1.31.2012

2011 - The Numbers

It's been a while since I've written.  I was planning on writing a post about my 2011 numbers and how they compared to previous years, but my computer accelerated its decline.  It was getting old and moving pretty slow, but I didn't want to buy a new computer yet so I held off.  It started displaying only half of the desktop wallpaper, which made me think it was time to buy a new computer while I could still transfer files (being a data geek, the thought of losing more than 4 years of power data freaks me out...although I do have those files backed up).  

Then my function key got stuck in the "on" position.  The key itself wasn't stuck, but I couldn't get the computer to go out of the function mode.  That makes typing nearly impossible, so the hunt for a new computer was on. 

It took a couple of weeks, but I found a new computer and I'm loving it.  Although, I'm on Windows 7 (which I'm on at work) which I'm not impressed with.  I have a lot more instances with programs not responding with Windows 7.  You'd think Microsoft could make a product that works by now, but they're more concerned with adding features than fixing bugs.  

Anyway, the numbers.  2011.  The year that was....or in the case of running, the year that wasn't.  It's been a year and I'm still recovering from that injury.  It's forcing me to change my strategy for Ironman Wisconsin this year. It's frustrating to say the least.  

A year.  You'd think tendons could heal completely in a year.

2011 Total Distance

 2011 Totals:

Swim - 403,675 yards (229 miles)
Bike - 7235 miles
Run - 1234 miles


Swim

Swim Distance by Year for all years in triathlon.

I was afraid of the swim my first year, and I could barely swim so I put in some halfway decent volume training for my first Ironman.  Unfortunately, that swim also represents my PR - 1:09.  I haven't improved on that, but that's going to change in 2012.  It has to. In fact, if it doesn't I might have to admit defeat and switch to duathlon.

My 2011 volume was decent, but a lot of that came after Ironman Hawaii as you can see by looking at my volume in the month of December the past few years.

Not pretty. 
I've been pretty lazy when it comes to swimming in December in the past.  2011 was different, though.  I refuse to suck at swimming in 2012, so I put in some decent volume - 80,800 yards.  

Now let's look at January....



I'm off to a much better start than in the past.  I was hoping to break 100,000 yards this month but it didn't happen.  I missed a couple of workouts in the middle of the month and now I've caught a nasty cold so I'm missing the last two days of swimming in January.  It's a little disappointing, but I still got in more volume than I've ever swam in one month including my biggest week ever (30,000 yards) and my biggest swim workout ever (10,000 yards - 100x100).  So I'm happy with how I'm starting off the year with my swimming.  Plus, I did my first ever one-hour threshold test in the pool. 


Bike

I started cycling in 2006, but didn't get into triathlon until 2008 so this is all my triathlon years. 

Not a whole lot to say, really.  My bike volume is pretty consistent.  I stepped it up in 2011 and biked more than 1,000 miles more than I ever have so that was good.  Plus, I got in my longest ride ever at 150 miles beating my previous record of 132 set back in 2008.  



Again, pretty consistent.  And again, I'm off to a good start in 2012.  Plus, I finally broke through a barrier on the bike.  More on that in my next post.


Run

I started running consistently in 2008 so this is basically all of my run volume. 

I was doing a good job building my volume every year until my injury last Feb so that cost me about 500 miles in 2011.  Unfortunately, I'm still dealing with the injury.  I'm able to run consistently these days, but I have to be careful with my intensity.  It's frustrating, but there's nothing I can do about it other than be smart and continue to do everything I can to let it heal and help strengthen my knee.  




2012 is equal to 2010 at 111.  I qualified for Kona in 2010.  A good sign?


My January 2012 volume isn't too bad.  I wanted to put in a few more miles, but I did what I could and my knee is holding up pretty well these days so I can't complain.  




Total Hours




2011 was the highest by about 30 hours.





Off to a good start in 2012. The extra swimming helps a lot.


That's a lot of charts for one post.

Next time I'll write about finally.....FINALLY....breaking through a barrier I've been chasing on the bike for about 4 years.  It feels good.