Recap and Regroup

For those who are not friends of mine reading the blog here, a little history. I decided to try triathlon in 2007 after a few beers and wings on St. Patrick’s Day. A friend of mine and I had been discussing and said let’s do it, and set a goal of finishing the Sandestin Triathlon in August of that year. We did, and also included the Mountain Lakes Triathlon in Alabama and the Peachtree City Triathlon in the rotation that year. That was three sprint distance races (the Sandestin Race is a bit longer but no matter) in 2007. Also included was the Peachtree Road Race 10K in Atlanta. This was my first 10K in a while and served as the warm-up for the triathlons later in the year. I really enjoyed the races and thought that I could try some more the next year in 2008.
Shortly after the last race of the season in 2007 my career underwent a major change. I was in the banking industry that was suffering, and the company I worked for closed their doors. That led to a job and career shift back into the software world where there was steady income. That whole transition took some of the wind out of my sails, but more importantly took my free time for training away. In my previous career I was in 100% control of my schedule, where now I was back in an office from 8:30 to the end of the day. Cutting out of the office at 3 for a ride and run was no longer an option.
My racing partners had agreed to try and step up to the Olympic distance in 2008 and we were scheduled for the NYC Triathlon as our race in July of 2008. Due to poor motivation, an existing back injury, and lack of training I had to back out at the last minute. It was then I had a choice: Give up on the work I had completed last year or get back into the game. In late June I decided to at least continue the sprint distance races and crammed to get back in condition for Mountain Lakes Triathlon in August of 2008. I completed the race without much of a problem (other than a completely detached left crank on the bike for 10 miles) and we signed up for the Sandestin Triathlon again. The weekend of Sandestin was also when Hurricane Fay hit Florida so the race was cancelled. By this point in time I was feeling back in decent shape and decided to go ahead and enter an Olympic distance race in September to make up for the missing Sandestin. The Tugaloo Triathlon was a great race, it was hot and hilly which made for a great challenge, but overall had a great time. My 2008 season went from not much training at all up until June to cramming for two sprints and completing an Olympic distance race in three months time.
Now we are one month removed from the last race of the year and looking for the next challenge. It will take much more organization than before as you definitely cannot cheat a 70.3 race. My plan is to try and get up to half-marathon distance by the ING Georgia Marathon at the end of March and keep that as my run base thru the rest of training. That will allow me to focus a little harder on the swim and bike as the season unfolds. Running has always been my weak spot, so hopefully having that base early will help. Let’s see how it goes.