2009 MultiSport Goals Revisited

2009 MultiSport Goals Revisited

On Nov 12th, 2008 I sent Bryce Croll the president of the UofT triathlon Club a list of goals as part of the process of requesting a Triathlon Mentor in the mentorship program. Bryce assigned Paul Bregin to be my mentor and he did a great job sharing his experiences with me; a Triathlon newbie. I commend the UofT club on this mentorship program and have signed up to be a mentor in 2010.
Now that the season is over, it is a perfect time to reflect back on my 2009 goals as I work on setting my 2010 goals. In general I feel that I was making some big guesses in setting my goals as I had never competed in a Triathlon. In hindsight my goals do seem overly ambitious. In looking back on 2009, I was impressed with the level of competitors in the two world championships that I competed in this year (Duathlon and 70.3).

I did not include any cycling goals in this as they did not apply to my application for a mentor; for 2010 I will definitely include cycling goals.


Short Term Goals:
1: Finish acquiring the parts & building my TT bike
Status: Accomplished
Notes: Easy goal and fun
2: Continue to focus on improvement in swim and running
Status: Accomplished / Ongoing
Notes: My run times improved throughout the year as did my swim times. At some point I am going to start having diminishing returns based on age, but I prefer not to think about that, after all this blog is called midlife and denial is certainly a part of the midlife crisis
3: Be able to run a 5km at a 3:25/km pace (My last race in Sept I ran the 1st 10km at a 3:36/km pace)
Status: Close but no Cigar
Notes: My best time was 3:28/km pace in the Cobourg triathlon where the swim was substituted with a 5km my time was 17:18
4: Be able to swim a 750meters at a 1:30 pace (by May 2009)
Status: Not even close
Notes: What an ambitious goal set just 6 weeks after I started swim workouts. I got down to 1:36/100m by the end of the season for 1.9km, but have a difficult time obtaining that time in a pool
5a: Obtain Elite status as a Duathlete
Status: Accomplished
Notes: I applied and the OAT granted me the status
5b: If I do not gain Elite DU status - Win my age group at the Phx Desert Classic DU Feb 22nd
Status: Accomplished in a way
Notes: I competed in the elite wave and finished last but my time was good faster that the top competitor in my age group
5c: If I do gain Elite status - post a top 3 bike split and finish no worse that to 60% of competitor in the Desert Classic DU
Status: Failed
Notes: I had the 17th fastest bike split and finished 12th out of 12 amongst pros

Year Long Goals:
1: Qualify for the 2010 Worlds in Duathlon Elite division
Status: Abandoned
Notes: I qualified for the elite Duathlon Worlds but have decided not to enter, I am not close to being competitive at the elite DU level.
2: Qualify for 2010 Worlds in Age Group for Olympic Distance triathlon
Status: Accomplished
Notes: I won my age group at the provincials in Cobourg
3: Finish top 3 in the 2009 Worlds DU championship in September in NC
Status: Failed
Notes: I finished 10th and was impressed at the level of competition
4: Be the 1st to cross the finish line in at least 1 local race (impossible as a Duathlete as we always start later)
Status: Accomplished
Notes: Ironically it was in a duathlon, the provincial championships in Gravenhurst
5: Finish in the top 20 overall at Muskoka 70.3
Status: Accomplished
Notes: I finished 16th and was the top amateur
6: Finish in the top 5 in Victoria's DU
Status: Accomplished
Notes: I finished 3rd

Multi-Year Goal:
1: Continue to Qualify and compete in Worlds with top 3 finishes
Notes: Wow that was ambitious I will need to adjust downwards for 2010
2: Become a Top level Triathlete - Run splits down to 32-34 minute 10km
Notes: Absolutely insane goal, not sure how I am going to get there. I ran 35:46 at the DU worlds and it just about killed me.
3: Stay with lead groups out of the swims
Notes: First I have to catch up to them before I try to stay with them. Long way to go on this one

Dream Goal (Hey why not dream): Defy Mother Nature and be a 43 year old member of Team Canada - triathlon at the 2012 Olympics
Notes: Yes I was still basking in the glow of Simon’s silver in the 2008 Olympics. I might as well include my goal of competing in the Tour De France. These dream goals have no basis in reality.