The Year that was!

>"Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow; The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true."

--Alfred Lord Tennyson

Another year in the books!
This year had it's challenges and it's triumphs, but the challenges make us stronger and appreciate things better, and the triumphs remind us of what we are capable of. From a competition perspective I had a pretty good year. I completed my first Ironman in Couer d'Alene in June in a time of 13:02:02. It was an awesome experience and I was extremely satisfied with my performance. The first one was all about completing comfortably and that is exactly what I did.
Next up was Sylvan Lake half ironman. Here I posted a PB with a time of 5:13, good enough for 4th in my age. I made some major improvements on the bike and my run was good, doing the half marathon in 1:35.
I finished up 2007 with a marathon in Victoria, BC. Given my conditioning I was hoping to do a sub-3 and was well on my way until 37 kms when the wheels fell off. Still I had to be happy with a 3:05 and I still have two more years to achieve my goal of a sub-3 in my 40's. I think the Royal Victoria Marathon is the race for me to do it at so I will target that race in 2008.
For 2008, Ironman Arizona is the key race. I am expecting to do better than Couer d'Alene as I learned a lot from my that event. Cycling is my biggest opportunity and it is a matter of putting the time in the saddle which will produce some substantial gains. My nutrition plan worked well so I won't have to do anything there. The Carbo Pro liquid was easy on the stomach and provided the necessary calories to get through the day. Transition will also be an area where I can gain significant time as I was very slow getting on the bike and also for the run. But last year it was all about finishing comfortably so I was willing to take the time.
As for the last few days, my training went as follows: Sunday 45:00 spin on the bike Monday 46:00 swim - 2,100 metres Today 1:20:04 11.5 mile run - nice conditions Wishing everyone the best in 2008.
Hope you achieve all your goals in whatever you try (tri).