31st December, and my first blog post in 6 months - ouch. At least if I post an update today I'll feel like things are on their way before we hit 2012....
My last race of 2011 was way back in September in the New Forest - Bucklers Revenge Triathlon. In effect it was a Half Ironman but was a bit short at a 1.9k swim, 68k bike and an 18.4k offroad run. Again though, I had a solid race despite some really awful weather and came away with a solid win to finish the season on.
Anyway, I won't pretend that it's worth going back too much to the 2011 season, being a few months down the line now. I really can't complain with my results. I came into the year unsure of whether my body could handle the Half Ironman distance, but came out of it with wins across all distances (Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman) - a British Age Group Standard Distance Championship, a Regional Sprint Champs win and plenty of pleasing performances.
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So, 2012. Much of the same really. Year on year I aim improve myself and my performances based purely on refining of my training techniques. I'm self employed and the business tends to take up the bulk of my time. I've lost count of the number of times I've intended to get out for a session, then something goes wrong/a last minute shipment needs packing/a customer calls with a problem etc etc and *poof*, it's gone. I take the running of my business very personally - unfortunately, it's retail based and the last couple of years have been beyond tough. It's not always easy just to switch off and get out the door, especially when money's tight and stepping out the door could mean further loss of income. It's stress really, and very hard to combat.
I had a chance to look back over previous year's training logs.... Through 2011's pre and race season (Feb to September) I averaged 10.5 hours per week training (+ a little bit of gym work etc), roughly as a 5.5h bike, 3h run, 2h swim split. Year on year I've generally managed to add around an hour to this average - but this counts as seriously low mileage. 2012 will be much the same - this is as much time as I can commit, so I need to make sure I use that time to the best of my ability. In this blog I will try to report on this as best I can.
I will be competing in a couple of races this year as a Pro. I'll be racing them anyway, so why not be in with a shout of winning some money if I'm there! I'm doubtful of whether there'll be many Pro's training on much less than 18 hours, let alone a little over 10 - so I don't hold too many fantasies of podium topping Pro results. However, I know how the hours I can commit, and I'll take any scalps I can.
I haven't dared put the Garmin on yet, as I can then kid myself that I'm running a little bit faster and further than I actually am! However, I'm always late in getting pre season training under way due to solid work commitments through November and December so don't need to start fretting yet. I'm currently making sure my week's contain all the elements - solid sessions across all disciplines with the priority being consistency. I will continue to wring out the minimal hour training flannel for all it's worth and see what it can bring me in the coming year.
