Kevin O’Connor and I were looking at the race and thought it would be a great opportunity to try and swim with a pack and then use the draft legal racing to have a really solid run. The only catch is that I have to swim with the front pack… but the race is only a half-olympic (750m swim). Having some pressure to focus on swimming is good though. I need to continue making gains in the swim if I want to race with big boys.
So the next two months will mean getting back to swimming and running every day, with some quality workouts on the trainer on the side. Hopefully having this race on the calendar will help getting into the pool on those cold January days when the thought of jumping headfirst into cold water is almost unbearable. If Devon Palmer ever invites me to swim with him I’ll tie a rope around his ankle and try to keep up with him for a couple grand.
Looking forward to the season as a whole, I’ve decided to continue racing as an amateur through 2012. I would love to get my pro card and do a couple of big races, but I still have a lot to learn about pacing, nutrition, swimming… racing in general. There’s a big jump in times from elite amateur to pro and my swim just isn’t fast enough to put me in position to bike and run near the leaders. It’s been a tough decision, but I think it’s the right one. That and I have unfinished business at Age Groups and Hy-vee…
So wish me luck as I start down the road of 2012, it’s going to be exciting. I’ll put up a race schedule as soon as it’s 95% nailed down.
