2012 Goals

My first ever HIM is coming up in less than three weeks and today I found myself thinking about "the after" questions.  You know, "what are you going to do with all of that free time" and "what race is next" and "what about next year".

Anytime I pour myself into something as big as this, I always end up with the post-race blues, so this time I'm trying a different approach.  I figure if I set new, post-race goals, today then I'll still have something to look forward to on saturday night after the race is over. Sure, I'm going to take some time off to rest and recover, but then I want to get right back on the horse (so to speak) and keep training.

So, that brings me back to my goals for the rest of the year and into the early part of 2013.

Swimming
I'm a new swimmer and I have been spending what I think is a ton of time in the pool. So far it has paid off in that I'm 100% confident that I can go 2km, in open water, without fear of drowning or having to stop and breast or back stroke. This is a big deal for me and I'm quite proud of this accomplishment, but back to my goal, which is to get faster!  My current PR for a 1000m time trial is 23:18, my goal is to get that down to 20:00 by April 1, 2013.  There, it's in writing and I can't take it back. Do-able?  Who knows, but I'm going to go for it. Based on fact or science or any known plan?  Hell no, at least not yet. Guess its time to go lookup swimming workout plans.

Running
I'm not sure what my running plans are for next year, but I know that along with swimming, running will be a focus through the winter.  I've been building throughout the summer and am happy with my splits. I ran a 2:05 half marathon the other day in a training run and I had lots left in the tank when I was finished. Maybe I'll do the half in Pittsburgh in May, who knows. For now though, my goal is for a much shorter distance - one mile. I would like to run a mile in under 7 minutes before the end of the year.  My (post college) PR for a mile is 7:32, but the other day I ran a 3:11 half, so I think this is less pixie dust and 4-leaf clovers than my swimming goal.

Cycling
Nope, no specific and time-bound goal here. Not for the winter anyway. Cycling is my strongest and most favorite of the Tri sports, so I will ride on nice days through the fall as swimming and running allow, but not towards any specific end.

Racing
Right, so all of this looking forward and I've forgotten to mention my goals for the race. First and foremost, my goal is to finish. Even if I end up missing a cut-off, I'm still going to finish.  If, however I happen to have a great day and I'm able to run the race that I know I'm capable of running, then my time goal is under six hours. The way I see it, it breaks down like this. I know that I can get the bike done in about three hours and the run and swim together should be about three hours, so that's how I get to six.  More specifically, every minute that I'm under one hour on the swim is a minute that I can be over two hours on the run.  I'll need to be really fast in transition, but I've been practicing the shit out of that (seriously) so I'm confident.

So there they are, in black and white, for all 3 of my readers.  Here's to a great race and then a productive and wonderful fall.

So what about you, do you still have goals left to accomplish in 2012?