I haven't updated this blog since January of 2014 and it's time to 'dust it off'. Last I left off I had 2 PRP injections in my right patella tendon. I am happy to say that it healed quite nicely. Many things happened over the course of the year. One of the most important changes I made when it comes to my training and racing was to work with Danielle Sullivan as my coach.
I was going to go the self-coached route, but coming off the knee injury I knew it would be wise to have someone objective leading the way. I spoke with her on the phone in early January and then we met in person. I knew after that meeting that she was a good fit for me. I had some ambitious goals for the season and I was concerned about how I was going to hold up. She let me dictate my run schedule for the 1st month as I eased back into running while she handled the bike and swim. After that, I was completely in her hands.
She's a very 'hands on' coach and I like that approach. Her attention to detail is amazing. She carefully tracked my progress and had me ready to go for all of my races. What I loved the most was the group atmosphere she creates with all of her athletes. I've met a good number of them and have the good fortune to consider them friends. Jose and I met up for track workouts and open water swims with Danielle in preparation for Ironman Lake Placid. Christa and I get together and do various workouts as she prepares for Ironman Florida. It really is a fun group to belong to. The group rides and swims are awesome. I love being part of the Iron Fit Endurance Team.
This season I had a full schedule:
May
Long Island Half Marathon (had a PR)
June
Quassy Half Ironman (solid race all around)
Challenge AC (aquabike Iron distance)
July
Ironman Lake Placid (had a PR under some epic weather conditions)
September
Springs 10k (had a PR)
Mighty Hamptons Olympic Distance (had a PR)
Princeton 70.3 Half Ironman (had a PR)
October
Entenmann's Great South Bay 10k (had a PR - you see a trend here?)
Army Ten Miler (next week)
This was by far my most successful and longest season since I've been racing (2003). I can't wait to see what improvements I can make next season. There's a lot of work to be done. I will sit down with Danielle next month and review my plan and goals for 2015. I already emailed her a tentative race schedule with some goal times/power on it.
So far this off season she has taught me some new swim strokes to break up my workouts. She's also added a weekly group swim workout starting this month. I love the idea of getting a 'push' in the pool from others in the lane. Anything that will make me faster........
I also worked with Dina Griffin to clean up my race nutrition. Over the last year I had cleaned up my daily nutrition, but really needed help with my training/race nutrition. Dina was very instrumental in helping me with that. My race nutrition worked very well. No stomach or intestinal issues. She helped me come up with a detailed plan and it was actually quite simple. It worked like a charm and I was able to train and recover very quickly from my long workouts (and boy did I have many long workouts).
I had the opportunity to change jobs. I worked with Sinead when she owned the PT practice, but she left in December of 2013 to pursue new opportunities. I saw the writing on the wall and knew it was time to get out. I found a new job that is much closer to home. The added bonus is I work 4 days a week and have Friday's off. So far things are going well at the new job. They keep me busy and don't micromanage me.
Currently I am taking a few weeks off from structured training to give my mind and body a rest. I was very focused all season and need this downtime to avoid a burnout. My goal is to get back into the swing of training in November. I am really excited to see what is in store for next year!!
