Bring on 2010

2010 is here with a bang! I've got my expectations set pretty high, and some nice goals setup for the year. I would love to see any of you at any of these races. Come on down!

Races:

1/2/10 - Traveler's Rest SC - Resolution Half Marathon - Done! 2:13:48
Race report here - it was awesome, wish you were there.

1/30/10 - Greenville SC - Foothills Drifter 6k trail run
This one looks really fun. Kelley's doing it too, she is getting addicted to running on trails. Because it is awesome to run on trails.

2/6/10 - Tybee Island Ga - Critz Tybee half marathon
This is also going to be known as "how to make a snail cry" where I'm going to try and break 2 hours in the half. Seriously, come on down to Tybee, it's going to be awesome.

2/6/10? - Raleigh, NC - Krispy Kreme Challenge
Yep, you run 2 miles from the Bell Tower on the NC State campus to the KK, down a dozen glazed doughnuts, and run 2 miles back to the bell tower. It's one of the most awesome races ever if you like vomit. Kelley is doing this one while I will be at tybee. Her cousin Kendall (of 2nd place ag in the 5k fame) is also running this one, so is Kendall's husband and both of their kids. And a bunch of folks from work. Damn that date clashing with tybee! Next year i'll be puking nuts on Hillsborough street.

3/6/10 - Raleigh, NC - SafeRun 10k
Finally a standalone 10k, and it's right here in raleigh. Goal is to PR. And it benefits a group that promotes women's safety and healing from sexual assault on the NC State campus, and that's something I can really get behind. I get to help a cause that I like and run a fast fun race. They are also doing a 5k, Kelley is still on the fence with this one.

3/21/10 - Cary, NC - Tobacco Road Marathon
Yes, I'm doing another full 26.2. Cary is a suburb of Raleigh, the start/finish is less than 10 miles from my house in Raleigh. This is going to be an awesome marathon. 18 miles of it is on the Tobacco Trail, a hard packed screenings trail that's as wide as a road with no cars, but a softer surface and it is completely flat. There is a 3% grade change over the entire course. I will be looking for a PR, since this is completely different than the 6664 ft of climbing from my first marathon in the hills of WV. They are also doing a half that some folks from work are running. but it only has 8 miles on the trail.

4/18/10 - Raleigh NC - TOA Sprint triathlon
I did this one last year, and I think it got the best pics from any of my tri's. It was a great race, but I've gotten a lot faster since then and this will be the first chance I get to take Roberta the new bike out for a race. A fantastic way to start out the triathlon season, I'm really looking forward to this one. Goal is to beat last year's time and turn in a good 5k time.

4/24/10 - Elizabeth City, NC - Tarwheel Century ride
This will be my first century bike ride. We have friends that live nearby (she's pregnant now too - love that!) and this ride is at the coast. Flat and finishable. It's supposed to be the flattest century in NC and the scenery is mostly marshlands. Just beautiful. I'm really looking forward to spending that much time on Roberta, both training for this century (just a month after a marathon?) and riding it.

5/1/10 - Greenville SC - St Francis Mud Run
We did this one last year too and it was a blast! We had so much fun this year we are running it with both of my brothers, if they are up for it. Kendall is interested too. But it has to be a team of 4 for this race. So we're trying to talk Michael and Morgan into doing:

5/22/10 - Mountain City, GA - Warrior Challenge
A mud run for the ages! This one is nuts! It's close to Greenville, so we can drive there, run the race, and drive back same day. It's only a 3+ mile course, but the 11 obstacles include rapelling, crawling under barbed wire, and some land nav. It's going to be insane. The race swag includes a metal helmet with horns, t-shirt, all kinds of crazy crap. Some of you atlanta peeps should come up for this one.

6/5/10 - Raleigh, NC - Gary Kirby Sprint Triathlon
This is a short course local race great for beginners. I'm trying to talk a bunch of people from the office into running this one as their first triathlon. As of Jan 1, you can no longer smoke indoors in public in NC (like restaurants & bars) so we had a bunch of people put down the cigs over new years. I'm trying to encourage them to follow my addiction replacement strategy with triathlon. This guy is a 300m pool swim, 9 mile bike, 5k run. Even former smokers can do that.

7/10/10 - Raleigh, NC - Triangle Sprint triathlon
I wanted to do this one last year but couldn't fit it in. Since I'll be living in Raleigh then it won't be a big deal. This race might replace the Greenville Sprint that I've run the last 2 years, but my buddy Joel in Greenville stopped smoking over new year's. I am encouraging him to run the Greenville Sprint as a non-smoker like I did 2 years ago. I can't count how many hours Joel and I have spent on bar stools together, and I would love to head back to G'ville to support him and run this one with him. But if he doesn't fall for it I'll do the Triangle sprint instead.

9/8/10 - Outer Banks, NC - OBX Half Ironman
FS Series is scheduled to put on this event, but the link has been removed from their web site until the course is finalized. I have to agree with Missy, the half ironman is my favorite distance after finishing the Beach 2 Battleship a few months ago. This OBX half iron is a first year event, it will be historic, flat, fast, and beautiful. I can't wait, it's the coolest part of NC that I've never been able to explore.

And that will effectively end my year in September.

11/1/10 - Raleigh, NC - City of Oaks Marathon
Kelley wants to run this one, not me. I mean, I want to run it but we can't both be in marathon training at the same time and still keep the kids alive. It covers the streets that she grew up on here, so this race will have great emotional significance for her. And I fully support that just like she tirelessly supports my triathlon addiction. I'm excited to take pictures of her and support her for once.

So that's 12 races so far. I'm sure there will be a 5k or two thrown in. those tend to pop up out of nowhere. I would love to get in another 10k. But 2 mud runs, 2 half marathons, a full marathon, 4 triathlons including another half ironman is still pretty full for a 9 month frame. You'll also notice there's no travel in there. Everything is local.

Goals:

Some of these might seem far fetched. But I have to reach for the stars. 2010 is Ironman Prepareness year. The real target is still Ironman Florida 2011. I might add another century ride (or long bike ride) in the fall when the leaves are turning. It's my favorite time to ride. But the goal for the year is:

1. Get ready for Ironman. Training should be Ironman like but for shorter distances. I know this goal is not quantifiable, but I'll call it a success if I feel good enough to register for IMFL.

2. Have an Ironman Week. Cover 2.4 miles in the pool, 112 miles on the bike, and 26.2 miles running in one week of training. The swim is easy, and I'm sure as I get further into marathon training the run milage will get higher. But the bike, that's going to be tricky. That's going to take some planning.

3. Have a sub-22 minute 5k. If I can finish one in 21:59 that's great. It can be standalone or in a triathlon. But after the marathon I had some pretty serious speed at the shorter distances, and I think this one will be within reach this year.

4. Break one hour in the 10k. Yes there's only one 10k on the schedule so my options are limited. I've covered the speed in training hundreds of times, so this might be the easiest goal to achieve. Or not.

5. Break two hours in the half marathon. Hopefully, this will go down at Tybee next month. I feel like I'm close.

6. Break four hours in the marathon. Yes I know the current marathon PR is 5:07 and nobody makes up an entire hour. But this marathon is flat and a cooler time of year. And I've gotten faster in the last year. I think I can come close to 4, and if I really push the speedwork maybe even break 4.

7. Sub 6 hour half ironman. I have no idea how to measure this one or where the extra speed will come from. I just want to feel more comfortable with the distance and know that my heavy training will pay off.

8. 14 workouts in one week. This is how my current training plan is laid out. I get to work out before work, over lunch, and after work 5 days a week (except friday nights) and take the weekends off. Currently, the record stands at 11 workouts in one week.

9. Sell our house and our rental house in Greenville, and buy a new house in Raleigh. I'm ready for my girls to move up here with me. I think it will be only a couple of weeks before we end up renting a place, the separation has been going on for over 3 months now and Kelley and I are both sick of it. "Hey there Delilah" keeps coming up on my mp3 player while I'm running and it makes me cry every time now. of course it only feels like they are 1000 miles away....

10. Keep making new friends. Between the awesome new job, facebook, the blog, and Raleigh in general I have met so many fantastic new people. I'm a very social person and love making new friends.

11. Get on a plane. Kelley doesn't fly and I have no races to travel to this year. I have no idea where I want to go or who is coming with me. But I want to go someplace this year that's so far away I have to fly there. That means at least 8 hours drive time from NC. Please make suggestions. I have not flown anywhere since going to Racine Wisconsin in 2004 for work. I love to travel to new places and I'm getting tired of not going anywhere besides Greenville and Raleigh.

12. Take the 6 pack out of the fridge. Hopefully my 14 workouts a week will bring out the abs. Related goal: Run one of my summer sprint triathlons without wearing a shirt. I got these great SUGOi Velocity tri shorts & singlet, but I'm too tall for the singlet to fit right. So I want to run topless without being embarrassed.

13. Be funny again. Kelley thinks that she is my humor muse, I think I just like to laugh at her. But I've been re-reading some of my posts from last year and I used to be hilarious! Who could forget Kelley breaking a toe the day before a half marathon! Who does that? Funny things used to happen around me all the time. Yes I may still crack you up in person. But i want to write funny again.

14. Race and train with friends. I tend to hit the gym by myself a lot. Big Sexy Ryan only lives a couple of hours from me now. I want to get together with him for a nice long bike ride, and actually be able to keep up with his pace!

So 2010 is off to a roaring start. I even shaved my legs this week for the first time since B2B! I have to admit that was inspired by Ryan, he beat me to it. One day I will train with his kind of intensity. This week my boy did a 5k swim and 52 mile bike ride just because it was tuesday. Who does that? So far this week, I did weights & 1000 yd swim on monday, yoga/10 mile bike / 5 mile run on tuesday, strength and 1 mile in the pool on wednesday, and a steady 9.5 miles on the treadmill today. So that's 9 workouts so far this week, 1 or 2 to go tomorrow. Go hardcore or go home!

And finally by popular demand, some pictures we took at the wedding just being goofy in the hotel room before we went! Kelley's vest and skirt are from White House Black Market, the shoes are 4" heels. Total, jaw-dropping hotness. My suit (my only suit - I hate wearing them) is mismatched fabrics that kind of look the same.




Roll Tide Roll!