The New Year: 2011

Happy New Year!

I had intentions on writing something here at the blog IN ADVANCE OF the new year, but the holidays got the best of me. A little late....and probably a little bit shorter, as well.

In the aftermath of the Ironman Western Australia race....On the injury front, I can report that my left foot got better pretty quickly and within a couple weeks I was back to running. Sadly, though, within 48 hours of getting back to the U.S., my right elbow was hurting, and I couldn't even recall a specific injury. Nonetheless, my elbow was soon swollen to twice its normal size and, despite the passage of 4 more weeks, it's still not completely back to normal. It's taken those 4 weeks to be able to get back to: holding a telephone to my ear with my right arm, buttoning the top buttons of my shirt, tying a tie, and brushing my teeth right-handed again. Pretty remarkable, really. On the road to recovery.

BTW, I have a new appreciation for those with elbow injuries. I think back to the spring of 2008 when my mother broke her elbow. As she was rehabbing from that injury (on the trip to S. Africa to cheer for me), I can recall having little understanding for how it was impossible to use a fork with that arm. NOW I KNOW!

With the foot and elbow problems, December became nearly a complete month of rest from exercise. It was a long year of training and so that was probably a good thing, both physically and mentally.

In the past couple weeks, I've had a chance to read a handful of articles about "taking stock" and "looking ahead." It's that time of year.

Thinking about the "multisport experience" of 2010, by the numbers it was:

5 triathlon races

1 running race

2 swim races

1 training camp

~675,000 yards of swimming

~6400 miles of riding

~965 miles of running

59 hours at the gym

~40,000 miles of air travel for training and races

It was a lot. And I had a great time!

Thanks to everybody on "the team"--the friends and training partners, my family who came to cheer at the races, coach JD, the folks at work. For people on the outside looking in, it's hard to appreciate the team that's needed to support 750 hours of training and even a very modest racing schedule.

I was reminded recently by a colleague about the words of a visiting professor of surgery who joined us here in Jackson last summer:

"We don't learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience."

That's true. I won't bore any readers here with my refections on the past season, but there was a lot of experience AND a lot to learn from the experiences. I'll try to put it to use in 2011.

So looking forward to the rest of 2011....it IS about being prepared. Although the season's race schedule hasn't completely crystallized in my mind, we'll set about preparing for:

Feb Running race in Hilton Head Island, SC

Feb/March Endurance Corner Tucson Training Camp

March Mississippi Heat Tri Camp (check out www.msheattricamp.com)

April N. Orleans 70.3

May Memphis in May (in Tunica, at the casino, this year!)

June Escape from Alcatraz

So there's a start.....