Here are a few thoughts:
1. My principal focus in 2011 is to have a great IMAZ. I'd love to set a new IM PR (weather permitting) and qualify for Kona again (competition permitting). A great IM will definitely be comprised of a solid bike split and especially a solid run. We'll know it when we see it but something like: 5:25/4:30 would float my boat. My swim will be fine.
2. My season conveniently breaks down into three parts. This is a result of the luxury of a late November IM. I haven't had this since 2007 (which "coincidentally" was the last time I had a solid IM). One late-season IM is the race configuration that best matches my talents and my lifestyle. If i'm going to deliver against #1 above my focus on IMAZ will definitely be a major contributor.
3. My three "seasons" in 2011 can be thought of as: 1. Pre-Season; 2. Short Course Season; and 3. Long Course Season. My training plan for 2011 is tuned to support these three "seasons".
4. During the pre-season I'll have the usual task of making sure I'm ready to race when my first triathlons roll around. However, this year is distinctly different from any of my past seasons. I'm treating my 2010 season as my base period (you know--the 10,000+ bike miles, two Ironmans, etc.) and jumping right into a short-course build orientation during pre-season. Lot's of intensity on the bike. Lot's of frequency on the run (this is a result of my hsiorical issues run-wise). I will avoid my usual LSD bike/run workouts. I hope to exit the pre-season with a sparkling FTP on the bike (say 290 watts) and a decent run capability (21:30 5k/sub 1:40 half). I'll race a couple of fun events in North Carolina and try to better last year's Kona qualifying performance at IMCA70.3 with this emphasis. I know I won't qualify here (XC rule changes) but I hope to race considerably faster. If so, I'll be locked and loaded for a great second 2011 season.
5. My second season (Starting April) is all about SC races: Sprints and Olympics. Ironically, because my swim has improved as much as it has over the last 10 years, I feel that I am now a better Oly than Sprint racer. i tried to enter a bunch of Olys but these tend to be bigger races and I got shut out from a few (such as NYC). I hope to race at least 5 OLys (vs. 7 in my career to date). In any event, during this period I'm going to be focused on intensity and SC race performance. I will not be an Ironman guy and indeed I'll have no LC races. Just a lot of short ones--light 'em up--let's go! should be fun. It will be great to be at the shore and not have to worry about IM volume--just need to go fast all the time!
6. August 1st marks the start of serious time. I'll follow a rigorous 16 week IM build and hopefully kill it at IMAZ. I'll still race SC races but will add in a couple of H-IM type races. a new thing for me this year will be ten 16-22 mile runs--at least half at my marathon target pace. If I can do this I am confident I can kill IMAZ and qualify again.
There are lots of nuances in all of this of-course, which I'll elaborate on as the year unfolds. For example, my nutritional patterns need to change. I used to block my LC workouts together without a lot of nutrition in between--better to simulate the reality of an IM. with my current focus on intensity and frequency i find I need to eat 6-7 times a day--between workouts so i can deliver the watts necessary to achieve my goals.
Also, I have a learning curve to march down. I did 9.5 hours of training over the last 2 days with a fair amount of quality and I'm fried tonight. My legs feel like I just raced a H-IM. I had planned another Project FTP threshold bike workout tomorrow but I'll probably need to adjust as my body and I head into this brave new world....
MY Motivation is HIGH! I'll talk about that and related factors in the next couple of days....
Thanks for reading!!!
rc
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