Having sporting goals is a great way to motivate to yourself, especially during the dark winter months here in the northern hemisphere. For some people these will be about winning certain races or qualifying for world champs. For others it could simply be about getting up off the sofa and doing the local park run on a Saturday morning.
As we’re only just over halfway through January I think it’s still ok to talk about my goals for the coming year. For some of them I’ve already got hard targets in mind Whilst for others they are a little softer in nature. Some are specific to the races I’ve entered, the others are more performance related. Obviously achieving the second should help me to reach the first.
So what are my goals for 2019. Let me start with the second group, those related specifically to my performance aims. Naturally as I’m a triathlete I’ll kick off in the water.
Swimming
I’m entering my 5th year of triathlon and swimming remains my weakest of the three disciplines. Up until the end of last year my typical swim pace was around the 2:00/100m mark. Sometimes a little quicker, often a little slower. This year I’m determined to make a notable improvement. I’m not expecting to reach Josh Amberger -like times but to me there is something special about having a steady swim time under the 2 minute barrier. I know that conditions, especially in open water, can heavily impact swim time. Nevertheless my aim is to get that down to the 1:45/100m mark.
Running
When I took got back into sport I saw continual improvements in my running. This was in part because I was losing weight through better eating but also a result of my massively improved fitness. Over the last 18 months or so I’ve noticed something of a plateau in my times. I’m no longer losing weight to the same extent so I can expect big gains from that aspect. Meanwhile on the fitness front it’s much harder to make improvements as you move along the curve. An economist would call this the law of diminishing returns. The other factor which shouldn’t be forgotten is the matter of age. I’m no longer a young buck. I’m not sure at what age the impact of growing older starts to affect performance but I don’t want to take any risks. Therefore this year I’m looking to get under 20 minutes for 5km and 40 minutes for 10km.
Cycling
Not only is cycling my favourite part of the sport, it’s also my strongest. It’s probably for this reason that my aim with cycling is somewhat less precise. I could work on getting my FTP up beyond a certain level or completing a 40km TT under a given time. Neither of these goals or any other specific targets have the same draw for me as those in swimming or running. This isn’t to say though that I won’t be working on raising my FTP and getting faster on the bike. Maybe I’ll put the 300 Watt barrier as a target for 2020.
So those are my performance related goals. Hopefully I’ll be able to achieve them over the course of the year. Only time will tell. Now let’s take a look at the races I’m doing this year and what I’m hoping for time-wise.
Männedorf Waldlauf
This is my home race and one I do every year in March. It’s a small event and being just down the road, or rather up the hill, there are no issues with travel. As the profile below shows it’s a hilly 11.5km course which is nice and challenging. I like to use it as a marker for how the winter training has gone.
In 2018 I finished in 50:56 but my aim for this year is to get below 50 minutes. Put simply I need to run each kilometre 5 seconds faster than last time. Five seconds over the space of 1000m (11.5 times) doesn’t sound like much. Let’s see!
Ironman 70.3 Rapperswil
I’ll be using this race as a warm-up for the main course. This isn’t to say though that I won’t be going into it without some specific aims. I did it last year with the aim of finishing in under 5 hours. I came pretty close with a 5:14. After a good swim and great bike things fell apart a little on the run. It was a hot day and I went out too quickly burning too many matches early on. As they say, “a year older, a year wiser.” This year with more experience and proper training I don’t see why I couldn’t hit my target from 2018. Getting a time good enough to qualify for the world champs in Nice would be an extra cherry on the top, even if I know I won’t take it because of another race scheduled in September.
Challenge Roth
Now it was never actually my plan to race at Roth in 2019. It sort of just happened. After doing it twice I’d said to myself that I like to try another race. Well that idea went out the window when Challenge sent out this tweet. I sent off and email and unfortunately for me, the answer was positive. I had a slot if I wanted it. Of course I took it. It’s such a great race I couldn’t resist. So if I’m going to make the pilgrimage to Bavaria, I need to go with an aim. Simply finishing is no longer enough. First time out I came in with a time of 11:43, last year 11:16. So for this edition I’m looking to go under 11 hours. How much I don’t know.
Ironman Italy
This was originally going to be my only long-distance for the year but as you’ve seen plans change. I’ll be heading to Cervia with a couple of teammates who will also be competing so it should be a fun affair. To be honest I’m not sure what sort of time to expect. The course is considerably flatter that Roth and being mid-September it should hopefully be a little cooler. If I can maintain fitness throughout the year and peak at the right time then I think. 10:30 should at least be possible.
So there you have it. These are my goals for the year. They are personal and specific to me. As much as I’d love to swim under 1:30/100m or have a FTP of 350 Watts this is simply not realistic for me at present. Goals need to be realistic. I believe if my training goes to plan and I stay injury free they should be achievable.
whytri.ch 