This year in review

Hey all,

So I have been reflecting on this year as a whole. Obviously it was the best year ever as I got married, went to Scotland, Hawaii, got a real job, and won a Ironman. All of which meant a lot to me. But there is much more to a year than several highlights... You are made of all the days no one sees, sweat, and looking into the mirror often. So here is a look into the mirror.

What went right?

- Every race went reasonably well with no overall disasters other than a sunburn at kona that derailed hopes of a fast marathon. Some were better than others but the consistency was really solid.
- I went into the grave during several races including salvaging what could have been a shameful performance at Kona. I went deeper than I thought was possible and that made me really proud.
- I won an Ironman. That was an incredibly gratifying way to end a good season.
- My running improved significantly and, with the help of Jill, I figured out how to properly put intensity back into the training without putting myself into a big hole.
- It was fun the entire year and I didn't burn out at the end.
- I was consistent all year, didn't get injured, and rarely went 72 hours between training sessions of each sport. Consistency is king in triathlon and I put together a great year in that regard.

What went wrong?
-I lost the ability to maturely exercise and became one of those meat-head idiots who goes out and tries to compete whenever people are around. This really impacted my pacing in races. I was less in tune with what I should be doing in races and more interested in competition. Good and bad but mostly bad, especially in longer stuff.

-Overall, I was a little bit sloppy in my preparation for races and careless with nutrition. If you aren't disciplined about nutrition in training, you can expect issues when you are racing and that's what happened. Twice.
- I strayed from steady long TT efforts on the bike which detached me from understanding my pace on the bike.
- Again, I was fairly unfocused in the water and probably should have done more group swimming... but I just hate it so much

Overall the best year of my life in triathlon (and outside) with loads of room to get better.

In other cool news: I listen to this triathlon podcast called IM talk. I am a huge follower of it and listen almost every week. I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard that they had given me a shout out for the HITS win. Check it out below... It's pretty funny and made me really happy.