2011 Triathlon Goals

I came across my time from last year's triathlon. I came in at 3 hours, 55 minutes, and 49 seconds. I was actually pretty slow--the average female time was around 3:15, and I only beat a handful of people. In my sprint triathlon the year before, I came in at 2:02.

An olympic triathlon is twice the length of a sprint triathlon, so comparing my swim/bike/run times from the last two years is actually pretty helpful in identifying trends (year 1 was a sprint, year 2 was an olympic).

Year 1 Swim: 26:39
Year 2 Swim: 44:25

Year 1 Bike: 1:00:43
Year 2 Bike: 1:43:20

Year 1 Run: 29:37 (that's a 9:33 mile)
Year 2 Run: 1:16:41 (12:22 mile)

So clearly, I improved in swimming and biking from year one to year two. Most of the improvement in my bike time is probably due to the fact that I raced on a road bike the second year instead of my mountain bike. Evidently, I got a little better at swimming, too. The run, though--awful. I still remember what an awful run that was. I didn't adequately train last year, so once I finished swimming and biking, I was dead.

This year, I should be able to shave a good bit of time off. I would really love to come in under 3 hours. I know it's kind of crazy--who takes 55 minutes off their time? But I've definitely completed a 10k in around 50 minutes before, so there's 25 minutes. If I can manage to take 20 minutes off my bike and 10 minutes off my swim, I'm there. I need to train a lot crazier than I did last year, though.

Here is how I plan to reach my goals:
-I'm probably gonna have to bite the bullet and do a lot more front stroke than I do now (I've gotten by with a lot of breaststroke and only a little front stroke, but I know I'll go way faster if I can just build up the strength and endurance to front stroke). If I could freestyle the whole mile, I'm pretty sure I could take off those 10 minutes.
-I need to bike at least a couple times a week, and put in some loooong rides. Last year I neglected this aspect a little.
-I need to run more. I guess I neglected that aspect a little, too.
-I'm planning on doing a mini-tri every single week as part of my training. I did my first one on Friday. (12k bike, 1 mile run, 600 m swim)

Oh, and check out the AWESOME triathlon I get to participate in this year! July 23, 2011. I can't wait!! My roommates are both planning on doing the sprint tri and I'm so excited for them to experience their first tri. I'm so excited to swim in the ocean and bike/run on the beach. :)