I took these questions from Jim Vance's coaching blog and thought it would be worth the mental exercise, even if I don't completely answer all of them.
1. Season Goals - What were they? Did I achieve them?
Most of my goals were achieved, finishing my first 70.3 and finishing Ironman Arizona. My splits and place for IMAZ were as good as or better than goal, though the run fell short thanks to on-going plantar fasciitis issues. The bike crash a week before Ironman hurt my tapering and was a big distraction that I allowed to affect my focus. I set no other significant goals because of the plantar.
2. What was the highest point of the season, the thing I was most excited about?
Obviously Ironman Arizona was the highlight, though California 70.3 in Oceanside was a huge stepping stone on the path.
3. What were the misses this season? The things I didn't accomplish or missed out on.
I missed out on being able to do any other triathlons - sprint to Olympic distance - due to the plantar f. This made the season seem longer and more tedious.
4. How did I feel about my fitness this year? What were the biggest strengths?
I had outstanding fitness, except for running. Considering the training I was able to do, my result were better than many would expect. I improved on the bike, held steady on the swim, and was physically stronger.
5. What in my training brought about the strengths?
I had a disciplined approach and adapted my workouts to accomodate injuries and setbacks. I stuck with my plan, getting all my important workouts in. My strength training routine contributed to all of it.
6. What were my weaknesses in fitness?
Obviously my running suffered from having to do water running until just a month before IMAZ. Everything else I think was good.
7. What could have been done to address these weaknesses in fitness?
8. If I could change one thing about the season, what would it have been?
Avoid injuries and bike crashes.
9. Based on this season, what are some initial goals for next year?
I am currently only entered in 2 triathlons next season: Cal. 70.3 at the end of March and IMAZ in November. My initial goal is to get my heel healed. If that happens and allows me to start running, I hope to break 5:30 for the half Ironman and improve IMAZ by 30 to 60 minutes, depending on training.
10. Anything else I want to discuss about this year and next year?
The bike crash a week before Ironman Arizona had a bigger psychological affect than I realized. It served to distract me from other things, including mental preparation and focus. Obviously it also took away from my taper the final week.
It's easy to have quick answers to these 10 questions by simply focusing on my plantar f-ing-iitis. Doing that would have caused me to miss things. I believe that I lost focus during the run of the Ironman. My quads hurt, my early splits weren't going to get me in under 5 hours for the marathon, and my heel started hurting by mile 5 or 6. I gave in and lost my focus. I went from aiming at 4:59 to finishing at what ever I could do "comfortably". In hindsight, with it being my first Ironman, that choice was fine. But in reality I could have done better. A combination of other factors came into play. I struggled on the run in the 70.3 and I felt very much the same at the start of this run too. I also was having to rely on my one marathon distance experience from April '08. On top of that, because of limited training, I did very few 'brick workouts' and was unable to honestly plan and visualize this part of the race. All of these played a part in my lack of focus and lack of fitness. I am realizing from this experience what I need to do to improve. If I hadn't thought about this more deeply I would have missed the lesson.
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