2011 Begins!

Well it's been a good start to the New Year.  As of today 234 days until Ironman Canada!  Had a very slack month of December with trip out to DisneyWorld, then Christams parties and prep and then time out in Regina with family.  So when I say slack month I mean no exercise and excessive food consumption.  Not very athletic at all.

However, January (and I know it is only the 5th) has been good to start.  Have been getting in my workouts (up to 10 hours a week at this point).  I'm going to try to particularly focus on core/strength workouts until the end of February.  Not that bike and run will suffer in that regard.  I'll get that stuff in too.  However, at this point I have some alterior motives in trying to buff up. 

My focus on the run for the next little while is going to be to try to ramp up my speed.  I've already noted a difference in that regard in pushing myself harder than at the same time last year.  Hoping that pays off.  First real test is going to be the Edmonton Police Service Half Marathon (May 15, 2011) which I just registered for. 

My focus on the bike between now and the outdoor rides is somewhat similar to the run training in that I want to ramp up the intensity of my workouts.  In particular, I need to work on getting better at hill repeats and endurance.  I found the stretch between Richters and Yellow Lake my biggest challenge (as I'm sure all do) and it therefore bears working on! 

Swimming is a bit on hold for now.  The pool I work out at is under regular maintenance until January 17th.  I'm ok with that.  I'm currently comfortable with my swim.  When I do get back at it I'll have to slowly work myself back up into shape and then again work on my speed.  On the swim, however, I'm only expecting to shave a few minutes off my current times, e.g., if I can swim 2000 metres in less than 40 minutes, or the Ironman swim in less than 1 hour 20 minutes that will be sufficient progress for me.

In all of this I hope my weight will come down.  I'm not as fixated on this as I was last year.  I want to ensure that I'm as strong as possible for my races (both nutrition wise and rest wise) this year and I think a focus on weight loss would be a distraction.  If I lose weight then it will be a bonus!  It would be nice to be in the 170s.  I should have asked Santa for that as my Christmas gift.

Onwards and Upwards!