2014 Update

Since its's been awhile since my last entry I thought I'd share an update. Before IMWI last year I decided to not pursue an ironman in 2014 unless I had qualified for Kona. Since I missed by about 20 minutes, I am sticking to that decision. Kristin and I are getting married in 6 weeks from today and I knew upfront that I would want to be available to help with the many details. (I am incredibly excited to start our life together!) Training for a full ironman can be incredibly selfish at times and while Kristin is incredibly supportive of my dream to race in Kona one day, I wanted to be supportive of her in the coordination and planning of our big day. Helping seal the decision was the wear and tear the training can have both physically and mentally. Both mind and body need a break.

I have been fortunate enough to be selected for the PowerBar Team Elite 2014-2015 squad. I'll continue to spread the wealth to my friends, family, and fellow racers throughout the season. I will also be racing for [MICHIGAN AWESOME] this year. They are a cool apparel company that takes pride in our amazing state. With lots of fast people on the team, I am looking forward to racing in training with them.

We're two weeks out from USAT Long Course nationals, which will be the first A race of the season for me. The second will the USAT Olympic Distance nationals in August. While targeting these two races, I will focus on more purposeful workouts vs. just grinding out distances/times. Over the winter I have spent a number of ours riding the turbo-trainer indoors while actually following an interval/workout. The results have been noticeable already. Another focus will be gaining some foot-speed with track sessions and intervals, rather than heading out and just running. I have a tendency to just go run as fast as I can sustain over a prescribed distance, which is a bad habit and can result in injuries and fatigue.

Speaking of injuries, I'm also working on good habits: foam rolling, stretching, and using my newly acquired "space-boots" (Norma-Tec). So far, I've seen an uptick in quality efforts while actually holding a similar volume to both 2012 and 2013. I also am hoping to form good habits with eating. A lot of days it seems dinner will consist of snacks vs. something well-balanced. As much as I love chips and salsa, it is not the meal to fuel a Kona qualifier on a regular basis.

Tomorrow is my first race of the season, Bear Lake Olympic Tri, more of a warm-up effort for the half-ironman in two weeks. I'll have an update for that as soon as I can. Until then, keep chasing your dreams!