Off to the races

After much internal argument and debate about what if anything to do about a triathlon race schedule this summer I decided on the Fat Tire Triathlon at the end of August. I did this race as part of a relay back in 2005 and as a solo effort a year or two before that. The year I ran the full tri it had rained so much before the race that they had to reroute the bike course off of the single track so that the trails weren't trashed. The course went out and back on a dirt road. So I thought it would be fun to finally get to do the single track course as part of the race. I pre-rode the course before race day so I've ridden it before and it's beautiful. The race organizers put together a nice little video of the course so you can see the trails if you're interested:



I'm surprised more races don't do this, especially the off road ones. It gives you a great feel of what you're in for and is a good selling point for your race if you've got a nice scenic course.

I wanted to do the Indian Peaks Triathlon that I did a couple of years ago but decided against it for a number of reasons. The main reason being that the race is now run by a different guy and I don't like the new race director for a number of reasons. Also he raised the price of the race and given the state of the economy this really really pissed me off. I thought that took some nerve especially since many race directors are lowering their prices this year or at the very least not raising prices. So this year I'll go to a USDAA trial instead. That's the great thing about summer in Colorado, there's always plenty to do.

I'm hoping to have the discipline to log all my training and report it here on a weekly basis. It's funny to think that the main reason I started to blog was to force myself to record my training regularly and somehow that went right out the window. But record keeping is important and here's why. When I went to the Rez on Thurs. for my morning swim workout I got about 1/4 of the way and realized I was getting out of breath. At first I thought I was being silly and tried to talk myself into continuing but I soon felt like I had no business being out there and headed back to shore. I made it back no problem but it took me a while to catch my breath. When I got into work I checked the calendar and realized it had been over 4 weeks since I'd last been swimming! In my head I was thinking it had been maybe 2 or 3 so I need to keep track of things better. If I'd realized that I'd been off for so long I would have done a few pool workouts before heading back to the open water.

Hopefully now with money invested in a race I'll be more disciplined with my training and record keeping. The good thing about this race is that I don't have to follow any strict training program. I can do all the stuff I would do in the summer anyway and as long as I get in 7-9 hours a week I should be fine but the added pressure of the race should ensure that I get my butt out of bed to go to the Rez rather than rolling over and sleeping in when I feel like it.