2011 Season Approaching!

Yes...finally.


As an addict of racing (which is a downfall of mine) the 2011 racing season will be starting soon! ...well actually I already did an indoor tri last weekend, but the outdoor season will kick off soon. I have very lofty goals this year and have a lot of confidence in reaching them. I'll state it hear that my main goal this year is to make the US team for duathlon worlds as an elite. I'm hoping that with a big run focus this winter I'll be able to be right in the mix after the first run, hang tough on the bike, then finish with a strong final run. I already noticed improvements last weekend with the indoor tri. It consisted of a 10 min swim, 20 min bike, and 15 min run. The total distance was added up to determine the results. The swim was so so, the bike was brutal (favors a larger rider as it is done on a stationary gym bike), and then the run is on a 200 meter track. I ended up running 5 flat pace for a total of 3 miles on the track at the end. It was a good confidence booster knowing I can run that hard. In comparison, I did this same race 2 years ago and was only able to get 2.75 miles on the run. So overall it was a success. As for the end results, I ended up in 2nd to David Walford. He is absolutely amazing on the bike and tears everyone apart. As mentioned, being on the smaller side, it is hard to ride at a high number on the gym bike. Hats off to David though as he really goes after it and rides strong. Hopefully I'll be able to cut into his lead at the next indoor tri event.

In terms of other races, I'm looking forward to the March Madness 1/2 Marathon in Mid-March to test out where I'm at. Based on my training, I think a sub 1:09 is possible (and would be a new PR!). I know it is not much of a PR course, but after logging quite a few miles, I think it is a possibility. I've been running with some of the Fast Track running team and it has helped a lot getting some harder efforts in.

Nutriton: I'm really focusing on better nutrition this year. My weight is dropping (while Watts on the bike go up). I think that being about 10 lbs lighter than last season can bring some faster splits. I bulked up a TON in December (went up to 148 lbs!! yikes) and felt that I needed to turn things around. I've been using the Withings wi-fi scale for the past month and have dropped 10 lbs so far to 138. I am hoping to drop another 6-10 in the next month to start the season off lean and light.

In terms of sponsorship, I'll be racing again this year as a member of the USPro Tri Team. It is a great group of athletes with an awesome team director. Our sponsors are very generous and take care of everything we need. I'll post the full details of the sponsors soon once everything is finalized along with my 2011 race schedule.

Work is going awesome as a nutrition tech rep for PowerBar. If you need any nutritional advice for your training, send over a message and I'll make sure to get you some answers. I've learned a ton working for the company in terms of fueling properly before, during, and after events. I've even practiced what I've been preaching and think even more improvements will be seen.

I'll try to keep up with some posts this year. I always say I will and then fall off. I think last year really got to me with all of the disappointments. I've never had a year so full of bike issues (flats, bad adjustments) and sicknesses. I am hoping that this will be a year to remember!