Late To The Party - 2010 Wrap Up....

This post kept getting pushed out because I'm still not sure how or what to write about 2010.  I can easily post my training volume and an overview of my race results (and I'll get to that), but that stuff is less than half the story.  I could also just say that 2010 was "awesome" or "incredible" or "life changing", but rapid fire superlatives wouldn't fairly describe the year either.

Maybe the true impact of 2010 will reveal itself later, and any trouble writing about it now comes down to the fact that I don't yet know what I am talking about.

All I can say now is that 2010 will be remembered as one of the most important years of my life.  2010 is the year I got back on my feet again.  2010 is the year where I matured as a person more than in any other time in my life.  2010 is the year where I buckled down and started to become more accountable again to friends and family.  But to use a training metaphor, I still consider the year a base training period, because I also know I still have a ways to go.

2010 wasn't all great.  Some ghosts of the past have resurfaced and have forced me to go on the offensive with some old business partners.  I can blame them all I want, but had I dealt with these issues when I should of, these ghosts could have stayed buried.  But I suppose the consolation prize is that I am handing these matters with a better standard than I could have a few years ago.  And regardless of whether something is to the good or to the bad, this is how you learn about yourself.

As far as actual training, I think it's probably fair to say that except maybe for running, I cycled and swam more in 2010 than I had in the previous 40 years.

I'm still not too disciplined in my training.  In other words, more often than not I just go out and run or cycle with very little attention paid to training "techniques" like speed-work or interval training.  That did start to change in 2010 - especially with swimming - but in 2011 I'd both like to both increase my training load and train smarter.

As far as racing is concerned, I participated in 5 sprint triathlons, 2 Olympic triathlons, 3 running races ranging from 5-10K and a Aquathlon.

I struggled early in the year mostly due to poor swimming, but by July I started to hit a stride and for the rest of the year finished all my races in the top 25%, which is more than I ever wanted to begin with.

One thing that's for sure is that I came out of 2010 stoked.  In 2011, I'm scheduled to run a half marathon (my first), compete in a half Ironman (again, my first) and take part in the Hood To Coast relay (yep, you guessed it - a first).  I'll be sprinkling in a few local Southern California sprint and Olympic distance races in as well.  And then I'll have to wait and see what happens.  I remember being at the starting line of the Desert Sprint Triathlon last March genuinely worried about the upcoming 500 meter swim.  And though my worry wasn't for naught (I blew the swim), I still made it through.  Now when I need to swim 500 meters it's (I dare say) not even a concern.  So who knows how I will feel on January 14th, 2012?  Hopefully, I will have successfully completed both a half marathon and a half Iron distance race and will be sitting here planning for a full marathon and full Ironman.  You never know.  At a minimum, I'll probably have 2010 fully figured out by then.