Short and Long Term Goals

It’s that time of the year when I start thinking about the events I want to participate for the season. I usually choose a particular event that I want to finish in top shape and then select events that I think will help me in my training and also keep me entertained for the rest of the season.

Last year I set a goal to finish the Longhorn triathlon, my first half-ironman. On that occasion I participated in two Olympic distance triathlons (the Capital of Texas and the Austin triathlons) in order to tune-up and get my mind and body ready for the long, long 70.3 miles. I did a few other shorter distance events that I used as brick and transition training.

This time around the situation is a bit different. As I’m getting ready to compete in the Ironman distance I’ve decided to make this not a one season deal, but a two year commitment. Which for me means that not only do I have to pick some tune-up races but I also need to pay more attention to the just-for-fun ones, for these are the ones that will really keep me going.

So, I’ve decided that for the season here in Austin I will register to complete the Texas Tri Series. It consists of five events that go from a novice (300m/12mi/2mi) to the half-ironman (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) distance and a finisher’s party at the end (yey!). Some of these events I have already participated in, others are completely new for me. I think this will be the perfect way to spend the year and also to keep me excited and energized as I go through training.

For the tune-up races I will be doing two or three half-ironman or longer events. The first will be the Longhorn which is part of the TTS. Some others that I’m considering as good practice are: 1) The Contender (Vacia Talega, Puerto Rico), this half-iron distance should be a lot of fun for me especially because it is in Puerto Rico and I could recruit my parents and old friends for moral support along the course and also because it would be my first with the swim portion in the ocean; 2) The Lonestar (Galveston Island, TX), this one is “close” to home and the early Spring date would help me keep focus during Winter; and finally 3) El Gran Tríalo de Joyuda (Juyuda, Puerto Rico), this was the first triathlon that I ever witnessed live and is the one that inspired me to start swimming and cycling.

So there you have it, some short and long term event goals. The next thing in order is deciding where the big race will be. The candidates are: Ironman Australia, Ironman Brazil, Ford Ironman Arizona and Ford Ironman Cozumel. I have two strong favorites, but the final choice is still to be made.

And so it begins

Every once in a while my fiancé, M, writes in one of his blogs. He writes about his hobbies, his job, his family and friends, sometimes he even writes about nothing in particular. A while back he suggested that I should write a blog myself. “About what?” I replied; unlike a lot of people these days, who feel that they need to broadcast to the world every detail of their lives, I don’t consider my life interesting enough that anyone would want to read about it.

The subject was not spoken of again until a few days ago. As a Christmas present I paid for M to take a class on documentary photography and after going through the first part of the class –second part is next weekend-- he started talking about how he was going to practice what he had learned. It wasn’t really a big surprise when he announced me that he would be taking pictures of me and my triathlon training. I've been doing triathlons for a while now and usually he goes with me, keeps me company before my wave starts and then carries me back home once I'm done, taking some nice pictures in all the time in between those two. Also, for some time now I’ve been talking about how I want to complete an Ironman event and M, being the great fiancé that he is, has agreed to take me anywhere I choose in the world so that I can participate in one. Well, we talked about it some more and I thought it could be cool if we document this journey both with his pictures and with my words.

Which brings me here. As part of this blog I will share my experiences as I train to become an Iron(wo)man. It will be a long ride and it will probably be the case that few will find it interesting, amusing, helpful, or ________ (insert here any other reason you can think for reading a blog). However, I’m sure it will be fun and rewarding, plus, I’m going to have some really good pictures to go with it ;)