It Is Good To Have Goals

    Second Tri: Done! And did far better this time around. My swim went well, shaved a solid 10 minutes off the time, about 30%, and never once felt any panic. Granted, I did not put my face in the water, which I know effected my time, but I do not care. That is a challenge to be overcome in time. The bike leg was tough with some brutal hills, but Joshua and I did okay. The run gave me a few problems, my asthma kicked in about a quarter mile into it, so I had to take it easy. Next time I'm taking a hit off the inhaler before the run.
    Now that my second Tri is in the books, I am critically analyzing what needs to be done to improve. I know there is not a lot I can do before my next one, which is a mere two weeks away. But what I am looking at now is my off-season training. I know I shouldn't go too crazy, but I want to push myself. I want to know just how far I can go. I want Sprint Triathlons to be easy. I want to do Olympic distance without feeling miserable. I want to do a Half-Ironman, and cross the finish line in decent time. These are the goals. One step at a time. I will continue training much as I am now, but with increased intensity. I cannot slack through a workout. I want quality, intense workouts that make the most of my time and energy. I have ideas. I am mentally compiling a few different regiments that I will begin implementing in October, after my last Tri for the season.
    I do have a few runs on the schedule; a 5K next weekend, and a 5 mile trail run at the end of the month. I will continue to enter runs as a way to keep my mind in the game, and as a way to judge my level. I am very attracted to trail runs, and am looking for what is available the next few months. I plan on running at least a 5K every month, but preferably a 10K. There is a 25K trail run in February that I would love to do, if it does not interfere with my firefighter's academy, we shall see.
    For tonight though, I will rest on my laurels. I ran a good race today, place 3rd in my age bracket and 22nd female overall. I don't know if those numbers mean jack, since I don't know how many competitors there were. But I do know I swam better and my transitions were smoother. True, my cycling and running were about at the same level as last time, but that is because I decided to focus all my energies on improving my swim. And I did. So: Goal Accomplished. Now, after a few days rest, I will continue with my swimming regiment as is, it is working well for me. And I will get out on the bike more. My knees will only handle a finite amount of running, so I must be delicate in that discipline, but I will run more this winter than I have in my entire life, be sure of it.
    Next Season: Olympic Tri, Half-Marathon, and (hopefully) Half-Ironman. It is good to have goals.