2012 Round Up

Well, that's it for another year and, more depressingly, for another age group.  There were the typical ups and downs plus all the usual excuses:

The year didn't start too well with some heart problems (major atrial flutter episodes for approximately 8 weeks) and a torn meniscus. I still managed to get through the fantastic Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March before undergoing knee surgery. Once recovered, the main focus was on preparing for Ironman Germany while building a new family home. Frankfurt was certainly an interesting (and painful) experience, but not one I'd like to repeat...

I took almost 10 weeks off from training seriously to dedicate all spare time to get the house finished. This early off-season was also part of the pre-2013 plan and I was in good running form towards the end of the year. Let's see if I can carry this over and run a good spring marathon before getting my teeth into the 2 big races in Austria (70.3. in St. Pölten and Ironman Klagenfurt) next summer.

Here's the annual stats and my Ironman Ranking:


2012 (KM) 2012 (hh:mm)
2011 (KM) 2011 (hh:mm)
Swim 98.48 36:28
131.37 56:52
Bike 4217.74 157:58
4699.1 177:20
Run 1178.67 108:33
1294.44 119:05

 So, here are my (sports) goals for 2013:
  • Better nutrition (less sugar, more protein)
  • Core, core, core - we know the drill...
  • A sub 3:45 spring marathon
  • A sub 11:30 Ironman

Hassloch Half-Marathon

Hassloch Half-Marathon - 1:39:21 [Results]

km 
1: 4:43
km 2: 4:48
km 3: 4:53
km 4: 4:38
km 5: 4:42
km 6: 4:27
km 7: 4:45
km 8: 4:46
km 9: 4:45
km 10: 4:52

km 11: 4:39
km 12: 4:44
km 13: 4:28
km 14: 4:47
km 15: 4:44
km 16: 4:44
km 17: 4:52
km 18: 4:36
km 19: 4:47
km 20: 4:26

km 21.1: 5:02

M40: 33rd out of 86
Male: 64th out of 211
Overall: 70th out of 271


3 laps through the Hassloch forest entirely covered in snow. Temperature wasn't as cold as expected, but the surface kept getting more slipperly, especially in the last lap. Perfect timing and very pleased with a sub 1:40 time. However, I think the distance was approx. 200m short.
Well, this was my last race in the M40. Bring on the next 5 years!

Ettlingen-Bruchhausen 10k

Winterstraßenlauf Ettlingen-Bruchhausen 10k - 44:37 [Results]

km 1: 4:27
km 2: 4:27
km 3: 4:38
km 4: 4:27
km 5: 4:30
km 6: 4:27
km 7: 4:25
km 8: 4:36
km 9: 4:20
km 10: 4:16

M40: 10th out of 19
Male: 63rd out of 119
Total: 69th out of 182

Finally cracked 45 minutes. Perfectly timed race in ideal conditions. Missed PB by 1 second... Ah well.