Saturday, February 12, 2011

2010 in Review

11 Feb 11- Osan AB, South Korea-

Well it has been over a month now since the new year and I have put this off far too long. So with the new year well underway I figured I better do a quick review of 2010. It was an interesting year which had its ups and downs, but mostly ups.

Well the start of 2010 was interesting, in Turkey, the land of NO racing. I believe 2010 was a year that I had little motivation in the beginning of the year due to knowing there was not a lot of racing to look forward to. I mean I had Wildflower to look forward to and that was a good way to start the year, but the middle of the year was dull in the sense of racing. I took that time to really focus and train for marathon #3 and the return to Korea. I knew coming back to Korea would offer me the option to race A LOT. That was probably the one thing that hurt going into the marathon was that I raced a lot leading into it. I needed those races though to feel fulfilled for the year, I just didn't get enough in early in the year and enjoy racing and being able to compete more than anything.

A few things I learned through 2010 was that if I dedicated myself to something I can achieve my goals. Going Sub 3 at the Chuncheon Marathon was the big goal of the year, after not being able to attend AF Marathon. I put in the miles and had a good plan going in, thanks to Elissa. Training in Turkey went great for the marathon due to having a consistent training partner who was able to push me on a daily/weekly basis. I concentrated on getting the work done and actually focused on going sub-3. My other marathons were more less spur of the moment, under trained lets see what I can do races. Chuncheon I had a purpose going there, I wanted to show that I had put in the work and I proved to myself that hard work pays off.

So with accomplishing that I wanted to reach for something bigger in 2011. I wanted to step up and go the full distance in Triathlon and attempt my first IRONMAN. I am a little young and under experienced in the sport overall, so I knew some things would have to be done to make this a successful attempt. I have signed up with Team TBB Online Coaching and am now being coached by Scott Defilippis. This all started in December of 2010, and what a difference having a coach makes. I will write a seprate blog about having an online coach soon. So at the end of 2010 I started focusing on 2011. Below are some goals for 2011, in order of importance athletically:

-Arrive to IM China in good health to compete in my first IM
-Finish my first IM
-Finish in the top 10 in all races entered throughout Korea
-Win an Overall Olympic Distance Race in Korea
-Qualify for Kona (not by rolldown)
-Go Sub 10 at IM China

This year the focus is obviously on IM China(and hopefully Kona). A lot of people have said just concentrate on finishing your first IM, well I am going full steam ahead and wanting more than to just finish. I have set high goals and hope to achieve my goals by being prepared for anything that the year throws at me. Staying focused throughout this year and managing my time will be the key to success this year. I am trying to juggle a full time military job (which in Korea can mean working 7-20 days straight at times, 12 hour days), completing 8 college classes this year, and training 12-20 hours a week. So to say the least I have a full plate.

Here is a brief review on some stats from 2010:

2010 Race Statistics 1 Jan-31 Dec

23 Races Entered

8 Overall 1st Place Wins

5 Age Group Wins

14 Top 5’s

Races Entered Breakdown

1 Track Meet

2 5K’s

4 10K’s

3 ½ Marathons

1 8 Mile Time Trials (Bike)

1 20K Hill Climb (Bike)

2 Sprint Duathlons

2 Sprint Triathlons

3 Olympic Distance Triathlons

1 Half IM’s

1 Full Marathon

Training Stats 1Jan10-31Dec10

Swim- 58.8 Miles/94.6KM’s/34h43m

Bike- 2,629 Miles/4,231KM’s/151h34m

Run- 1,116.8 Miles/1,797KM’s/142h03m

Total-3,805.6 Miles/6,124KM’s/328h20m/13d16h19m

Some interesting things about the above data: I decreased my bike mileage quite a bit and did not feel like I lost a lot of fitness on the bike. My run mileage increased by quite a bit and I gained a lot of speed and fitness on the run. My swim mileage is more of something like what a kid in elementary school swims on his/her club team. In the first 42 days of this year I have already swam half of what I did last year, so I know where my weakness is and I am now putting in the work to improve my swim.

Overall I believe 2010 was a great year considering how it started and where I was. Coming back to Korea was something that I really appreciated and knowing that I am in a place that I can succeed surrounded by some great people. I can't wait for the 2011 race season to start and get things rolling.

Thanks again to all of the support from family, friends and fellow competitors. As long as I can inspire people to be active and live a healthy lifestyle I feel that I have accomplished something. Thanks again for all of the support!

Below are some pictures from throughout the year:

At UVAS OLY Tri getting the bike ready with my Dad.
Probably the highlight of my year. Seeing my 7 year old little sister run a 9 minute mile and win her race!

The family post Wildflower. Was glad that my Aunt, Uncle and cousins finally were able to see me race.

First race back in Korea. Awesome Triathlon monument as well, my name should now be on the back of the monument with my AG win there.

Chuncheon around mile 10.