What Next?

Now that my daughter is back in school (re-started yesterday, after almost a full month off!) I am able to resume my workouts.  It seems like a lifetime ago that I was exercising almost daily.  Just 6 weeks ago, on September 30, I did my first half-Ironman triathlon, SuperFrog.  A week after, so only 5 weeks ago, I did the Portland Half Marathon. Then my life went to hell in a handbasket when my daughter broke her neck.  She spent 2 full weeks at Children's Hospital. During this time I got a few short runs in, but nowhere near what I normally would have run.  She's been home for 2 weeks now, and I've been able to do a few runs (and 3 races, including my first 10k and two 5ks) and 2 swims. I  haven't been on my bike at all since SuperFrog.

But now that she's back in school, and I have some time to myself in the day where I don't need to coordinate childcare with my husband, training is back on.  Yesterday, after I dropped her off, I went on a 3 mile run. Today I did a 40 lap (2000 yard) swim. I am planning on biking tomorrow, although if it rains as predicted I might spin at the gym instead. Regardless, there will be cycling of some sort tomorrow. I need to get back into my routine.  Yes, it seems like it's been a lifetime since SuperFrog, but really, it's only been 6 weeks.  I've actually lost some weight, despite not exercising the way I normally do AND pigging out on Halloween candy, and I suspect it's a loss of muscle (probably from no biking!) Now is the time to turn things around.

What I've been pondering recently are my new goals, especially as related to triathlon.  I always train best when I have a goal to work toward, a race to run.  I have lots of half marathons planned in 2013:

New Year's Race Los Angeles Half Marathon, January 5
Tinker Bell Half Marathon, January 20
Carlsbad Half Marathon, January 27
San Diego Half Marathon, March 10
La Jolla Half Marathon, April 28
America's Finest City Half Marathon, August 18

What's missing from this list? Triathlons.  I have NO clue what I will be doing in 2013.  One big question is, do I want to do another half-Ironman?  I'm not sure, but I think I do.  At the end of SuperFrog I vowed I would never do another one, but I'm already forgetting the misery that was that run.  I don't want to travel for a 70.3, so I'm left with 2 choices in San Diego:  SuperFrog or Ironman California.  IMCA is already sold out for 2013, but I could consider it for 2014.  . But Ironman-branded races have a strict 8 hour cutoff in order to be official, and while I was just barely over the 8 hour mark for SuperFrog, I was still over. The bike scares me---it's very hilly---but the swim and run should be easier than SuperFrog (there should be no big waves and no beach run like I had to contend with). I'd have to really commit to major hill training over the next year.  Alternatively, I could do SuperFrog again (fact: I met one of the race directors a few weeks ago when I bought another commemorative t-shirt, and he said that if I could finish that race course, I could do ANY race.  He himself thought the course, especially the run, was ridiculously hard.)

Regardless of if/which 70.3 I do, I might also want to do a sprint or Olympic-distance triathlon.  I'm thinking of doing SuperSeal Olympic (I have a 25% off code since last year's cancellation).  But there are other races in San Diego, triathlons I haven't done before. The San Diego International Triathlon is just short of Olympic-distance (a little shorter swim and bike) although the bike goes up the same steep, grueling hill on Cabrillo National Monument that I did in last year's Oly.  And San Diego, birthplace of triathlon, has tons of other sprints that would be fun to do.

Also, I'm looking at other running races. I know I'm in love with the half marathon distance, but I enjoyed my first 10k and am looking at the Coronado Valentine's Day 10k.  And a certain friend of mine is pressuring me to do my first trail race with him. I hate trails, but am crazily considering this sufferfest of a 15k. Why not try something new? I'm also loosely considering a long swim race (2 miles or so) or a long bike (either a century or a metric century, even though I swore I'd never bike a mile past 60).   There are plenty of both to look at in San Diego.

The bottom line, I have nothing on my race schedule after next August. And no triathlons at all.  What to do, what to do.........