to reach my goal by then. If not, it will have to be in a training run, I guess.
4) Learn to like running. This is a tough one, but I'm going to do this. It's a mind over body thing and I'm going to start by never again saying that I hate running.
5) Keep a positive attitude, at least most of the time. Less complaining about hard workouts, less asking myself "Can I really do this?" and less talking about my weaknesses and more about my strong points.
I think that's it, though I reserve the right to add more goals at any time ;-)
When I look back on what I wrote a year ago, I find it amazing how far I've come. It's funny to think that "start bike training with the team" was once a goal when it's now something I do on a regular basis. And "compete in at least one sprint distance triathlon" looks funny when I did eight (and finished seven). A year ago, I was afraid to write anything about swimming in open water with waves, because the idea terrified me. Now I can hardly wait for spring so that I can go swim in the Mediterranean Sea!
2006 is going to be a great year!
posted by bari | 17:26
2 Comments:
You did have a great year. I am glad that you did not list as a dissappointment in 2005, losing your old swim coach. I know that meant a lot to you at the time. i suppose the new coach has proven his worth.
Yes, my new coach has been wonderful. I do miss my old coach, but fortunately, I've been able to see him fairly often. In fact, when I crashed my bike in Eilat, he took it back to his hotel room for the rest of the weekend because it was more convenient to leave it there than to take it back to my hotel. Staying in regular contact with my old coach has made the transition to a new coach a lot easier.
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