2011 In Review ...

I have always been a big fan of taking an analytically approach when determining how a race season went. Sometimes it is very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind and not look at the big picture. The overall training numbers can give you an idea of where a deficiency may have occurred and help with setting goals in the future. For me, I like to go back and review my race reports and compare side-by-side with the raw training data. The correlation between the two is usually spot on in terms of results.

2011 was a different type of year for me as the main goal was Ironman Texas, which occurred on May, 21st.  I spent the majority of my time in the saddle for the first five months of the year which led right into IMTX.

2011 Training Review:

After a successful Ironman I experienced a case of the Ironman Blues. Training became some thing I wanted nothing to do with and every session was a struggle (see June in the graph below). I had the Rev3 Half Rev at Cedar Point in September but spent hardly anytime in the saddle and almost zero time in the pool.  However, I had rediscovered my love of running and that is how the majority of the second half of 2011 was spent.

As you can see from the total training numbers both the swim (45mi less then 2010) and bike (900mi less then 2010) were way down but I increased my run volume by over 600mi from 2010. In 2010 my total time spent training was 457hrs, in 2011 that time stayed statistically flat at 451hrs. In terms of training time I am quite consistent.


2011 Total Training Volume:
     - Swim: 72h 23m - 164594 meters (102.24mi)
     - Bike: 149h 43m - 2,792.55mi
     - Run: 229h 02m - 1,572.45mi
       Totals: 451h 08m - 4,467.24mi


This graph below really tells a story of two completely different seasons. First half of the year training was as a triathlete, the second half of the year as a runner:

Click to enlarge

Overall I am pleased with the way training for 2011 ended. My total volume for the bike and swim were down but considering over 90% of the volume for the bike and swim were done in only 5 months then it is actually really good.

With my focused turned to running in the second half of the year I am extremely pleased with this training. My speed and endurance are at levels never before thought possible and would not have been realized without doing a concentrated block of run training.


2011 Racing Review


Going into this year the one goal was Ironman. Based on that criteria 2011 was a success.  After that I PR'd the 70.3 distance at Cedar Point and continued on to PR every running race after that as well. As my running volume increased in training the correlation was apparent in decreasd race times. I had a goal of going sub-5hrs in a 50K and did that with a 4:39 race at the beginning of November. Then another goal of going sub-1:30 in a half marathon was accomplished the very next weekend at San Antonio (1:29).

Here is a recap (with race reports) of the entire 2011 race season if you have a couple of hours to kill at work!


Total Races: 11

Total Running Races: 7
     - 5k: 1
     - 5Mi: 1
     - 10k: 0
     - 10Mi: 1
     - Half Marathon: 3
     - Marathon: 0
     - 50K: 1

Total Triathlons: 4
     - Sprint: 1
     - Olympic: 0
     - Half Ironman: 2
     - Ironman: 1

Total PRs: 8


2011 Race Reports:
- LaPorte Half Marathon
- Run Thru the Woods 5mi Turkey Trot
- San Antonio RnR Half Marathon
- Rocky Raccoon 50K Trail Run
- 10 for Texas Race Report
- Rev3 Cedar Point Half Rev
- Tejas Sprint Tri
- Ironman Texas Race Report
- Galveston 70.3 Race Report
- BridgeFest 5K
- USA Fit Half Marathon Race Report


Moving Forward to 2012


Goal #1 for this year will be to Boston Qualify at The Woodlands Marathon on March 3rd. I am continuing only run training until that time. On March 5th the new #1 goal changes to Ironman Mont-Tremblant and the bike and pool are going to become intimate friends once again.

In term of overall volume, I am not setting any volume goals because I am not sure how the year will finish out. If I am unable to BQ in March then another attempt will be made at the St. Jude's Memphis Marathon on December 4th and this will require strict run training once again. If I do BQ in March, then the Memphis Marathon will be nothing more then a long, slow training day and the second half of 2012 will be spent getting stronger on the bike.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff