I posted ONCE in 2012... and it was even an Ironman year! With my 2012 blog laziness all I can say is I must have dedicated all of the time I would have spent blogging, to training. :) I wanted to share some highlights from 2012 then look at what's next for 2013.
2012 Highlights
#1. Overall racing improvements in 2012! I improved my biking a lot. Swimming was fairly decent and running was about the same; a struggle. In all of the 10 triathlons I raced in 2012, I placed top three in my age group in all of them, except New Bri Tri (flat tire) and Ironman Florida. I even had one 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place overall (female) this year.
#2. Half Ironman PR by 1 minute! Ha, yes, only 1 minute. BUT a PR is a PR! This was at Duluth's new Half Ironman, SuperiorMan. I had a great swim and bike split, but with dewpoints in the 80's, it was severely hot on the run, and I ended up in a survival jog. #3. Ironman PR by 33 minutes! I had a huge improvement in my Ironman time from my 1st one in 2010. I improved my swim by 1 minute, I improved my bike time by almost 1.5 hours(!), but I didn't improve my run time. My body broke down very early on in the run showing signs of heat exhaustion. From about mile 2 to the finish, it was a walk/jog of survival.
#4. Walking the run portion of Ironman with a Pro! I ran into a woman while I was *walking* the marathon who happened to be wearing bib #1. It was last year's winner Jessica Jacobs! Her body gave out on her on this day, and she was giving it everything she had to finish, even if it meant walking. She was such a sweet person and said she was wanting to finish for the men and woman serving our country who weren't lucky enough to be able to do what she was able to.
#5. A dear friend of mine finishing at Ironman Florida as the 500,000th Ironman! Friend and blogger extraordinaire, Erin, interviewed Jeff and posted about his EPIC finish that day. No one deserved this recognition more than Jeff!
#6. And finally I have to share my anthem for the last couple of months. This ended up being my Ironman Florida song; a great pump up song and great to run to!
2013 To Do's
#1. Work on body composition.
#2. Eat healthier and plan meals and snacks better.
#3. Improve my RUNNING!
#4. Work on race nutrition and fueling for performance in HEAT.
#5. Save more $$!
#6. Accomplish 2-3 house projects that have been on the list for many years (this may damper #5!)
#7. Volunteer more and give more of my time.
#8. Read more, less Real Housewives!
#9. Keep my entire family close, stay in touch better, and visit OFTEN.
#10. Stay positive! This time of year, waking up when it's dark out, leaving work when it's dark out. It can be depressing. At times I've been getting down about it, but I soon realize... I have absolutely nothing to pout about. I have a good life, great job, great family and friends, I'm a part of an amazing athletic community here in MN... I have no reason to frown! Here's to making 2013 the best year yet!
