Noosa Triathlon looms – What is my goal?

In nine weeks I return to the venue where, 2 years ago, I had my best Olympic-distance triathlon race so far – the Noosa Triathlon.

In 2009 I had my fastest ever 1500m swim (25:46), a solid bike (1:12:12) and an OK run (41:20) for an overall time of 2:19:19 – 6 mins faster than my previous best Olympic-distance time. I hadn’t particularly trained for the race, but I had a big block of training behind me from the Gold Coast Half Ironman, which I’d completed a month earlier. This result continued my unbroken streak of PBs over the Olympic distance.

Ahhh. Things were on the up and up. There seemed no limit to my improvements. Then came the GREAT CALF TEAR OF 2009, and it all came tumbling down.

Two years and four calf tears later, it’s time to return. As I sit here nursing yet another torn calf, I realise that I need to decide, what is my goal for this race?

Am I there to have fun? Am I there to welcome myself back to the Olympic-distance with a solid performance? Am I there to PB? Or, am I there to turn myself inside out and go head-to-head with my fellow 40-45 years olds for a podium spot?

My goal for Noosa is to PB. I want to go sub 2:19:19.

My motivation has been weak since Ironman NZ in March. That’s almost 6 months of light training which has seen my fitness drop to an all-time low. Getting into sub-2:19 shape, in nine weeks, from where I am now, will be a stretch, A very big stretch!

But I need to set a stretch-goal to motivate myself. A goal that I’m only going to achieve with a lot of hard work and commitment. A challenge.

I don’t need the motivation to train. I have a race – I know I will train.

I need the motivation to really push myself in training. I need the motivation to drive me to write up a training plan. I want to get caught up in the excitement of planning to achieve the goal – researching the plan, thinking it through, monitoring my performance, watching it improve, tweaking the plan for Big Training Days and Race Simulations. Fun, FUN!

I really love immersing myself in the whole experience that preparing for a race provides. I want to drink that passion!

And then, on the day, I want to go out and SMASH IT! To give it everything, and see what I come up with! I love that feeling.

Fingers-crossed that my calves love that feeling too!