Well, the year is more or less halfway over, so I figure I should take a look at my goals to see how I am stacking up. As a reminder, my goals were to:
· Finish Ironman Texas in less than 12 hours · Finish the Woodlands Marathon in under 3 hours · Run more than 1000 miles · Bike more than 2500 miles · Learn to enjoy bike riding · Actually get some good race pictures
Let’s break these down one at a time:
1. Finish Ironman Texas in less than 12 hours
Success! Despite some knee trouble, I nailed it! My final time was 11:47:08, nearly 13 minutes under my goal. The splits ended up being completely different than I expected, but I still am very happy with the results.
A full breakdown of the race is coming later.
2. Finish the Woodlands Marathon in under 3 hours
Failure. Turns out I wasn't as fast as I thought I was. I started off in the front of the pack, right with the sub-3s. Unfortunately, my body just conked out halfway through the race. I couldn't sustain the pace.
This race was a good reminder that it’s not just about willpower. No matter how high my pain tolerance is and regardless of my desire to succeed, I still need the physical fitness in order to meet my ever loftier goals
3. Run more than 1000 miles
Barring significant injury, I should nail this. As of July 1, Strava has my clocked at 697.3 miles. Considering I still have 6 months to go, It should be a cinch.
4. Bike more than 2500 miles
Looks like I’m right on track. Again, as of July, Strava says I have ridden 1264.5 miles this year. I’ve been pretty lazy since the completion of my last two triathlons, so I need to step it up to make my goals. The reason why my numbers this year are so high is due to several 100 mile rides just before the ironman.
5. Learn to enjoy bike riding
I’m doing much better. Riding still isn’t as enjoyable as running to me, but I’m starting to get better. Now that I can sit more comfortably in the aero position and actually have a decent pace, I find myself having a better time. Hopefully things will continue to improve.
6. Actually get some good race pictures
The search continues. The combined effect of my family being more interested in watching me live than taking pictures and my giant cramp at the finish line of Ironman Texas leaves me no closer to this goal than before. Here are the lowlights, in their pixelated glory: