After doing absolutely nothing for 26 days that spanned from the beginning of December after CIM to the beginning of January and pigging out like nobody's business during the holidays, I have finally decided to get back on the saddle again and start working out. Part of the reason is because of the three goal races for 2014 I've already registered for and the amount of training I'll need if I want to perform at my best in them. The other reason: My belly is getting bigger.
So, what are my goal races for this year?
The olympic distance triathlon at Wildflower, the ITU World Triathlon Series stop in Chicago, and the Ironman Vineman 70.3, my first half-ironman/long course distance triathlon.
The first two triathlons are olympic/international distances which involve swimming 1500 m (~0.93 miles), cycling 40 km (~24.9 miles), and running 10 km (6.2 miles).
The half-ironman/long course/70.3 distance involves swimming 1.2 miles, cycling 56 miles, and running a half-marathon (13.1 miles). Add all those distances up and you get the 70.3 moniker.
Why are these my goal or "A" races?
Wildflower is simply legendary and one of the largest triathlon festivals in the world. It's held at Lake San Antonio in the central coast region of California. Besides the olympic distance race, they more famously host a half-ironman distance race that weekend, which is infamously hilly throughout, along with a mountain bike triathlon. A lot of the racers camp at the race site making it a unique experience. As this is my first olympic distance race, I couldn't think of a better venue to race at.
The ITU World Triathlon Series (WTS) is a professional triathlon tour that has stops all around the world and is making it's way to Chicago for the first time ever. Chicago is the third US city ever to host a WTS race and only US host city in 2014. It will also be the first ever US city to host the WTS Grand Final when it makes it's return there in 2015. What appeals to me is a chance to race in my hometown's beautiful downtown landscape as well as the opportunity to race the same course the pros will race later that day.
Vineman 70.3 is an Ironman-branded race held in Sonoma wine country in northern California. Why am I doing this race? I have no idea! I blame my friend Jason for talking me into signing up for this distance. I think this will be my biggest athletic challenge to date, even more so than my previous marathons. It's an extremely popular race and sold out within minutes, but somehow I got in. Also, a number of pros who race the Ironman circuit should be here as well, which will be pretty neat!
As you can see, I have my work cut out for me. Considering
that I'm not the best swimmer and haven't put in nearly
enough saddle time in the past, I have to be even more focused this year and make sure I devote enough time training in each discipline. I also have a couple of other races lined up to help with my training, including the Du 3 Bears duathlon (run-bike-run) in El Sobrante and the Stanford Treeathlon in Redwood City.
Well, with my race calendar built mainly around those three races, I had to include some "fun" races as well. As of now, I've signed up for the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders (LMJS) Couples 5k Relay with my wife in Oakland, the infamous Bay to Breakers in San Francisco, the Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge (ROC) race (think the TV show Wipeout) in San Jose, and the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon.
Hopefully I'll have the motivation and desire to train throughout the year, or this will be a very long year.
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