2013 Recap (1/3) : A year in numbers

That's it, 2014 is here and as customary is around blogland, I am supposed to reflect on the past and set goals for the future. But I'm not good at either of them, and that's why I make lists and take pictures, to help me remember what I have to do on a daily basis and provide evidence that I remembered doing it. Thankfully I also have a coach who can kick me in the butt when I fall off my hamster wheel. By the way, since I started working with a new coach this year, it'll be interesting to see how these numbers compare with those from the previous year.

Overall

900km more overall, in 40 less hours. Which means I'm either getting faster, or I'm spending more time on two wheels. I have a sneaky suspicion that it's more of the latter, because I haven't turned into The Flash yet.

One of the goals that I had set last year was to increase the overall mileage:

Not sure whether I want to set an overall target in 2013, but it would be nice if I could reach 5000km.

Mission accomplished! (now that's a surprise, because I had completely forgotten about this one). See what I mean? I better make those lists...

Running

Another surprise. I actually ran less. 

I remember setting this goal:

I reached my 1000km goal in September [...], so I gave myself a 1000miles (1609km) goal for 2013.

Total fail.

The fact that I only ran one marathon instead of three and got injured at the end of November is most likely why I didn't end up running more, but when it comes to the actual training volume, it was similar. I kept on running three times a week, but I got a bit faster in the end, thanks to all the speed work I did on the track with coach. My average pace is now about 30s/km lower. It makes me happy to see improvement, but I expect Ironman training to reverse the trend in 2014. Zone 2 madness, here I come!

Biking

This is where I spent all the extra hours! A difference of 1300km, 60h more on the saddle. Longest ride was 110km and I quite enjoyed it. I also biked more often, thanks to my new bike trainer which threw all the excuses out of the window. I embraced the suck and Trainer Road, and discovered more data geekery (FTP, TSS, kJ, FTP/kg). Brain explosion!

Swimming

Some nice improvements here as well. I swam 60km/20h more than last year and I significantly improved my pace. I became more comfortable in the water and I worked on technique quite a lot, but I did not always enjoy it. Once the open water season started though, I just immersed myself in the feeling and it was wonderful.

Weight

*sigh* I was hoping, once more, to get down to 125lb. I got as low as 131.5, which was exactly the same weight as the year before on "A" Race Day, but then I climbed back up after the last triathlon of the season and I am now at a higher weight than I was the year before. It's not a huge gain, it's "just" 8lb overall, 2lb more than last year, but given how it took me 8 months to lose 6lb, I already feel defeated knowing that I need to lose them again. Maybe I shouldn't think about it and let the Ironman training do its thing, but weight has always been a stressful topic for me, especially when I go up and down like this every year. This is one of the reasons why I hate the off season. I enjoy every bite I put in my mouth, but then I pay the price. Oh well.

It's just a number. I should not be fixating on a number, but I like the silly sound of it. Let's not lose perspective of where I've come from. In the grand scheme of things, it's just a little bump on the road.

All these are just numbers, some I love, some I hate. Today is January 1st and I return to my good eating habits. I was sidelined for a month, but I am also returning to the pool and the treadmill. Step by step, I should start liking them numbers again.

But when it comes to swimming/biking/running goals for 2014, in numbers, I have none. 

There is only one number that matters this year: 140.6.