Planning for next season

First, some housekeeping:

My leg is doing mucho better. It actually felt really good yesterday evening. I'll probably take David's advice and cut back on the shorter runs next week. We'll see. I didn't run today and I have 8 planned for tomorrow. 12 on Saturday.

Now on to the important stuff :)

After the marathon this fall, I'm getting myself a coach. He's a local guy who has a lot of endurance experience and is really, really, knowledgeable. My idea is to get a coach who can help me train more effectively. And, who will get me to the Ironman. Next year, my training will only be for triathlons, not running specifically.

However, if we decide that I'm capable, I may do some longer running races. But, I'll play that by ear. I know that I won't be doing any marathons next year; however, I can't imagine not doing the Richmond half again. And, I'll probably do some 5Ks and definitely the SEAL Challenge. I also am thinking about a summer biathlon (shooting and running)

Below are the three Half-Ironman triathlons that I will complete next year (the descriptions of each I snagged from their websites):

2009 Spirit of Morgantown Half-Ironman--The MedExpress Spirit of Morgantown Triathlon features both an Olympic distance and half distance race. The half distance includes a 1.2 mile swim in the Monongahela River, a challenging 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run in and around downtown Morgantown and West Virginia University.

2009 Ironman 70.3 Augusta--Ironman 70.3 Augusta will offer athletes the unique opportunity to race in two states, as the cycling portion of this event will take athletes into the great state of South Carolina. Prior to the bike portion, athletes will swim a 1.2 mile point-to-point course in the Savannah River exiting at the Augusta Rowing Club Complex and the Augusta public boat launch. Athletes will then cycle a single-loop 56 mile bike course through the beautiful countryside of South Carolina before returning to the Georgia side of the Savannah River and the city of Augusta, Ga. Finally, athletes will run a two-loop course consisting of 13.1 miles, through the downtown community of Augusta finishing near the Augusta Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

2009 Beach to Battleship Half-Ironman--The B2B 1.2 mile swim course will be staged at Wrightsville Beach and will feature a mass beach start. The swim takes place in a channel that is connected to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; so it's a salt water swim but not in the ocean. The 56 mile(half) bike course takes competitors from Wrightsville Beach, through the northern section of Wilmington and then up towards White Lake - home of one of the more famous half iron distance events on the east coast. The one loop(half) run course will start and finish at the Battleship North Carolina.

They are spaced out in terms of time with about a month between each. The Spirit of Morgantown is end of June. Augusta is end of September. And, the Beach to Battleship is beginning of November. I think I'm also going to volunteer at the Ironman at Lake Placid in 2009. It's in July. Also, I'll be doing a bunch of sprint distance tris, to get the feel for racing. I may make the Spirit of Morgantown an Olympic distance instead of a Half. We'll just see how I feel.

I think Steph will continue with her half-marathons schedule for next year. I still can't convince her to do a full marathon.

And, just so everyone knows, I intend to complete in 2010 either Ironman Lake Placid or Ironman Louisville.

Whew!!! I'm tired just reading that post :)

If you need a boost, watch the vid below....grab some tissues first though ;)



HTFU!!!
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