Revisiting Goals

When I started out planning my 2010 race schedule I did so with some goals in mind.  I took a look at where I was now, the time it took to complete the swim distance, the bike distance and the run distance, added them up and that was the goal.  I figured my training would take care of the transition times and the fact that I was doing all three events consecutively.  Based on that I can up with some times for the various races and that was that.

Over the last two weeks I have been rethinking that approach to setting those goals.  I listened to a great episode of the Simon Gowen Triathlon Podcast (December 31, 2009 episode) which featured the founder of BeginnerTriathlete.com, and a series of articles from TriSwimCoach on proper goal setting.  They had me really think about the goals I set and what my real goals are for each race this year.

There are a lot of factors that come into play that will affect the time.  Those factors affect all the athletes racing in the event equally.  So while it would be great to set a goal of finishing a half marathon in 2 hours there are factors that can affect that.  If it is windy or rainy that will affect your time as well as everyone else’s.  The field is also a common factor, if I ran a 2:10 half marathon I wouldn’t have achieved my goal, but would that negate the fact that I placed in the top 5, top 10, to 15 of my age group?  The opposite could also be said.  If my goal was a top 5 finish and I was third, but there were only three competitors would that mean I achieved my goal?

So what are my goals?  Well I’ve redefined them somewhat taking into account what I’ve learned over the past weeks.  So here they are…

• Chilly Half- Marathon – This will be my longest run ever and the real goal here is to gain the confidence that I can do it.  When the Muskoka 70.3 Ironman run starts, the knowledge that I have run this distance before will go a long way in battling the urge to quit and fight through to the finish.  Time?  If all conditions are right I hope to finish in two hours but in reality if I am in the middle of the pack in my age group I’d be happy.  Of course beating Brian would make all other goals irrelevant ;)
• Milton Sprint Triathlon – This is the first triathlon ever and the main goal here is to go through the process of the event.  From being marked, to racking the bike, swimming in the proverbial washing mashing, to getting out of the wetsuit and transitioning to the bike and then to the run.  While it can all be practiced, doing it for real is an experience to learn from.  No time, no age group expectations because I really don’t know what to expect.
• Muskoka Long Course – This will be the longest triathlon ever (notice a trend?) and there are two main goals with this event.  First it will be a chance to put what I learned at Milton into effect.  I am expecting to learn a lot about transitioning and the whole race flow and using that experience to improve.  Second it is close to the length of the Muskoka 70.3 Ironman (2KM swim, 55KM bike, 15KM run) and completing it again will be a confidence builder for Muskoka.  Again, no time or age group expectations.
• Muskoka 70.3 Ironman – This is it, the A race.  The goal here is different than the events leading up to it.  While those goals were set to learn, practice and build experience and confidence this event is different.  The goal is to finish and be in the top half of my age group.  Based on last years times that would be in the 6:15-6:30 range but again conditions will be different and there will be different/more athletes as this event continues to grow.  Of course all those goals become irrelevant when I beat Brian and John ;)

A final thought on all this was something Chris Carmichael said “Ironman finishers get the same medal and t-shirt as the Ironman winners”  :)