I'm dubbing 2012 as a year of learning and growth which I think will be crucial for my development in the future. I tried to be a sponge and soak up everything about training (what works and what doesn't), recovery, nutrition (a biggie for me), racing, technique, and taper. I'm fortunate to have a very good teacher in my coach and close friend Torsten Abel. I tried to focus on paying attention to all the inputs and outputs and plug into my brain for future use. A smarter athlete makes for a better athlete and also makes it much easier to provide feedback to my coach and make adjustments as necessary. Looking back on the 2012 training season the focus was really on building my base and stronger foundation. After running some lactate threshold testing with coach Torsten in early December 2011, it was clear I needed to spend the entire year building a stronger base and aerobic capacity. I had good speed but my aerobic capacity was lacking and my ratio of fast twitch to slow twitch fibers needed improvement. This meant alot of training in zone 1 which I grew to enjoy. We also learned (the hard way) that b/c of my larger frame and muscular build that I take longer to recover than other athletes from key training sessions and especially races. Unfortunetly, the only way to figure this out was through trial and error which meant a few sub-par race performances but also vital data for the future. I've been able to piggy back off the end of the 2012 season as I start my 2013 base build period and the numbers I'm starting with this season are shockingly better then where I was at this time next year. Very exciting stuff!!
2012 Training totals Jan '12 thru Nov '12 (does not include races):
Bike: 5,800 miles
Run: 1,300 miles
Swim: 480,000 yards
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