Step 2: Make a Plan

Step 2 in Operation "Get Jill back to Fighting Shape" is...

Make a Plan

My race schedule this year, in a way, determined itself. When I finished FullRev Cedar Point last year the only thought in my brain was

"I can do that better, I want another shot."

I was hesitant to tell my husband but when I did he was completely on board!! (see last post for more info - haha)

I called coach Laura and we decided on Ironman Louisville as 140.6 part deux. From there HalfRev Knoxville was an easy fit and as I've mentioned before I'll be taking another shot at HalfRev Quassy.

EC Coach Shanks challenged me to a Billy Jean King type Battle of the Sexes and because I'm silly I accepted; so we set the site as John Tanner Tri the Parks Sprint (April 30th!). He's going to kick my butt but I'll try to keep it interesting :D

So race schedule is:

John Tanner Sprint - Carrolton, GA - April 30th
HalfRev Knoxville - Knoxville, TN - May 15th
HalfRev Quassy - Middlebury, CT - June 5th
Ironman Louisville - Louisville, KY - August 28th

Yippee!! Second part of the plan...

Work on my limiters. Last year was an amazing year for me, truly. I reached goals that I never thought possible!! Now I am going to give myself an opportunity to reach for new goals. They are pretty big goals with a HUGE risk of failure, but the bigger failure in my mind would be to never try.

This is kind of a new idea for me... usually I'm the girl who doesn't want to say the wrong thing, or try and fail and look stupid... so just putting it out there that I want to run a strong race at IMLoo in an attempt to qualify for Kona freaks the HELL out of me...

So I'm scared, and when I'm scared I seem to be more productive. So I'm hoping that works for me again this year...

so first limiter "confidence" or lack thereof I've started working on by putting my dreams out there and all the positive comments and encouragement I've received from folks has been amazing. I was also scared to look silly and that kept me from "joining". So the next step worked on two limiters...

limiter #2 - swim mechanics - I'm a fairly average swimmer time wise and effort wise oomph, it's a long haul out there for me. Last year I overcame my fear of open water, so this year I'm going to join the Dynamo Multisport group and work on my stroke mechanics and generally just try to get faster. did you see that, I said "join" ha ha

limiter #3 - strength on the bike - I've been doing more plyometrics and strength training over the winter, but not enough... haven't gotten this one completely planned out yet, beyond making room in my life schedule to put more time in on the bike

limiter #4 - run endurance - last year, quite shockingly, my run became one of my strengths. This year the focus will be on building more endurance to get me to the finish line running strong.


So there is the plan! For the actual workouts I, of course, leave that completely up to Coach Laura. She's the mastermind :D


I joined the Dynamo team this morning for my first group swim in as long as I can remember! and I didn't drown! :D The team is so welcoming and I really ended up having a lot of fun! and Coach Maria already gave me some great pointers on my stroke mechanics! If you are in Atlanta, I would recommend checking it out!

Step 2 is in motion!!