Long overdue

It seems that the 2011 season came and went without me writing a single post. Some members of my limited audience have been asking if I'll ever get back at it, so here goes nothing. (I'm currently watching Paris-Roubaix from a small villa in Italy--am away on holiday--and with 61km left to go, I have a little bit of time to sit and write.)

First, a recap of last year. All in all, the season was decent. I got a late (and heavy) start on training and that definitely showed. Lackluster performance at Rev3 Quassy followed by a mediocre race at the Rhode Island 70.3. By the time my peak race of Ironman Canada rolled around, I was coming into good form and feeling pretty confident.

Canada was a great race--the most beautiful course that I have ever braved--but it definitely kicked my ass. I had a poor swim but got out there and rode well. The marathon kicked off with a bang and I decided that it was time to take some risks. I hammered out the first 1okm on about 7-minute pace. Then the course started to heat up and things fell apart quickly. Struggling through the heat, I was stuck walking every aid station, pouring as much ice down my jersey as possible. As I entered the final 10km, I passed a digital screen outside a local high school; it read: 97F. I was going crazy, it really was that hot.

I ended up holding it together and finishing in a disappointing but respectable 10:36.

Well, that just about wraps up last year. I'm going to go ahead and post some pictures from Canada because it truly was a phenomenal race--and I'd really like to share the course with everyone. But, other than that, I think I'm going to just close the books on 2011 and look forward.