Sunday, January 16, 2011

New Goals, New Disciplines

Weather has gotten this year off to a sluggish start but there's no time to waste in 2011.  This year is filled with some new goals that require new training regiments ..... and a new coach.


As has been previously mentioned, the biggest goal for this year is Angelia completing her first triathlon in August.  The cycling and run distances won't be a problem but putting them together and adding in the swimming discipline is going to be a real challenge leading to a real rewarding finish.  Of course, there are some stepping stones along the way.  The first milestone will be a duathlon at Texas Motor Speedway in just 5 weeks.  The event is a 2mi run followed by a 15mi bike and capped off with another 2mi run.  She'll be looking to complete it under 2 hours in what will likely be windy, cold conditions.  To prepare, the training regiment has been altered to better balance the disciplines and get a better handle on her nutrition.  To accomplish this Angelia has retained a local triathlon coach, Ashley Martin.

When we first discovered the TMS Duathlon the intention was for both of us to participate but my right knee didn't respond well to some off-season strength training.  The resulting inactivity left me with insufficient time to train as a runner (something I have never done).  My next plan was to do it as a relay with my sister handling the run portion.  Unfortunately, no relay teams allowed at this event.  I considered scrapping the whole attempt at running and staying bike-centric but ran the idea of a different duathlon in April past my coach, Joey Spragins, and he was confident he could have me prepared in time.  This event has a unique format with multiple run and bike legs (2mi/11mi/2mi/11mi) plus a 50 meter sprint to the finish.  Like Angelia, my training regiment has changed as well.  Am I running?  Not yet, but soon.  However, I have started some strength training to help minimize my chance of injury.  The knees are holding up but the calves are screaming.  I'll take that as a good sign.

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