Making this year a run focus -- any thoughts?
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Hi, all! I'm a new member and love the atmosphere around here! Hope I can contribute!
I've asked RnP this question on the Macro thread, but I wanted to throw it out to the group to see if anyone else had some thoughts or suggestions.
I had planned to do Eagleman and one other half as my main focus for 2013. Had some sprints and a couple of Olympics thrown in there. I had had a few rough years at work, plus my husband and I had a baby in July, so 2013 was going to be my big reentry back into the sport.
Last week, my husband found out he is getting deployed to the Middle East for a year. He's deploying in mid-June, but will be heading out for pre-deployment training in May. His mother and mine are both planning on coming up to DC as much as they can to help out, but the daily built-in support of having my husband around won't be here for a year. Between my job, the commute, and basically being a single parent for a year, I'm thinking that my 2013 season, as originally planned, is too ambitious.
My first thought, which I floated by RnP, was to do just short tris -- sprints and maybe an oly or two. And stay local. Rich agreed -- it's easier to do short focus blocks for short races. But now I'm wondering if any sort of structured tri training will be too much. I'd rather aim low and meet attainable goals.
So ... I'm thinking that maybe I take this year to become speedy on the run. I'm painfully slow (VDOT = 31), and I'm wondering if focusing on the run will have the benefits of (1) taking less time than tri training and (2) make me faster.
Any thoughts? I'm really conflicted about this because I wanted to make 2013 a great tri year, but things change! 
Thanks, all! And Happy New Year!
Comments
Catherine - This is all supposed to be fun, so no need to add more stress to your life. Completely agree with Rich to just do short local races. As for a run only year, I think that makes sense as well. It takes the least amount of training time (no need to drive to a pool, or 2-3 hour bike rides) so you just change into your running gear, go out the door, and you can be done in 30-40 minutes. If you can get in 3-4 quality runs per week, you will get faster. Just make sure you run harder, faster 1-2 times per week. If you do want to do 1 or 2 local tris, I suggest you prioritize your training as running first, biking 2nd, swimming 3rd. This will give you the biggest bang for your buck on race day as well as keep the training time down.
Hope this helps. Good luck in 2013. Happy New Year.
A post of mine you might get something out of.
Heres my thoughts: Since your hubby is not due to leave until May, you could train for triathlon until then (I love the variety), which will bring you into the season with enough fitness to do an Oli in mid May if you have one close by, and then you can switch to a run focus or.........
I still think you could train for triathlon. If you are a decent swimmer, swimming one day a week, with one bike, one brick and one run (actually two runs because you will do a brick) would get you to the start line of a sprint triathlon. Now obviously you would not be as competitive as you would want to be this year, but at least you could participate.
Thank you for your Service! I know your husband is the one deploying, but you are also serving this great country, so thanks!
Above is some great advice. This sport is supposed to be fun! So get faster, but keep it fun. With a 31 vDot, you would certainly benefit from focusing on your run for a yr, but that doesn't mean you can't still do some local sprints or even an Oly for fun. It sounds like you'll at least have the next 4 months with a 'somewhat' normal schedule... I'd recommend joining the Jan OS and simply follow the plan. You will get faster and stronger on both the run and bike. The fitness you gain from that will carry you through any sprint or Oly during the summer. If you were already planning on doing a couple of HIMs then presumably you are at least a competent swimmer... Probably 3 swims all summer would be enough for you to 'finish' a sprint or Oly swim so don't sweat it...
Then do what Bruce said and try to get in at least 3 quality runs per week around the parents help or maybe with a couple hours of daycare a week. Maybe even find a local 'mommies' group and offer to watch one of the other kids a couple of times a week and have the other mom watch yours a couple times to make it easier on both of you... Or maybe your local gym has a daycare so you can use the treadmill. I am not trying to sound like any sort of expert on single parenting, but I'm pretty sure the 3-4 workouts a week you would get in would also be a nice stress reliever. And if you can get in 1 good bike every week or two, you can probably keep a decent amount of bike fitness you'll gain in the OS as you work on your run.
Either way, keep us posted and feel free to come back for more comments if you figure out your schedule and time availability come summer.
Good luck, and welcome to the team!
p.s. you can know my advice is for real since I'm on the Eagleman waiting list and have great incentive for you to bail!!!!!!
Thanks, all, for the thoughts and advice! After a week of pondering (not CONSTANTLY -- I'm not THAT obsessed!
), I've decided to not decide. I'm going to shift to the Jan OS and then go from there. That takes Eagleman out of the picture, but after that, we'll see.
@ Matt -- I hope you get my place in Cambridge!