2008 -- the good, the bad, the craptacular

Event	2008 Goals	2008 Results	2007 Best
Half Marathon	Under 2 hours	1:56:47	First time in '08
10k	Under 50:00	49:47	53:24
5k	Under 22:30	22:07	24:55
Swim (tri)	2:00/100m	2:03/100m	2:09/100m
Bike (tri)	Avg 30km/h	Avg 32 km/h	Avg 28.5 km/h
Run (tri)	Under 5:00/km	5:08/km	5:24/km
Sprint	1:25:00	1:23:57	1:32:58
Olympic	Under 3 hours	2:52:53	First time in '08

I've been going back and looking over my 2008 season a little bit... results, training logs, nutrition journals, stuff like that. The table above is a summary of my '08 results.

Safe to say that 2008 was definitely the biggest step forward in my fitness so far... ironically enough, it also contained my biggest disappointment & moment of pain so far (both physical and mental). I specifically used the two words "so far" twice, and that is because of two reasons: 1) I plan on kicking more ass in 2009, so I know my fitness will continue to improve as I put in the work, and 2) As my goals and aspirations grow, there is no doubt that sometime down the road I will look back on 2008 and feel like the disappointment at that time was nothing compared to whatever I'm going through at that moment. I tend to be an optimist when it comes to triathlons, but let's face it -- you don't set a personal record every time you lace 'em up (or zip it up, or clip in). And of course, knowing and admiting that little fact will do nothing to dimish any such disappointment in the future. But at least I know it's out there. So, yeah, I've got that going for me.

Much like my overall season, my reaction to my '08 results (when they're all right there in one place) is a series of ups and downs. For example: Up = hitting my goals in the open runs... Down = missing it in the triathlon run.

Up = improving my best bike average by 3.5 km/h (same course, same distance)... Down = getting passed like a salt shaker during the run in that same race.

Up = making my Sprint overall goal... Down = feeling like I had something left in the tank at the end.

Up = making my Olympic overall goal... Down = knowing a faster time was there for the taking but missing out because of cramping during the run (which I believe was a result of wandering away from my nutrition plan and drinking too much, too soon on the run... idiot!).

Okay, that's enough of that. I definitely learned a lot about myself in 2008, and I look forward to learning even more in 2009 (and of course, lowering those times and increasing those speeds).

No coach? No problem!

Sometimes it feels as though I'm making things up as I go along... with respect to training, that is. I've never had a coach, so I don't have anyone in my ear telling me why this workout is better than that one, or that I need a rest day tomorrow. I'd love to have one, but the wedding is only about 2 months away now, and getting married is more expensive than anyone told me. The latest expenditures include wedding bands, new appliances, and the final payment on our Mexican wedding vacation (which is supposedly going to be cheaper than a "real" wedding). Right now, I don't have a lot of cash left over for a monthly coaching fee. That's usually when I turn to my good friend, the internet. Now, of course we all know that everything on the internet is 100% true. Wait... it isn't? Right. So then I guess I have to use the odd bit of common sense. Truth is, most of my information comes from the internet. Given my relatively rookie-ish triathlete status, it isn't hard to find people with more experience (and therefore hopefully more knowledge) than me. I read as much as I can on everything from training programs to rest and recovery to nutrition to equipment and so on. There is sooo much information out there... it can be a little overwhelming. I just try to sort through it, determine what may or may not apply to me and my goals, and see how I might be able to use it in the triathlon portion of my life. I visit many blogs, and usually a few times a week I stop by trifuel and slowtwitch to see what's going on. The forums that let people "speak" to each other makes them a golden source of information. There are stories directly from other people - with both happy and sad endings - plus advice on just about anything. It's nice to get more than one viewpoint about a piece of equipment, for example, from someone other than the dude who is trying to sell it to you. A lot of the articles I read suggest getting a coach... saying it is one of the best ways to advance your abilities. Believe me, I would if I could. But for now, my computer and I are doing just fine.