Korey Stringer Institute sweat loss testing alongside Roger Thompson

March is a big month for me and will serve as good barometer for my fitness level.  I’ve been training fairly consistently for the past three months so I’m excited to see where I stand in competition.  I’m racing my first open half marathon this weekend, then I’m doing my first duathlon in over a decade on the 24th (2,12,2) and then on the final day of the month I’m racing Ironman 70.3 California for the second year in a row.

Even before I was selected to the Timex Multisport Team, I planned on dedicating more time and effort to training this season.  2011 was a huge transitional year for me professionally.  I stepped away from the t.v news anchor desk after 15 years to pursue a career in the world of triathlon, as a reporter.  I was very fortunate to have found a place with the World Triathlon Corporation and IronmanLIVE but the traveling did little help my training schedule.   I did manage to PR twice at the 70.3 distance but continued to struggle during the run portions of my races.  Oh well, that was last year.

This year I’ve made it a point to curb my weaknesses and build on my strengths.  To do that, I started logging my yards in the pool, hours on the bike and mileage running on December first.  Things were moving in the right direction and I felt like I was making progress.  January was a good month (see numbers below) but then February kicked my butt.  I lost 5 days when I traveled to  Ironman 70.3 Panama to cover Lance Armstrong’s return to triathlon (which was awesome)  then I lost a few more days attending Timex Camp (which was even more awesome).   I have no regrets on both accounts but it would have been nice to have those extra days to train.  Good thing it’s still early in the year!

I was surprised to learn my running mileage had actually picked up over the previous two months.  I’m somewhat o.k. with my swimming yardage but my time on the bike took a nose dive.   Even though cycling is my strength, there’s no question I need more time in the saddle if I want to be ready for Oceanside.   Stay tuned!

December #’s:

Swim – 23,900 yards

Bike – 18 hours, 25 minutes

Run – 69 miles

January #’s:

Swim – 40,000 yards

Bike – 26 hours, 50 minutes

Run – 81.5 miles

February #’s:

Swim – 31,600 yards

Bike – 14 hours

Run – 85 miles