My 2013 Race Schedule

I’m beginning to get my race schedule ready for 2013.

I’m not planning on doing a huge raft of races this year for a number of reasons.

Running with SkyTower in the distance

First is the fact that last year was quite a long season with races from the 1st April right through to the big race at the World Championships in October. Although it was a brilliant year from a Triathlon perspective, with some really good results for me, I did feel quite tired come the end and maybe stretched out the race season just a little too long. I also found that I take quite a while to recover from races, even short sprint distance races take more out of me than I would have thought.

Second is the cost. Entering races isn’t cheap and then there are the added costs of travelling to and from the races, overnight accommodation for those that are further afield and things such as eating out whilst there to be taken into consideration. It’s all good fun and recreation of course. Visiting new places even within the UK is always exciting and Anna and Morgan always enjoy the weekends away too, so we don’t mind spending money on such trips, but there’s only so much we can afford. (I’m still looking for suitable sponsors / supporters in this regard – see ‘sponsors’ box at the bottom of this post.)

Third is the time aspect. Other things need doing too. We have a house and garden to look after, family to visit, camps and weekends away with the Scouts to plan and attend, school trips, work commitments, chores to do and a myriad of other things all vying for our time and energy. We simply can’t fit it all in. We also need the occasional weekend just to chill if possible. On top of that I have already alluded to the fact that races take more out of me than I would have thought. It seems as though I take around a month to recover fully from them and during this time my training suffers to a certain extent. I can’t be sure of this of course and maybe doing more races would hone my racing skills and my body would become more accustomed to them, but I think this year I shall limit myself to around one race a month and only a couple of important ‘A’-priority races. The other races will be just for fun and I won’t be worried too much about my times, positions and outcomes (yeah right!!).

So, with these points in mind, a calendar at hand and the dates of my two ‘A’ – priority races already noted, my race schedule for 2013 is looking like this:

• March 31st: Pwllheli Triathlon, North Wales
• May 12th: Cotswold Triathlon, Cotswold Water Park
• June 15th: European Triathlon Championships, Alanya, Turkey
• July 13th: CRC MTB Marathon, Marshbrook, Shropshire
• July 14th: CRC/Schwalbe Sportive, Marshbrook, Shropshire
• 3rd August: CRC MTB Marathon, Abergavenny, Wales
• 4th August: CRC/Schwalbe Sportive, Abergavenny, Wales
• 1st September: Newbiggin Triathlon, Northumberland
• 13th September: World Triathlon Championships, London

The two A-priority races are the European Championships in Turkey on June 15th and the World Championships in London on September 15th. I may also replace the MTB marathon and Sportive weekend in August with another Triathlon if I find a suitable race that I like the look of.

As usual, I have no idea how I will perform this year. I’m not feeling particularly fast at the moment, but that’s the way it should be at this time of year. I’m just working on my base and will do speed work closer to the race season. Who knows how I will fare this year. Was last year a fluke? Will I manage to equal that ir maybe even improve upon it?  Will I fall to pieces? Has the competition upped its game? Only time will tell, but for know it’s time to get my head down, continue with the training plan and start working towards the two big races of the season. There’s no hiding no that I’ve told you all my plans.

Wish me luck!

Tags: RacesTriathlon