And….We’re Back….

Wow…I am such a slacker.  My last post was over three months ago but this coincided with both a trip out of town and starting my job, so I guess I have a semi-plausible excuse for having been such a slacker.  I’m going to try to post a little more consistently from here on out, but it probably won’t be with the same frequency that I was posting before I went on hiatus.  

So, what’s new on the quest to the 70.3 and beyond, you ask?  Well, I guess that question assumes anyone actually reads this blog.  That point aside, I’ll indulge myself and answer:

I’ve been working with my coach, Jim Vance, since the beginning of October and I’m currently in week three of my second base cycle (we had a couple of prep periods).  Working with Jim has been fantastic and he has made my life so much easier.  No longer do I spend hours looking over my training schedule trying to figure out if I’m doing it right or if I’m scheduling things properly.  Now, I simply log on to a website to find my workouts for the day and then upload my data after I’m done with it.

In addition to weekly scheduling, Jim has helped me set up my race schedule for next season.  Here’s the list of events I’ll be doing, with the corresponding priority of the race in parenthesis next to it (A-Most important, leave everything on the table; B-important but meant to help you build to an A; C-least important, treat as a training day)(NOTE: dates listed are the Sunday of the week of the race, not necessarily the race date…I’m just too lazy to look it up):

3.23.09     Superseal Olympic (C)

3.30.09     Oceanside 70.3 (A)

5.04.09     Lake Perris “Big Rock” Olympic(B)

6.22.09     San Diego Intl. Olympic (B)

7.13.09     Vineman 70.3 (B)

8.31.09     LA Olympic (B)

10.12.09   Austin Longhorn 70.3 (B)

11.23.09   Ironman Cozumel (A)

Quite the schedule, but I’m looking forward to it.  My running, which was one of my weaknesses last year, has improved dramatically under Jim.  Whereas last year I was going all out to post 7:30 miles, I’m currently putting up those times on my long runs in zone 2, with my fastest 5K times coming in around the 20 minute mark.  

Well I don’t want to toss out all my material in the first post back, so I’ll save a little for later.  I’m back and you can be looking forward to some more training tips in future posts.  I thought I knew quite a bit before but Jim has taught me a few things that are surprisingly simple, but highly effective.