Some of Us NEED Goals

I am a "Goal Oriented Person"

I do best when I am following a training plan. I stick to my commitments to appropriate food consumption and good nutrition when I track what I eat and write it down somewhere. When I am trying to reach a goal, if I just "wing it" I probably won't get to the final destination (I certainly won't get there as soon or as easily as I might have otherwise done).

So with that in mind: I know that my triathlon season is basically over after last month's Nashvegas Half Iron Triathlon on September 10th.

• I know that last off season, after I finished Branson 70.3 at the best weight I had been in probably the last 20 years (around 186 lbs), I let my weight creep back up.  I struggled with it all of the Spring 2011 and ultimately competed in Nashville, about 10 pounds heavier than Branson (around 196 lbs).  I was faster, but how much faster could I have been?
• I know that for the last three weeks my exercise has been sporadic at best. No swimming, no cycling, a few running races and training runs.
• I know that my eating habits and choices have been poor.
• I know that I want 2012 triathlon season to be much better than 2011.

So, I need some goals.  Here is the thought of what my off season goals are going to be:

•  I need to get to my true "Racing Weight".  I have come a long way since 2009, when I began this journey. I started at about 265 pounds or so.  I believe that my racing weight will be  somewhere around 170 pounds.  I need to lose about 30 pounds to get there.
• My swimming technique sucks. I must admit, it is the sport I spend the least amount of time on, but I should improve year over year.  I just haven't seen it.  I intend to get some instruction and find out what I am doing wrong.
• Increase my flexibility. My hamstrings are tighter than wound up rubber bands.
• Strengthen my core. I have tried using the P90X - Ab Ripper a few times. This is one hard workout (especially considering it is only about 16 minutes long).  I have realized that I have very poor core strength, and I have NO balance (several of the exercises require that you balance on your butt).
• Improve my cycling position in aero (an aerodynamic position). Biking is my strength and I want to push myself to get even faster. I am looking at whether I can get more aggressive in my position to generate more power and get more "free" speed.

I'm sure there are a lot of other things that escape me at the moment, but those are the big ones.  With a set of goals instead of winging it, maybe 2012 can be my best season yet.