Sunday 11 October 2009

Where to go from here? I've got 70.3 ideas...

ok so two quick thoughts from the week;

1. i officially have a girl crush on chrissie wellington (move over cheryl). chrissie has just won Kona World Ironman Championships for the third time. her first triathlon was five years ago on a £300 third hand racer. incredible lady, on many accounts, and i now admit to occassionally stalking her. join the fun at www.chrissiewellington.org

2. an incredibly oversized thanks to everyone for their congratulations from last week's efforts; really appreciate it! i know it only takes a few moments to appreciate someone's efforts but it makes a great difference in equalling out all the hard work; so thank you thank you!

so, ok; let's look forward!

the 'A' race for next year is monaco 70.3 --> which will be my first half ironman, held around september, in (wouldn't you know it?) monaco! part of me understands this will be a massive undertaking, however i'm not sure it's really sunk in yet. the distances are pretty monumental; it's nick-named a 70.3 because that's how many miles i've got to conquer; 1.9k swim, 90k cycle, 21.1k run. it's going to hurt.

so how am i going to get there? i've got some work to do, and some races to tuck under my belt. i've spent the weekend signing up, and here's the list:

nov: old deer richmond 10k run, chilly duathlon (2m run,10m bike,2m run)

feb: brighton half marathon (21.1k run)

mar/april: mid distance duathlon

may: stratford triathlon sprint (400m swim, 23k cycle, 5k run)

end may/june: 10k run or duathlon

june: windsor triathlon olympic (1.5k swim, 40k cycle, 10k run)

july: 10k run or duathlon

august: london triathlon olympic (1.5k swim, 40k cycle, 10k run)

september: monaco 70.3 (1.9k swim, 90k cycle, 21.1k run)



but what are races without goals, right? here's my 2010 wish list;

1. cross the finish line at the 70.3 (very doable with the right training!)
2. complete London Olympic in 2 hrs 35 mins (a massive undertaking but possible!)

to accomplish this, i've got two things to focus on.

my weaknesses; the run, and the transition from bike to run.

i'm going to work on this primarily over winter because there's no point lapping the pool when my swim times are seeing me through. so next month i'll be exploring the world of duathlons, which i'll be using as part of my training to train these stubborn legs (and hopefully convince them they really *do* enjoy running, *especailly* after biking).

and breaking news kids; i'll also be investing in clipless pedals next week, so am looking forward to a combination of falling off my bike in public and getting faster bike spilts (combined with slower transition times).

so it's going to be a killer year, with some big objectives, but nothing too crazy (right?)

11 comments:

Jeremy Hopwood said...

Awesome Schedule, from all reports I have heard about Monaco is one hilly bike course and the run goes around the F1 track and through the tunnel.

Think you will need to start riding with cleated shoes for 2010

Danielle J. said...

You can do it!

Kelly said...

I love how you lined up your big goals, and what you will use to get you there. That's such a productive way to think about your goals.
I am really curious what you end up thinking about the clipless pedals. I don't have them (nor am I nearly as serious of a triathlete as you haha) but I keep thinking there is no point in switching because will the time I subtract not just catch up to me when I am busy changing shoes on the way to the run?

teacherwoman said...

Looks great! I look forward to following you in your adventure to get to 70.3!

Anonymous said...

'O My' one is breathless just reading the whole program...way to go...billy said he has both kinds of pedals....said what ever suits

Trishie said...

you can do it ! Chrissie is AWESOME!! I met her at the Columbia Tri this year and was blown away by how nice and down to Earth she is :)

Lisa said...

Lady - nice one - loving the planning!! And what's more it's all totally doable! Monaco is going to be fun.
Ok i'm going to line up regos for a tri and duo (how do you abbreviate duathlon?!) or two... More soon, baby! xx

Beth said...

What a great plan! You can do it! I have spd clipless pedals but am going to change to the speedplay for next season. You will love being able to click in and hopefully your falls will be limited. Great job planning!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

You can do it, 11 months away from your "A" race is plenty of time

Anonymous said...

"so how am i going to get there?" - maybe you should warm up by a little run/cycle/run/cycle from crouch end to monaco?

and "spilts"? is this the must have item for aw09? it's been so long since i've been in topshop maybe i'm missing something?!

go nutrigrain woman!!

xN

Unknown said...

Go for it!

I have similar plans. Did London Tri this summer and loved it big time. Now looking for a half-iron next year.

Monaco was my choice for next year but registration isn't open and there are comments around that it isn't going to be run next year. Have you signed up for this, if so how? Really hoping it will be run.

Go for the clipless. I started riding 3 years ago (done 3 etape du tours since then) after 20 odd years off a bike. It takes maybe 10 start/stop cycles to get use to them (right turns, lights etc) so maybe as little as a single ride. I did fall off on the first ride at a junction as I forgot to unclip - ouch! I'm sure with a little more attention and care (unlike me) then there is no need to fall off as part of the learning process.

London Tri was only my 3rd tri (1st OD) and the day before I decided to see if I could do the trick of leaving my shoes clipped in for the transition to and from the bike. I made one mistake come the day, I forgot to loosen my straps so I couldn't slip my feet in without first spending ages trying to loosen the straps without falling off). Still, all in all it was a success.