2011 Goals and Race List

Every year we set some targets to go out and achieve. Something measurable to hold ourselves accountable to; and something to work towards. For this year I am trying to establish a few meaningful goals.

Goals:

1. Ironman on November 5th at IMFL

2. Single digit body fat percentage and maintaining a healthy weight throughout the year

3. Age Group Placement - I'm getting lean and fast right now. 4th place AG in the 5k yesterday, I think I can crack the top 3 pretty soon. in something.

4. Time goals: This gets difficult to measure given the odd race schedule. I would love to throw out the standard running time goals by distance:

• 5k under 22:00,
• 10k under 50:00,
• 5 mile under 40:00,
• 13.1 miles under 1:55,
• 26.2 miles under4:00,
• century ride under 6 hours.

But I'll have to include training times (not just races) to have a chance to set them.

5. Have a garden. Small, but something that I can tend to on recovery days just to see what I can make grow.

6. Live in a way that makes others proud. That sounds vague, but the target is to complete Ironman training without completely abandoning my family. Don't let the house go into disrepair, keep the yard up, let the garden grow, that kind of thing. Don't abandon friends that don't run triathlons.

Race list:

Please come out and join me at any of these events. Most are pending registration, in the hopes that I can still get in. And like all race calendars, it's mostly fluid and can change on a dime based on the whims of my family and availability.

1/1/2011 - Resolution Run 5k, Cary, NC - Done! PR, 24:42, 4th place AG (out of 17 male 30-39), and 34th out of 185 overall

2/5/2011 - Krispy Kreme Challenge Raleigh NC - run 2 miles, eat a dozen doughnuts, run 2 miles. What could be better?

2/19/2011 - Myrtle Beach Marathon, Myrtle Beach SC. This is the only half marathon I have on the schedule, so I'm trying to break 2 hours. Might even pace out for around 1:50ish.

2/28/2011 - the Ironman training plan starts. Weight loss should be at or very near goal weight (160 lbs, 9% body fat) by this time.

3/5/2011 - Greenville Track Club Reedy River Run - 10k in Greenville SC. This is one of the most popular races in Greenville, and a good excuse to go visit my parents.

4/9/2011 - Potential - Rugged Maniac Adventure Race, Greensboro NC

4/9/2011 - Potential - Cary Long Course Duathlon, Cary NC. Same day as the rugged adventure race, so if we pick a different adventure race I'm going to do the du.

4/16/2011 - Potential - Beaverdam Oly, Wake Forest, NC. This is one of those "if I have the extra cash for the registration fee" races. It's local, an Olympic distance triathlon, and early in the season. I had a lot of facebook friends who did this one last year and loved it. It would be a fantastic, truly wonderful warmup for.....

4/30/2011 - TryCharleston Half Iron, Charleston, SC. I've been wanting to go visit my brother Michael for a while. Spring travel, no kids, no hotel, Kelley and I can head to chuck town for a weekend of fun and a spring half ironman. What could be finer?

5/15/2011 - Potential - Warrior Dash Georgia. We can stay with my parents for this adventure race. Should be crazy fun!

5/21/2011 - Potential - Battle at Buckhorn, Sims, NC. A local sprint triathlon that's a lot of people on facebook did last year and I would love to do this year. Could be a good chance to show off some speed.

6/1/2011 - Aquathon #1, Raleigh, NC. FS Series is putting on a series of three aquathons that I'm absolutely amped about!!! They are on wednesday nights at 6:30 pm in June, July and August. This one is in Harris Lake state park with an 800 meter open water swim followed by a 3 mile run. It's just like triathlon without the bike. I can't wait!

6/4/2011 - Probable - Run on the Wild Side 9k, Asheville, NC. I'm lining up some friends to do this run too, and it's still probable because I don't have confirmation about staying with them. We'll skip this one if the friends have to be out of town.

6/11/2011 - Chatham 3Ring Cycle, Chatham, NC. This will be my only century ride, and it's local. Tours 4 counties around Raleigh, so I think I can get some other folks from work to ride this one too.

6/18/2011 - Bandits Challenge, Wilkesboro, NC. This is going to be the most difficult course in the series that SetupEvents puts on. It's high in the mountains. Do I want a tough course for a sprint triathlon this year?? Bring it on. We get a weekend in Boone with no kids? sounds great.

6/26/2011 - Potential - Chattooga 50k in SC. I think this is going to be the best chance to pop my ultra cherry. The Snail is lined up for this one, and he is very persuasive about getting me to do it too. I would love to run this one, but that's already a LOT of racing in June. and it's going to be hot.

7/6/2011 - Aquathon #2, Raleigh, NC. This one has a 1500 meter open water swim and a 4 mile run. Awesome!

7/23/2011 - The Big Deuce, Raleigh, NC. This is the only 2 mile open water swim I could find. Should be fun!

8/3/2011 - Aquathon #3, Raleigh, NC. This one has a 400 meter open water swim, 3 mile run, and another 400 meter open water swim! bah, fantastic!

8/14/2011 - Potential - Greenville Sprint Triathlon, Greenville, SC. This would be my third time running this sprint, and it keeps getting more fun. I'm trying to talk a friend or two from Raleigh into coming to Greenville with me for the weekend to run this one. I might skip this one if the friends don't want to do it.

9/17/2011 - Outer Banks Half Iron, Kitty Hawk, NC. A fall half ironman is a great warmup for IMFL. I might switch this one up and run the Patriot's half again like I did in 2010, but Kelley and I both would rather hit the outer banks.

11/5/2011 - Ironman Florida, Panama City Beach, FL. This is the big dog. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. Bring it.

If 2011 were to be described as a chinese zodiac symbol, it would be the year of the Dick because I'm going loooooooooong. Two half iron's and a full ironman? Potentially a 50k? Some of these are just for fun, some are to be competitive, and some (century and the big duece) are for Ironman prep. I've got nothing lined up for october or december thanks to IMFL.

Pick some of those races and meet me out there! That means you!

Like the header says, if I can go from smoking 26.2 cigs a day to running 26.2 miles, then I can go from Iron Lung to Iron man. It's time to make that happen. Let's get it on!