My 2014 Race Schedule

 

I'm a member of Team Water.org (plus I thought this was funny) :-)

I’m a member of Team Water.org (plus I thought this was funny) 🙂

As much as I have been enjoying my extended off-season, I’m getting physically and mentally restless. Luckily I have been able to stay active through yoga and my bike on the trainer. And thankfully I just got cleared to run and also to return to strength training so my activity levels can soon “normal” swim, bike, run.

For the past couple of weeks I have been putting together my “Yearly Training Plan” or YTP (also known as an annual training plan or ATP). For the past couple of years I have been guided by an excellent coach who transformed me into the athlete I am today (well, not quite the broken down athlete at the moment, but the one that set PR after PR over the past couple of seasons). This year I have decided to coach myself, which could end up being the best decision or the worst decision on the planet. Only time will tell…

Speadsheets galore!

Speadsheets galore!

In order to construct my YTP I needed to decide what races I planned on racing in 2014. It was a tough decision to make. A lot of races have been opening up for registration and I see on Facebook and Twitter what races people are signing up for in 2014. I’m an impulse race register. If I see a friend doing a race then I automatically want to do the race too. It’s kind of a problem, especially since I pledged to myself to only race the small, local races this season in order to focus on healing my body, getting faster and stronger, and growing my own coaching business.

194362_205458132817454_1113308_o

I was debating on signing up for a Half-Ironman this coming summer. It’s my favorite distance and when Ironman was advertising the price of $199 for Timberman 70.3 in New Hampshire I got suckered in. I opened up my wallet and took out my darn credit card. So much for self-control…

So without further ado, here is my tentative 2014 race season:

4/5/14 – Race the Runways Half-Marathon

5/3/14 – PolarBear Sprint Tri

6/8/14 – Pirate Sprint Tri

7/??/14 – Norway Sprint Tri

8/17/14 – Timberman 70.3

10/19/14 – BayState Marathon (maybe)

Those are the major races that I plan on racing in 2014 with Timberman being my big “A” race. I would absolutely love to qualify for Worlds (most likely a roll-down slot), but my chances are extremely slim. I checked last year’s results and there was over 100 women in the 25-29AG with the winner going close to 5:00. Speedy, speedy women!

I will probably register for Beach to Beacon again this year and sprinkle in some 5ks here and there. I may or may not run BayState in October. It will depend how my run fitness is going (and if it comes back)! I want to focus on quality versus quantity in 2014. Of course, everything is always subject to change.

What races are you signing up or have signed up for in 2014?

~ Happy Training!

Team Water.Org

I had a pleasant surprise Thursday night when I got home. I received my Kona edition of Triathlete Magazine. I was exhausted but I took time before bed to thumb through the pages to see what was in the issue. I came across a page on Team Water.Org. Now, I’m quite familiar with Water.org. I have made monetary donations to the cause and also have donated my voice via Facebook. I’m a strong believer in their cause.

Water.org is a nonprofit organization founded by Matt Damon (yes, the actor!) and Gary White in 2009. The organization’s mission is to provide access to safe, clean water and sanitation to developing countries in Africa, South Asia, and Central America. Here’s a few interesting facts about water:

  • Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water-related diseases
  • Women around the world spend about 200 million hours a day collecting water (often walking miles to retrieve water and bring it back to their homes)
  • More people have a cell phone than a toilet
  • 884 million people worldwide lack safe drinking water, which is over 3x the population of the United States
  • The lack of clean water and proper sanitation claims more lives than wars with guns
  • An American who takes a 5-minute shower a day uses more water than a typical person living in the slums of a developing country uses in a whole day

As a public health student I am very passionate about access to clean water and proper sanitation. Access to clean water and proper sanitation can solve so many problems in developing countries. Millions of people who die from water-related diseases each year will be saved. Women will no longer spend hours walking to collect water and can go to school to be educated. For every $1 invested in water infrastructure there is a return of about $3-$34 depending on the region and technology. Water can change the world!

Now, what is Team Water.org (T.W.O)? T.W.O was started by Kyle Damon, Matt Damon’s brother who is a triathlete. It is a nation-wide community of endurance athletes who support the cause of clean water. Members of the team raise awareness of the water crisis and select races in which they match the race entry fee with a donation to water.org. The team is open to all athletes. They range from weekend warriors to Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker and former Ironman World Champion Karen Smyers. You can join the team for a $25 annual fee (which will provide an individual a lifetime supply of clean water in a developing country) and pledge to match your race fee(s) with a donation to water.org. You also need discounts on training products and access to a private online store where you can buy a team uniform and gear!

I am now a proud member of Team Water.org and I encourage all of you to consider joining the team or making a future donation to my fundraising efforts with the team. You can save a life!