Thursday, January 19, 2012

2012 Race Schedule & The Missing ScottyTris

Well, it's been about 3 weeks since my last blog post.  I never thought I'd go that long.  I have definitely not given up on this thing.  I've just been distracted by my upcoming trip to Bangkok and a large project at home that's been taking my time away from this, Twitter, Facebook, and any other distraction.  I think my Google Reader got up to 1,000+ articles before I finally got to it.  The fortunate thing is I'm still posting to Twitter and Facebook.... my Dailymile workouts!  So I'm still getting the training in but it's been mostly focused on running.

Tricia took me to a CrossFit class her trainer put on for YMCA members last Saturday.  It was definitely a challenge and I recognize the fact that I have neglected my strength training.  Since I've been focusing on running, I do have more days off and should take advantage of strength training opportunities.  Lately my workouts have been long runs (8 - 10 miles), intervals, or threshold runs (running at an elevated heart rate, near or over the anaerobic level).  I have been riding my bike and did get a swim in last week.  So I'm not completely neglecting the "Tris" portion of the site.

So here it is, my 2012 Race Schedule.  Joe and I started this back in October and this is the current state.

January 29 - Groundhog Run 5K
I return to the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis for a second year, but this time I'm running the 5k and I'm gunning for a sub-20 performance.  Why not?  No matter the temperature outside, the caves are in the 60° range and FLAT.  My 5K PR is 20:02 so I want to beat it.  The problem is I got that after 2 months of half-ironman training.  This time I'll be about 6 mostly-solid weeks of training in but without the additional cross-training.  Should be interesting.  The holidays didn't do me well either.  I'm about 7 pounds heavier than that race.

April 1 - Brew-to-Brew
The annual 44 mile relay race between Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, MO to Free State Brewery in Lawrence, KS.  No time goals just planning to have a good time with friends and family since I will have just returned from Bangkok.

April 7 - Race for Mercy 10k
The goal for this race is to go sub-40 minutes.  I'm hoping to continue speed work while I'm in Bangkok, but to add distance.  This will require the same 6:25 pace performance as Groundhog Run... but twice the distance.  To be honest, I was hoping to do the Rock The Parkway 10k but they didn't plan one this year. Oh well, this race is for a good cause!

June 2 - Hospital Hill Half-Marathon
The goal for this race is to PR at 1:35.  I would put down 1:30 but I'm adding 5 minutes for hills. We'll just see what happens, won't we?  Looking forward to getting the second of three puzzle pieces that is the finishers medal.

Starting the sixth month of the year and I am still just scheduled for road races.  When I put it in that perspective, I may put KC Tri in May.  As you can tell I'm working on getting my pace down while adding distance throughout the year.  I really want to focus on running this year to BQ but I really do enjoy triathlons.

June 16 - Grandma's Marathon (Pending)
Within the last couple weeks, Joe VI and I have been discussing this race.  I know I won't be ready to BQ a marathon but it might be a good idea for Joe to get a marathon under his belt before trying to BQ.  I think the mental game of 26.2 miles is as much a challenge as the physical. We'll see if it sticks.

Other June Races:
Corporate Challenge Tri - If I get asked, I will do it this year.  It's likely the same weekend as Ironman KS again, so I'll have a chance to do well again this year!
Topeka Tinman - Maybe if Grandma's doesn't happen, I'll do Topeka.  I really did enjoy this race last year.

July - Shawnee Mission Triathlon Long Course
I really enjoyed this race last year and, frankly, I love the t-shirt.  So hoping they give out a similar designed and sized one.  I know it's dumb, but it's true.  It says 'TRIATHLETE' in big letters on the back and is long enough to cover my lanky torso.  It maybe my first time to compete against some of my twitter Tri peeps again.

August - Jackson County Tri
I know I ripped on this race last year but I'm hoping for another triathlon to keep the cross training up.

HOA Marathon - Sept 3rd
BQ Attempt #1.  This would be to BQ for 2013 Boston.  I was looking for a marathon near the beginning of September to make the cut-off and this one was close enough it didn't require a lot of travel (Columbia, MO).  I'm not sure if it will stay on the list but it's a good placeholder.  Just want something before the 20th of September (or so).

Chicago Marathon - October 7th
My "A" Race.  "A" also stands for Anniversary as it will be TKB and my 11 year anniversary!!  This is my target BQ race, unfortunately it's after the 2013 Boston cut-off so it will have to be for 2014.  I'm fine with that because pre-planning for 2013 season involves an ultra-marathon a few weeks before the 2013 Boston Marathon.

California International Marathon - December 2nd
Backup BQ race.  It's downhill, what more is there to say? We haven't really discussed this race much but it's near Joe VI's hometown, so seems to make sense.

Overview
As you can see, it's geared to getting fast in the first half of the year.  And then spending the following 3 - 4 months building distance upon that speed.  I have no clue if it will work.  I did zero research on whether that's a good plan.  My hope is to have 26.2 miles under my legs by mid-year and just practice running at pace for the entire distance.

I will likely be adding more races as I go but I will seriously consider its impact to my training for Chicago.  I took Ironman 70.3 Kansas off the list for that very reason.

Bangkok, Thailand
As I've mentioned before, my day job is sending me to Bangkok, Thailand for February and March.  This will present some challenges to my training.  Fortunately, the hotel will have a fitness center and there is a park with a 1.5 mile loop a few blocks away (maybe it's 1.5 kilometers).  I elected not to bring my bike because it will probably take two months to comfortable enough to take it out on the roads. The jammers and goggles will be packed for maybe some early morning swims in the hotel pool, we'll see.

I'm excited about this opportunity to see a new country and learn the culture but there is just the same amount of apprehension as TKB and I are not world travelers.  Going to Las Vegas last month was quite an experience in itself!

With the trip, I plan to use this blog as a way to keep everyone up on my travels.  I hope to take great pictures to post as well.  I hope you enjoy it!

New Member of the Family
And by that I mean my geek family.  I'm full on Apple now as I purchased an iPhone 4S to replace my HTC Evo.  I'm finally fully emerged in the Apple ecosystem. It's about time.  I'm just hoping Siri is a good travel guide and interpreter (without needing a cellular data plan)!

4 comments:

  1. I hear Grandma's Marathon is a good one. It was on my list for this year briefly, but will have to wait till next year. And I love my SMP tri shirt too... It's kinda like a humble brag. TRIATHLETE

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  2. I didn't even notice you were missing. It's not like I waited in vain for a witty Twittersponse from you at all anytime over the last few weeks. As if I've been waiting for some random tequila-themed text message. It's not like I've been checking Gtalk every chance I get and you're always "offline". Pffff.

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  3. Thailand is a wonderful country! It is a place I would live, most definitely! Soak it up!! And get to the islands! They're the best part ;) I'm envious of your 2 months!

    Good luck on all of your training and these races! It's quite the impressive goal! :D

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  4. All that, and what do I have to say?

    You won't be able to call yourself "early thirties" for long, Scotty B.

    (Okay, and I'll miss you while you're in Thailand, and I've said for ages that you can qualify for Boston, and Tricia should do the zoo run with me because it's so fun and you're too hoity-toity marathon-y for it, and you guys should get the Menu Planner app because it's awesome.)

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