Monday, January 20, 2014

2014 Race Plan

I don't think I've given a list of the events I'll be doing in 2014, so here it goes...

But before I do that, it's time to plug my 2014 charity:

I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014.  Yes, I'm going to keep asking until I reach my goal of $2500 :)

I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.

I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.

An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:

http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso

So far I've signed up and paid for four events in 2014.  The first is the Run the Bluegrass half-marathon on March 29th in Lexington, KY, at Keeneland (horse) Race Course.  I struggled on this extremely hilly course last year so I owe this one a beating!

Next is the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon on April 19th.  I've been mainly training for that, but have also started doing some decent distance swims and bikes as I also ramp up toward my fourth Ironman.  It's amazing to think about progress (I know this is a recurring theme in this blog) and no longer being afraid of things like marathons and iron-distance triathlons.  I still respect the distances but I'm no longer afraid of them.  I'm up to running about 11 miles for my long run in marathon prep and those runs have been in the 10:30/mile pace area.  So I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to shoot for a 4:30.   My current marathon PR is 4:47 so it would be a significant improvement.

A nice bonus of doing both the KDF marathon and Run the Bluegrass is a special medal for completing both.  

The third event I've entered is Rev3 Knoxville 70.3, a half-iron distance event in May.  This one will serve entirely as an Ironman prep event.  It will be about 6 weeks before my Ironman and the purpose of Knoxville will be to make sure my nutrition, etc. is in order.  It's also not a flat, PR type course so there is no point in trying to kill myself in the name of a PR when it's meant to be a practice run.  Some might say you should race every race regardless, but I'll be using it as described.

Finally, as you all know from reading this blog, I've signed up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene on June 29th.  This will be my 4th go at the iron distance and I'm looking forward to trying for a PR.  Yes, it's hilly, very similar to Ironman Louisville, but it should also be significantly cooler so that might set up well for a PR.  More on that later.

There are other events between now and CDA that I'm considering, include some of the winter triathlons locally, depending on the weather, and possibly a race or two of the triple crown of running. I also hope to participate in the Bourbon Chase again in October. 

That also begs another question.  After IM CDA in June, what else should I do in 2014? Another half-Ironman? A fall marathon?  What do you think?