The 2009 Year of Amazing Feat Wrap Up

Here we are, at the end of the year, and as I contemplate feats for 2010 I thought it would only make sense to look back at what feats I was able to do, which ones eluded my grasp (or ability), and see what, if anything, I learned from the whole darn thing.

FEATS ACCOMPLISHED
1. Place in the top half of my division for the Deschutes Dash Triathlon: This was my main goal, the one I built all the other feats around to help me accomplish. In 2008 I finished 25th out of 25 in my division. This year, I knocked 25 minutes off my time, which got me in 13th out of 29 in my division.
2. Do three triathlons: Barring injury or family emergency, this is one I was going to do no matter what, but is still quite the accomplishment consider I have never done more than one tri in a year. By scheduling a tri for the end of August I was able to keep my fitness longer than I did last year, when I completely shut it down after the DD (more on that below).
3. Run a 7:00 mile: When I set this goal I was sure there was no way I would get close to it. Honestly, I figured if it got me doing some speed work it would help me in my race, and I had to set some goal time, so why not pick something completely unrealistic? Imagine my surprise when I not only smashed it by 20 seconds, but did it just two days after accomplishing my Deschutes Dash feat! I’m sure some coaches would say it means I didn’t leave enough on the race course, if I had that much energy to do this two days later, but I choose to see it as proof that I am a stupendous badass.
4. Run 10K under 50:00: Speaking of, I accomplished this goal during the Portland Tri, which means I had a faster 10K time after doing the swim and bike then I had when I did a 10K race back in March. That’s friggin’ awesome.
5. Complete the duathlon under 1:10:00: This was totally thanks to Mary for lending me her sweet TT bike. Thanks, Mary, I couldn’t have done this one without you.

FEATS FAILED
1. Run a half-marathon: This was weak sauce on my part. There was a race after the Portland Tri that I could have done, but I was having a little sciatica pain that made running not much fun. But I think I could have still rallied and done this one. This was the only one that I am really disappointed in not doing.
2. Do 100 push ups in a row: hahahahahahahahha!
3. Do 15 pull ups: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH! For both the push ups and pull ups, I was making progress on this but had to shut down gym sessions when I started ramping up tri workouts. I could have still done push ups and pull ups at home, but I slacked, particularly on the push ups. The push up feat seems like is still in the realm of possibility. As for the pull ups, I never got more than 5 or 6, so I don’t think 15 is possible. Maybe 10?
4. Bench press my body weight 10 times: I was making good progress on this, doing a great workout program that was getting me there. If I gave this the whole year I think I could have done it, but like I said, I chose to cut out gym sessions to get in my tri-specific workouts. Definitely in the realm of possibility, but I don’t think I will revisit it on my new feats. Maybe sometime down the road.
5. Swim 30 laps in 25 minutes: This averages to :50 a lap, which I can do for about a lap. I wanted to join Bend Swim Masters, which I think will help my time, but I think this is another that is completely unrealistic no mater how much I train. Next time I think I would approach this goal as a “shave x% off my first time of the year” to make it more reasonable. Then I would totally tank that first time, so that I know I could accomplish the improvement.
6. Land a 360 degree jump on the snowboard: This is a confidence issue. Every time I try to hit a jump I speed check at the last second, going off sideways and leaving me unable to stick my landings. Even if I were to overcome the confidence issue, I don’t know if I have the natural agility to do this. But it sure would be fun to do it!

Where does that leave us? On the one hand, I accomplished less than half of my goals. On the other, better hand, I accomplished all of my important goals: the triathlon goals (the goals I paid money for!), my #1 goal of the DD time, plus I was able to crack out a faster mile time than I was even able to do in high school. The goals I didn’t accomplish, with the exception of the half-marathon, were either unrealistically conceived (swimming goal) or unrelated to my core triathlon goals (snowboarding and strength goals). That said, I like the idea of having non-race goals as part of the list to add variety and things to accomplish once tri season is over.

Lessons learned- again this year I basically stopped working out after my last race. My last race was later in the year, but still, I should have been working out right up until the end of the year. It needs to be a daily habit. This year I will create goals that will keep me working out after the triathlon season wraps up.  I had strength goals I could have done, but I think its important to schedule those goals for certain times of the year so I don’t try to do everything at once in the spring and then get burnt out like I did. I also learned the benefit of having good equipment: bike, I’m looking at you. Finally, as diligent as I was in my training, I was a pretty big slacker on nutrition. I did pretty well at tracking what I ate, which helped me cut out junk food and eat more fruit. But lord knows I didn’t have any plan beyond “hungry? eat an apple”. That will be key to hitting the next level in 2010.

So, all in all, I accomplished what I set out to do, which is to get in the best shape I have ever been in. Was it my best possible shape? No, or at least I hope not; I think I’ve got significant upside if I can plan things properly, sort out my nutrition and show stronger discipline in my training. While I reached my peak for the Deschutes Dash, I let myself go this last quarter and am actually slightly heavier than this time last year and about 15 pounds over my race weight. Yikes! Maybe the new goal should be less about the best possible shape at one moment, but a consistent good shape by the end of the year.

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