Ready for 2010?

Whether you are ready for it or not, Two-thousand-and-ten is just 25 days away. I don't really buy into the whole New-Year's-Resolution thing, but I do believe in setting goals and have already vowed to make a few changes in my training and racing strategies for next season.

Instead of thinking about the New Year as the time to "start over" though, I end up thinking about it as just another day. Perhaps I am on some different calendar. To me, the refresh button is hit when the season ends. That was on October 18th, the day after the Columbus Marathon. I took some time off from serious training, slept in for about a week straight (ok, maybe two), and just generally enjoyed the fact that I wasn't responsible for accomplishing any athletic feats for the next six months. My next race, the Salt Lake City Marathon, isn't until April, exactly half a year after Columbus. Oddly enough, I didn't even plan it like that!

Anyway, I digress. When Columbus was over, I hit reset, cleared out all the junk in my legs, reformatted my digital training log (seen to the right), and outlined my goals for 2010. I wrote them down. I decided that my plans for the 2010 race season(s) will include:

• Keeping track of weekly swim/bike/run mileage
• More racing
• Less whining

Keeping track: I've always done a piss-poor job of keeping track of my mileage. I do a good job at first, but then I just stop adding up the hours/mileage and end up making guesses about a month in. For my next training block, I have my Excel file set up to automatically add the mileage for me. I just have to enter each workout. I should be doing that anyway, right? I even color-coded my training blocks and periodization, which makes for an easy-to-follow training plan. For example, lime green means "build" period, low intensity, long stuff.

Racing: I raced a lot last year, but they were mostly shorter running events. I also want to do more triathlons in 2010, because right now I only have three under my belt. With Triple T and Rev3 Cedar Point on deck, I will have a longer race season than 2009, so hopefully that opens up more opportunities.

Stop yer whining: I just gotta buck up and do it. No excuses.

For the next racing season, I'm also going to focus more on nutrition and general health. I have to pack my lunch more, and get enough of the right calories. Luckily, the MUB now has salads for people that are actually pretty delicious (and gluten free). I need to stay hydrated, get 8hrs of sleep a night. Not that I didn't already have a good grasp on my training and health in 2009. I was strict about my gluten free diet. But there were definitely times when, on Fridays, I'd come home from work starving, cranky, and unable to do anything until I ate something substantial. It took me a while to figure out how to fuel for Ironman training on a sans-gluten diet. But I never had any gastrointenstinal (GI) problems when triathlon racing. It was a magical race-day experience for me after my first triathlon when I didn't succumb to the rumors that I'd feel like absolute butt (forgive my French). I am a firm believer that this can be - at least partially - attributed to my gluten free diet.

So, I guess instead of saying I have a New Year's Resolution, I should clarify. I have a New Race Resolution. Every race I compete in is new compared to the last. It's not necessarily a second chance, it's just a new opportunity to see what I can do. It's a way to learn from mistakes, implement new ideas and strategies, get to the next level. What's your next Race Resolution?