2008

I have it in my mind that I am going to start a blog in 2008 and write all these inspirational things about training for the Timberman triathlon again this year. I should have started it when I was a full-on couch potato and then it would have been truly inspirational about the guy who got off the couch, lost 70lbs and finished his first triathlon.

Well, that was three years ago. I am training for my fourth Timberman, the sprint again, and after taking over 11min off the previous years time in 2006 I have quite a challenge ahead of me. My super-secret-stretch goal I am not telling anyone about (but feel free to blab it to cyberspace) is to finish sub-1:30. To do that I need to take 8:39 off last year's finish. That my friends is going to take a whole new approach.

So, hopefully I will blog about my workouts, stuff I am trying, etc. My New Year's resolution is to take a whole new approach this year and not get burnt out in the process. My focus this winter is going to be preparing for road races in the Spring through high volume training and lots of strength training and stretching, something I haven't been doing the past three years. I want to come out of the gate in April with a PR at the Exeter 5K. My 5K PR is 29:45. This year I wan't sub-29:00 and have a super-secret-stretch goal of sub-28:00.

I also need to focus more on nutrition if I want to achieve my other super-secret-stretch goal of 195lbs. I just want to feel what it would be like to race that light and strong. Man, it would be amazing. That's 30lbs. Not easy when stress-eating could be the sport I am best at.

I've declared Stamina, Strength and Nutrition as the Three Pillars of success and openly admit I've only focused on the very first for the past three years. That's gotten me only so far. Of the 70lbs I lost I've gained back 20lbs. My back and knees are always tender. My race pace has long plateaued in the lower 9:00/mi region. If I am going to hit my goals I need to be holistic this year.

And so it begins.