2016 Targets

I am going to stick with setting mileage targets as usual, and I am going to keep last year's S-curve idea for each week. I have slightly lessened the curve and front-loaded it in order to try and get to prime shape for qualifying races in June.

I am also going to set a tougher set of stretch targets. None of them are flat out impossible, but they are all very tough and even one of them would need to be a very good year. 

Swimming

102 miles in 2015 was a good year, but it still leaves plenty of room to improve. The simple target to set is just to go for 2 miles a week and set the number at 104 miles.

I need to have a regular plan for the second swim every week. In summer that is fairly easy as Knockburn trips are easy to schedule in. If I was to keep that in every week, and finish more sessions, then the number should get much closer to 120 miles. 

More important than just hitting high numbers is to get back into lane 4 consistently, and to be much more consistent at putting regular fast laps together for entire races.

On the racing front the 6 minute 400m target was too tough last year, and at 2 seconds a length improvement on this years time it is still too tough. So I am going to take the 'reasonable' target of cutting another second a length and aim at 6:15.

For 750m, if I could hold that same second-a-length improvement would take me to 12 minutes. For 1,500m it would take me to 26 minutes. Those should both be achievable but are based on almost perfect conditions. And the real trick in the longer races is not to swim a handful of seconds (or even a whole minute) faster but instead to get to the end with more energy left for the next two sections where bigger time is much easier to gain, or lose. So the base targets get set slightly slower to allow for race conditions and the stretch targets get set higher and probably only come in a perfect race, or in a swim only race. 

Biking

I had a decent year on the bike in 2015. But the miles haven't really changed over the last 3 years. 2015 was smarter in terms of adding some faster sessions and working on my time trialling skills. 

After 3 year of 2,100 to 2,200 miles I really need to step up my biking.

I need to do more work on the bike, purely because it is my weakest event still. But this doesn't just mean more miles. While it definitely helps my general fitness and keeps my weight down to do a lot of miles it means sacrificing a lot of power. Rides in the 3-4 hours range or up in 50-60 miles are very good but they really aren't specific enough for what I want to do this year. So they are out in favour of doing more, 2 hour / 30 mile rides. That means still trying to average 2 rides a week.

Some of the miles are almost certainly going to have to come from commuting and the turbo trainer as well.

I think a sub-26 minute 10-mile TT is certainly in my range. I did three times under 27 minutes despite a horrible headwind for the first, giving blood the day before the second and being only 2 days after a fast Standard triathlon for the third. If I am in the sort of cycling shape I hope to be for racing at a higher level then sub-26 should be in range and sub-25 starts to look like a real possibility.  

Having failed to finish either of the longer TT's that I started this year, the new target is to get to the end of one of them without getting lost. The stretch target on that is to try and get back under 75 mins for 25-miles. 

Running

I am not going to beat 2015 for running miles. Nor should I even try. 2015 was a freak year in terms of time off work and fitting in a lot of runs. While it was great to break 800 miles and to be in such great running shape at the end of the year, it is not a sustainable number whilst I am still working and doing two other sports. I am going to rein that back to a more achievable, but still fairly high, number.

So I am going to aim at 750 miles, with a stretch target of 850 miles. I would only get near that stretch target if I come out of triathlon racing season and decide to focus on a single sport to try and get sub-40 minutes for 10k, or have another attempt at a half marathon, or maybe even a marathon, late in the year. 

Triathlon

It wasn't until I was writing my end of 2015 Review that I realised that I hadn't actually set any Triathlon targets in 2015. 

So this year there are a few. First up is my plan to try and qualify for a GB age-group team. The obvious event to aim at is the 2017 Euro Sprint Champs. That handily has a qualifying race in Glasgow in June. That same weekend there is also a qualifying race for the 2016 World Champs in Cozumel, Mexico. I am not allowed to go to that event as it is too soon after my wedding and a honeymoon in Mexico with my bike was vetoed pretty quickly. But it will still be interesting to see how I fair in a draft legal race, where the impact of my weakest sport is minimised. 

I may also look at a Euro Standard or a Euro Duathlon qualifying spot once I am into the season.

I also need to be looking at challenging for race wins. At least in my age-group if not outright. There are plenty of local races where I should be a podium level over-40 and pushing for a podium place overall. I can't really turn that into a SMART target though because the field that turns up on any given race day is so unpredictable. 

Others

Yoga. I am going to start January by signing up to 30 consecutive days of Yoga www.yogawithadriene.com. From there I want to keep in at least one session per week. So the target for the year is to do 80 yoga sessions. I would really benefit from doubling that but I have to find the time to fit it in. 

Weights and Core. I really need to be better at these as well. They are much too easy to drop when things get busy. So I am going to put in the formal target of 80 of these sessions as well. 

This is also likely to be an expensive year. I am sorely in need of a new wet suit, my current one is starting to leak at the seals and needs to be replaced sooner rather than later. I have one on order from wiggle's sale. 

More importantly I need a bike upgrade. The alloy bike that I train on is now 7 years old and really starting to struggle and it is simply not good enough for racing a draft-legal qualifying race. So an upgrade to carbon and Di2 for the road bike and then keep the alloy as a winter trainer is the plan. Watching the sales already and have picked out a focus which might be tight for size but trying to snap one up without hurting my wedding budget is going to be a real stretch. 

Targets by numbers

Take part in a GBR age-group qualifying race for the 2017 European Sprint Champs.

Swim 104 miles.

Swim under 6:15 minutes for 400m.

Swim under 12:15 minutes for 750m.

Swim under 26:15 minutes for 1,500m.

Ride 2,080 miles.

Ride a 10-mile TT in under 26 minutes.
Finish a 25-mile TT without getting lost.

Run 750 miles.

Run a 5k in under 19:30 or 10k in under 42 mins. 

Run another 5k in under 19:30 or 10k in under 42 mins. 

80 Yoga sessions

80 Core and/or weights sessions.

Stretch Targets

Qualify for the GBR Age-group team for the 2017 European Sprint Championships.
Take part in a GBR age-group qualifying race for the 2017 European Duathlon Champs.

Take part in a GBR age-group qualifying race for the 2017 World Standard Champs.

Swim 120 miles.

Swim under 6:00 minutes for 400m.

Swim under 11:45 minutes for 750m.

Swim under 25:45 for 1,500m.

Ride 2,600 miles. 

Ride a 10-mile TT in under 25 minutes.
Ride a 25-mile TT in under 70 minutes.

Run 850 miles.

'Run my age' for 10k. Sub-40 minutes.