Hello everyone!
It's about that time to start setting away some important weekends in 2012 for racing. Whether you're doing a sprint or a full 140.6, planning out your races and, by extension, your training, is of the utmost importance.
Something an athlete should be acutely aware of during their race season is the amount of recovery they will need between races. For the well trained and prepared athlete, racing sprints or even olympics on consecutive weekends might be on the schedule. having a crammed racing schedule can leave you light on recovery opportunities. Plan out your recovery opportunities ahead of time, even if it means skipping a workout you would do on a given day otherwise. Your body will thank you for it and you'll reduce the risk of injury from the continuous hard race efforts.
As for myself, this race season will be riddled with nothing but sprint and olympic distance races. After some reasonable results during the 2011 season (1 Olympic, 2 Half-Irons), I thought it best to focus on speed, technique, and form during 2012 in preparation for a 2013 chock full of long course racing with at least two half-iron distance races and one Ironman distance race (Ironman Florida). The reasoning is this: if I can improve form in all three disciplines, I can build endurance on top of that form in 2013 and bring more efficiency into my half-iron and ironman distance efforts. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it.
Without further adieu, my 2012 race season is this:
March 10 - Gate River Run - Jacksonville, FL: This 15k is one of the best races I've ever seen. Tons of people, great atmosphere, and great scenery as you go over the Main Street and Hart bridges downtown. Looking forward to having another great time.
March 25 - Great Clermont Triathlon - Clermont, FL: This will be my second go at this olympic-distance race after a lackluster effort (and one huge bonk during the run). This early season race will give me a good idea of how much improvement I've made over the past year.
April 1 - Nautica South Beach Triathlon - Miami, FL: An absolutely beautiful locale for a race. I was able to spectate this race last year as a lot of my friends raced this one. Can't wait to swim in the Atlantic and ride and run all along beautiful South Beach.
April 29 - St. Anthony's Triathlon - Clearwater, FL: Again, as a spectator watching my friends race last year, I couldn't wait to give this course a try. One of the most famous races in Florida.
June 23 - Jacksonville Sprint Tri #1 - Fernandina Beach, FL: I'm going to be taking a lot of trips to my old home in Jacksonville over the summer to get some good quality racing at this series of races. A fun, flat course will provide some good opportunities to get some speed down and maybe even get a PR.
July 21 - Jacksonville Sprint Tri #2 - Fernandina Beach, FL
August 4 - Jacksonville Sprint Tri #3 - Fernandina Beach, FL
October 14 - AmeliaMan Olympic Triathlon - Fernandina Beach, FL: Rounding out the tri season will be an extended version of the Jacksonville sprints and a chance to see what all the training and racing has done for me. Again with a sunrise swim in the Atlantic and a fast ride through northeast Florida, it should prove a fun race with a PR for the picking.
End of year half-marathon and marathon: Still haven't decided on these yet. Always down for suggestions though. If you've raced any November/December 13.1s or 26.2s in Florida and had a great time, let me know!
If you've raced any of the above races, I'd love to hear your feedback on them.
Train well and be fast.
Get it!
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