2009, here we go!

So I haven't posted anything in a good long while. But I can bring everyone up-to-speed in about two sentences: Post Ironman, I spent 6 weeks doing very little... except losing fitness and putting on weight. And, it was everything that I thought it could be.

Ok, well here are the details for those who are interested. Right after the Chesapeakeman, I decided to take it easy. Good decision. Then I decided to start cycling and swimming a bit. Not a bad decision. Then I decided to jump back into things. This was about 10 days out from the race. Bad decision. You really need time to let the body heal and I was on track for skipping out on this.

"Luckily," about one week after the Ironman, I was visiting my girlfriend at school. We went out on a Saturday night and a combination of slippery floors, alcohol, loud music and general chaos ended with broken glass on the floor and (by extension) in my foot. At the time, it didn't hurt very much... in fact I didn't notice until I looked down and found a pool of blood. Needless to say, I tried to treat the wound myself but couldn't stop the bleeding. A quick midnight trip to the school's infirmary--which, by the way, is embarassing to do as an alumni--confirmed that I needed stitches. So, I was off to the ER in the early morning and was all patched up by noon. I had five stitches in my toe and foot and was left to limp around.

Now, I said "luckily" earlier because the stitches prevented me from doing anything and actually let me have the recovery I needed. Turns out, I was way more exhausted from my season than I realized. I slept abou 8 to 10 hours every day for about 4 weeks and still felt tired. Even after my stitches were removed, I had trouble getting back into light training. I started planning out next season but really didn't have the zest for racing that I needed to really commit to it. But, so goes the build-and-break Ironman process.

Anyway, this week, I went out for a 10-mile run. It was pitch black out and just above freezing. Anyway, something clicked--I'm not sure what--and it hit me that I'm ready to get back into it.

So, here's the rough plan for this year. My big plans for early 2009 are to:

1. avoid last year's early season injuries by emphasizing some lifting, extensive stretching and slow volume build up
2. get some road racing in early this year
3. try some bike racing

And the big goals for the year:

1. qualify for Boston
2. qualify for Clearwater
3. qualify for Kona

To get any one of those would be phenomenal... so let's see how it goes... Time to get training!



Oh, and for those who are interested, the races I'm planning for this year:

Spring Series Cycling races in Central Park

Ocean Drive Marathon in Cape May, NJ

NJ State Triathlon in Princeton, NJ (fourth year in a row!)

Rev3 Half Ironman (new race with big prize money and awesome venue) up in CT

Amica Ironman 70.3 in Rhode island

Ironman UK