Getting Ready

A new year, a new race season. I like to start each year filled with optimism about improving my performance and setting PRs, but this year, my expectations are lower. Plagued most of last fall by defective body parts subject to chronic minor injuries, I just want to be able to cross the finish line without really hurting myself.

My daughter and I have registered for the Monument Avenue 10K – she’s aiming for 10-minute miles; I’ll settle for 14. I’ve become a “wogger.” (I saw the term in a running magazine.) Whether it’s defined as “a walker who occasionally jogs,” or “a jogger who mostly walks,” it fits my current “running” style. Not counting the miles I logged around shopping malls and parking lots while acquiring items for the families my office sponsored, gifts for my own family and friends, and finally, after-Christmas sale bargains, it’s been several months since I did any serious running. So, I’m starting slowly, one or two miles a week, and working on maintaining a respectable pace for short segments.

Swimming is my sport of choice this year because it’s the one sport in which my skill level has not declined as much with age. In fact, I’m a better swimmer now than I was several years ago. I’ve enrolled in an adult swim clinic at UR, in addition to the Master’s swim class, which means I’m in the pool at least three times a week. I might even enter a swim meet – something I’ve never done.

I’m not sure what triathlons I’ll do this year. The Hy-Vee Olympic in Des Moines, Iowa on September 4 is tempting, especially if my daughter decides to do it, too. As preparation, I’m thinking about a triathlon in June in either Tidewater or Maryland. Both offer distances that are longer than a sprint and shorter than an olympic, plus an open water swim. I’m beginning to think I’m a triathlon short-timer, so if I don’t do an Olympic distance this year, I may never accomplish it. Many of the races have time limitations now, and because I’m not speedy, I’m not sure I can finish in the allotted time. But for now, I’m keeping an Olympic on my schedule.