One of the biggest dangers about repeating an event, I've found, is complacency. The first time you do something you train really hard for it. You have a goal to achieve (to finish) and you want to make sure you're well prepared. That was certainly true for ironman. Everything I did the previous year leading up to it was all about getting me to the finish line and the fear of failure provided part of that motivation. Training was rarely missed and Dave's programmes were followed almost to the letter.
This time around, though, I don't have that fear of the unknown to deal with and train for. I know I can do it. I've done it before. And that's where complacency sets in and before you know it you're going slower at your next event, not faster.
So to get around that, to avoid complacency, I've set new goals with Coach Dave. And while Dave believes they are realistic goals, they're ambitious enough that they should keep the pressure on and keep the big C out of the picture.
My goal for 2012 then? To take 2 hours off my 2011 time.
Yep, that's right ... 2 hours.
And the plan is to achieve it by doing the following:
Swim - 15 minutes
- stronger pull action
- increase stroke rate (faster swim stroke)
Bike - 1 hour
- more hill work
- continue focusing on high cadence
- St Pete buys me new time trial bike (!)
Run - 45 minutes
- increase fuel intake on the bike to avoid bonking on the run (Based on what I recall taking in on the bike Dave thinks I simply bonked on the run - because I hadn't eaten enough during the bike leg)
- focus more on maintaining pace rather than timed workouts
It's going to require more aggressive training but I'm up for it. Should be an interesting year!
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