Big Decisions

I've been thinking about this decision a lot over the past couple weeks and while I admit I'm not 100%, I am close enough to make a public call.

I'm pulling out of the FIRMman 70.3.

Here was the original schedule for the late Summer and Fall

July 28th - Ironman Lake Placid (A-Race)
August 1st - Lake T Sprint
August 10th - Lake T Olympic
August 15th - Lake T Sprint
September 8th - FIRMman 70.3
September 21st - HITS Hunter Mountain 70.3
September 28th - Hogsback Half Marathon
October 12th - Hartford Marathon (A-Race)
October 13th - Newport Marathon
Novermber 23rd - JFK 50-miler (A-Race)

As of mid-way through Ironman Lake Placid, I had decided it might be smarter to not race FIRMman roughly 5 weeks after IMLP.  My plan was to make that a focus race that I really wanted to do well at, but with recovery needed post-Placid, this wasn't going to leave me much time.  Once I was done with Placid, my mind was made up.  My body needed rest and having a looming race wasn't going to let me rest.

Then I had a great track workout and things changed.  All of a sudden I thought I might be able to bounce back quick enough to race.

And then last week, I talked to a friend who put things in perspective for me.  I had already skipped the Lake T Sprint and had confirmed I was going to volunteer for the Lake T Olympic.  It was obvious I was still recovering.  With the HITS race already labeled as a throw away, if I train for and miss my BQ at Hartford, I would always wonder if I ruined it by racing FIRMman.

He was right!

So while I want to do it all, my inner coach has to acknowledge that I need to pick my battles.  Don't be surprised if you see a post to the contrary in the next few weeks, but as of today this is the plan...

August 15th - Lake T Sprint

September 21st - HITS Hunter Mountain 70.3
September 28th - Hogsback Half Marathon October 12th - Hartford Marathon (A-Race)
October 13th - Newport Marathon
Novermber 23rd - JFK 50-miler (A-Race)
I will continue recovering and when I'm ready, switch to marathon training.  I will maintain a smaller portion of swimming and biking in order to leave HITS as a test race, but my focus for now will be the BQ at Hartford and then increasing my long-run mileage for the JFK ultra.

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Questions
1.  Have you ever had to pull out of a race just because you knew it wouldn't be smart?  (ie. It wasn't because you were going to be out of town or had broken a bone)
I've skipped sprint tris in the past, but this will be the first big race I've pulled out of.

2.  How much of the year do you spend training for A-races?  
I started in January this year and will finish in November.  While I admit I feel the burn out at times, I've found that switching from triathlon training to road race training is better than taking time off.  I just need those endorphins and to get out!  I've been looking forward to ultra training for a couple months now.

3.  What's your next A-race?


DREAM.  BELIEVE.  ACHIEVE.