WHATS UP FOR 2013?

Well, there it is. My main goal for 2013 is out there in BIG BOLD PRINT. It may be a longshot but I'm not getting any younger so what the hell I'm going to give it a shot! Over the past several years I have done primarily sprint and olympic distance events with one half iron distance race in late 2010. This year I'm planning on doing Ironman Texas 70.3 in April and Eagleman 70.3 in June with the hope of qualifying for the 70.3 World Chamionships in Las Vegas in September. It's a lofty goal given my limited experience at the distance but goals are suppose to be tough....so this certainly qualifies. 

Before jumping into 2013 I want to look back on 2012.  It was a breakthrough year for me in terms of results. I raced seven times finishing with three age group wins, three age group seconds and a second overall. This surprised me since I did not train as much in 2012 as I did in 2011. Much credit goes to the guys at Team MPI and specifically my Coach, John Murray. It was great racing and competing as a part of Team MPI. I met so many nice people and talented athletes and its always fun to have a group of teammates to provide encouragement at races. While I may not have done the volume in terms of bike and run mileage there was a definite increase in the intensity of my workouts. This was a great training formula given my focus on sprint and olympic racing.  

2012 totals
Bike:	208h 31m 01s  - 4151.33 Mi
Run:	137h 42m 46s  - 993.2 Mi
Swim:	128h 07m 36s  - 358144.8 Yd

THE LONG ROAD TO VEGAS 2013

Well, how am I going to qualify? Go further faster seems to be the obvious answer. Unfortunately, 2013 has started with a bit of a setback. I strained my right calf in mid November 2012 and was basically unable to run for 6-7 weeks. I've been back running since early January but the calf recently flared back up so its back to more easy running until the calf gets 100%. The biggest change heading into 2013 was hooking up with Steve Johnson at Dark Horse Multisport. I learned about Steve and Dark Horse after seeing great results from some of his athtletes I know through Beginner Triathlete.  While I have had pretty low run mileage so far in January Steve has given me some killer bike and swim workouts. I'm certainly working alot harder on the bike and in the pool and hopefully that will translate into good fitness heading into the 70.3 races. 

While Vegas is my priority there is so much to look forward to in 2013. It's going to be a busy race season with lots of local races as a part of the Gulf Coast Tri Team. So far this is what it looks like:

• 3/30 Red Hills Sprint-Tallahassee, Florida
• 4/7   Ironman Texas 70.3-Galveston, Texas
• 4/20 MulletMan Sprint-Gulf Shores, Alabama
• 6/1   Grandman Sprint-Fairhope, Alabama
• 6/9   Eagleman 70.3-Cambridge, Maryland
• 8/10 USAT  Olympic Age Group Nationals-Milwaukee, Wisconsin ???If I don't qualify for Vegas
• 8/24 Sandestin Sprint-Sandestin, Florida
• 9/8 Ironman 70.3 World Championships-Las Vegas, Nevada..must qualify
• 9/14 Alabama Coastal Olympic or Sprint-Gulf Shores, Alabama
• 10/5 Santa Rosa Island Sprint-Pensacola Beach , Florida 

Until next time.

Randy