No excuses on the run this year

Last year my main goal for the year was to qualify for and finish Kona--If I did, then 2010 was a success. So even though my bike injury led to slower results than i would have liked in 2010, because I hit the main goal--2010 was a mission accomplished.

In 2011, my main goal is to nail my "best" ever IM at IMAZ in November. By best, I mean, if the conditions are acceptable--which they probably will be--then it's setting a new PB for the IM distance. I'll need to do this to qualify for Kona again and if I do I'll have a reasonable shot at it.

To nail IMAZ, I'll almost certainly have to run the fastest marathon that I have run in an IM. I suspect my swim time will be similar to IMFL2007 (66 minutes) but the bike I did at IMFL (5:06) will be faster than what i will do in IMAZ. firstly, the IMAZ course is a little bit slower. Second, I intend to ride at a lower intensity factor this year to try to get more out of my run. I could be as much as 25 minutes slower at IMAZ (by design). Therefore, I'll need to run in a new IM PR (4:30). In fact, I'd like my time to be a whole bunch closer to 4 hours than 5.

This is definitely doable. All the data that I've looked at says I should be running a 3:55-4:05 IM marathon. To do so, I'll need to race smarter than I have in the past and I think I have the right plan set-up now. Also, I'm going to have to work really hard on my run in 2011. I can't let other things (like lots of bike miles) get in my way. Thus the changes to my bike strategy: less miles but way more intensity--to raise my headroom so that my IM bike feels very easy. Also, my emphasis on run frequency now and starting this week an increasing emphasis on speed/strength work on the run. I'll focus on distance on my run come August.

The key thing is I want to get to that starting line at IMAZ without any regrets about my run training--then I'll execute on race day.

Today's highlight was a mid Z2 10.1 mile cruise. My HR was stable at 147/148 and I was able to do most of the run (except warm-up/warm-down) locked in between 8:41 and 8:49/mile. This is actually faster than I need to run at IMAZ but was the right intensity. By mid November, I hope to have quite a few 16+ mile runs at that same midZ2 intensity. this is a good place for me to be in mid January...so far, so good.

I did 50s in the pool all in the 41-42 second range--nothing to write home about but apparently good enough to make my blog (ha-ha)....