Burn-Out

I was going to write about how change is the only constant and all that stuff as my training has fallen apart the last couple weeks, but the real culprit hit me last night: I am burnt out. No motivation. No drive. No desire to run or compete in anything. I fight with myself about what I should be doing and running doesn't fare well.

Now that I actually think about it, REALLY think about and analyze it, I think Ironman and all it's training caused this. I had high goals for this year and my winter training never happened. Spring fell flat. And now summer isn't materializing the way it should have. My fitness level is well below what it should be by this point. And the more I dwell on that fact, the worse my motivation gets.

It's time for some goal changes because of this. What I need is zero pressure and to just enjoy running again. So, because of that, I'm changing Burning River from an A race to a B. That means I'm not setting out to finish. I think finishing is going to be beyond me. I hope to just have a decent run through the woods for as long as possible. No goals. No expectations. I'm not going to continue tracking my weekly mileage here in specific posts, although I will continue to tally my mileage on the sidebar as I always have.

This change will help me adjust the remainder of my 2011 schedule. I was at one time hoping to try for a 3:05 in Columbus. That's not going to happen this year. If I can run a sub-3:30 again I will be happy. The Northcoast 24 Hour, however, is the race I think I will focus on. I think I can still approach the 100 mile mark during that one in September. I think I will look at some 5K's too. Just some short fast races. Maybe that will help to get me back on track for next year.

I knew the magic of the 2009 season wouldn't repeat, but I didn't expect to become so dis-enchanted with everything. Kudos to those who can do all these big events repeatedly and not lose their mental focus.

One / Ten / Ten - The Numbers Edition

What would a blog by Mr. Pythagoras be without numbers? Not right, that's what! I woke up this morning on the tenth day of the first month of two thousand ten and realized that I had not wrapped up the year two thousand nine yet. So without further ado, the numbers:

I participated in 21 events in 2009, which is a tie with 2008 for the most I've done in one year. They ranged in distance from 5K to 24 hours. Seven of the events were marathon distance or longer, which is a HUGE jump for me. Five of the events were multi-sport, including one 2 person relay. The number of multi-sport events was way down from my high number of nine in 2007, but three were triathlons, which I enjoyed much more than racing duathlons.

In 2009 I broke seven of my existing Personal Records: 5K twice, 5 mile, half marathon, and the marathon three times as I eventually got fast enough to hit my Boston qualifying time of 3:15. I also set three new PR's: trail marathon, trail 50K, and 24 hours. As of right now I'm not sure if I will keep official records for two of those last three as specific categories. I think of the trail races much as I do multi-sport events. The courses are so unique that it's hard to compare one to another. I may be better off just keeping track of my times from a specific event, like the Bobcat Trail Marathon, from year to year, and not comparing it to other trail marathons.

In 2009 I ran 1,589.7 miles. That's right! No typo! I SMASHED my previous annual running miles total by nearly one thousand miles! I biked a total of 502.6 miles. Although that's the most I've ridden in a single year since coming back in 2006, it's still over 400 miles behind my high point back in 1991. As for swimming, I finished the year with 31.0 miles, most of which occurred in the pool. The only open water swimming I did was during my three triathlons.

So what do all the numbers mean? While they're nice to reflect upon, the numbers serve the most use as a guide on how I'm doing from year to year and, more importantly, they can help me in setting goals for the following year.

2010 Goals:

- Do fewer than 21 events. I've decided in the last few months that I don't need to race every weekend. I don't need to take part in every event we go to. It's OK for me to just be a spectator while others compete.

- Make the events I do participate in "quality" events. For me, "quality" means "longer". I derive more satisfaction from going longer rather than shorter and faster. The events I'm planning for 2010 will include distances of marathon and longer as well as multi-sport, focusing on triathlon.

- I would like to run more than 1,600 miles. I need to add more time on the bike, so trying to log much more running miles would be difficult.

- My cycling mileage should be at least equal to my running mileage, if not more. That means 1,600 to 2,000 miles on the bike. I have some ideas on how I will accomplish this goal, from getting on the bike trainer on a daily basis this winter, to doing some nice LSD (long slow distance) riding this spring and summer. I plan to incorporate my mountain bike into the LSD program with some rides along the Towpath Trail. It's about time I began to really take advantage of what Northeast Ohio has to offer!

- I would like to swim more than 31 miles this year. That means hitting the pool on a regular basis. I also want to get in as many open water training swims as I can. For that I will need to find a decent place to swim, and some training partners would be helpful too.

- While I began entertaining thoughts last year about running a sub 3 hour marathon, that's not something I need to do this year. If I can finish around 3:30 in my marathons this year I will be very happy. That's not to say that if I feel confident about my conditioning I wouldn't make the attempt. I'll just leave that one as a fuzzy goal.

- Which leads me into Boston. As of right now I just want to enjoy the experience of running Boston. I'm not planning to PR there. I'm not even worried about hitting 3:15 there. Of course, that may change.

- Perhaps my biggest goal is to finish Ironman Wisconsin in September. And not just finish but finish strong, like I did at Steelhead last year. The cutoff time is 17 hours. I would like to be well under that. If I can have a good swim, a smart decent bike, and a strong run, I will be very happy.

- I will be making at least one attempt at running 24 hours again this year. I would like to run farther than 80 miles. That may be hard considering the North Coast 24 is six days after Ironman. Maybe a trip back to North Carolina will be in order? No pressure...