Goals for 2017

As I start to plan what my offseason training regime will look like, I always like to begin with the end in mind. That is, establishing my goals for the upcoming season as well as coming up with a tentative race schedule.

I finished the 2016 race season feeling a little burnt out and somewhat disillusioned. This got me wondering whether I should try something different next season. I've been focused on the local sprint/oly scene for a variety of reasons.

1) I can be reasonably competitive on limited training time
2) Racing close to home means minimal intrusion on other aspects of life
3) The races are affordable
4) I've still got a lot to accomplish in these races and certainly can't say I've "moved beyond them"
5) It's nice to be a part of, and support, the local grassroots tri scene

However, there is something to be said for mixing it up a little in order to keep things fresh, so I've been considering alternatives for next year.

Go Long

Many triathletes get into this sport with long distance as a goal, be it 70.3 or full ironman. This type of racing hasn't really appealed to me. Ultimately I like going fast, and as mentioned before, I don't know that I have the time to really be competitive at this distance. However it could be an interesting challenge to try a 70.3 as a no-pressure, just-experience-it type of thing. WTC branded races seem really expensive, and pictures like this

really turn me off. A crowded bike course is my biggest pet peeve in triathlon, and with the numbers of entrants you see in WTC races, it seems unavoidable. So I'd likely look at a smaller race like Barrelman, Tupper Lake Tinman, Peasantman, Musselman, or the Montreal Esprit.

Try some different local races

There are a few other local races I haven't made it out to yet. Cornwall, Kingston, Sydenham, and Barry's Bay are all races I've heard good thing about. MEC put on a race down in Ingleside this summer that sounded interesting too. So lots of options to stay short/local but still experience something new.

Try Nationals again

Originally I had planned on doing Nationals in 2017 anyway, but took advantage of having them in Ottawa to do a dry-run of the event in preparation for next year. Having experienced the race, I'm not sure which prospect is more off-putting: having the swim cancelled again, or actually having to swim in Dow's Lake. On the one hand I'd still like the chance to measure myself against the top short-course age groupers in the country (in an actual triathlon), but on the other hand I didn't really like the course, and have a sense that I still won't have what it takes to be competitive at that level yet.

Stick with the usual races

I'll always have a soft spot for Perth, as my parents and mother-in-law both live there, so it's got a bit of a home-town feel. It's also a good length for a first race of the season that you can train through and it won't take a lot out of you.
Smiths Falls and Brockville are my measuring stick races, since I've done them two years in a row now. I really like being able to compare my performances year to year.

Other considerations

I know that the pending birth of our third child is going to have an impact on my training and fitness. It may make sense to not get too caught up in goals and performance for 2017, and just race for fun. I've also thought about doing more cycling events like the OBC Time Trial Series, Almonte Paris Roubaix, The Clarence-Rockland Classic, Ride of the Damned, or Cyclosportif Perth. With the exception of the TT series, I'd have to make the time to get lots of group riding in, which may be a challenge.

I've got some pretty strong inclinations in terms of what I'll be doing next year, but I don't need to commit to anything at this point. But the races I do will impact the goals I establish, so I'll continue to mull it over as I work on my offseason training plan.

Race Report: The Great Gower Run

Fall is time for my run focus, where the swimming happens sporadically and I cycle one a week just for pleasure. It's nice to just enjoy biking rather than suffering through intervals, and it's a beautiful time of year to be out riding.

The cooler temperatures also make it super nice for running, and I've been ramping up my volume quite a bit. A month in and it was time to tackle one of my long-term goals: the sub-20 minute 5K. As luck would have it there was a race happening about 15 minutes away in North Gower - though perhaps unluckily it was the week we moved into a new house. Regardless, I was feeling good about my chances of joining the sub-20 club.

The Great Gower Run is not a big race (136 in the 5K), just a nice small community fundraiser on a nice crisp fall day. The course was relatively flat (36m of elevation gain) with closed roads, so lots of room to move. My plan was to hold around 4:00/km splits and ramp it up over the last kilometre. Garmin has my splits as: 3:50/4:04/4:02/4:03/3:44. It was definitely an uncomfortable pace but I held it pretty well and crossed the finish line with an official time of 19:49 and a pleasantly surprising 2nd place overall.

It was very gratifying to reach that goal time - it's something I've wanted to achieve for a while, and making it happen probably felt better than any race result I've had thusfar. I'm going to target a 10K in either late October or early November before I get back into serious swimming and biking. I have a long term goal of the sub-40 minute 10K, but I don't think that's realistic this year. The Runner's World Race Time Predictor says I can do 41:19, while McMillan says 41:09, so I'll likely aim to break 41 minutes this year.