This year was kind of strange. In years past, I would set several goals for a year and end up only hitting one or two.
For the 2012-2013 season, I set a lot of training and weight loss targets for myself in 12-week increments so that I could adjust my training as I needed to. I met most of them (but don't bother listing them all here). I also had a catalog of long term goals that I had accumulated over the years of training and racing.
This is a list of those goals, what I achieved, and what I might do with them in the future.
Weight Loss:
I've dropped 30 pounds, going from 194 pounds and 24.2% body fat to 164 pounds and 16.2% body fat. I gained a few pounds over the summer, drifting back up to 170 and 17.1% body fat. I can definitely lose that much over the next few months so I can be done with weight loss by January.
I'd love to hit 160 and 15%, but that might be too low (especially for Shelli, who thought I was a bit too thin at 164).
20 minute Power Increase
I was using my 20-minute power as a measure of my fitness increases over the winter. I was able to increase it from 260 watts in September to 309 watts in March, an 18.8% increase over six months (I stopped testing once racing season started). I admit, my starting point was low because I was pretty out of shape in summer 2012, but I never imagined that I could get my power up that high.
The one mistake I made last years was doing all my testing on my road bike. I really should have done it on my TT bike. Next year, I want to see that same high end power (around 310 to 315) on the TT bike.
5 minute Power
This one was really shocking. For pretty much as long as I've had a power meter (since 2009), my 5-minute power peaked out at 305 watts. This year I crushed that, reaching 370 watts, a 21% increase.
I'd love to see 400 watts by next year, but that might be a bit high to do in one year... still it will be a good eventual goal.
40K Time:
I've had a goal of completing a 40K (24.84 miles) time trial in under and hour for as long as I've been into time trials (since 2005). This year I beat that goal twice, doing one in 59:35 (25.1 mph) and one in a stunning 57:42 (25.8 mph).
I've found that I like the shorter time trials better, so it might be a while before I go after a 40K goal again (though 55 minutes is a nice round-ish number... that would require a 27 mph average)
The Philly Time Trial
A staple in the Philly racing calendar, I've only done this in under 20 minutes a handful of times. 19 minutes was a goal just as long as the 40K goal was. This year I did it this year in 18:10 (26.8 mph).
I missed the podium by 15 seconds, so I know I'll want to get under 18 minutes.
USA Cycling Ranking
I know, USA Cycling ranking doesn't really mean a lot, but it gives me a way to compare how I'm doing.
I finished out the year (out of Category 4 time trialists) as 3rd in Pennsylvania, 23rd in the country, and 2nd in the 30-39 age group.
Training Volume
Some of my best years, I was training around 420 hours over the course of the year (8 hours a week on average over 52 weeks). This year, I just crossed 500 hours, and will probably be around 510 (9.8 hour a week) by the end of my training year next week.
Betzwood-Art Museum Route:
I've been doing this 41.6-mile route since my skating days (though back then I was starting at the Museum and riding to Betzwood park and back). At some point I decided that I wanted to do it in under 2 hours. It's mostly flat but has a few decent climbs and there are several red lights to worry about and a little pedestrian traffic on the trail. This year I did it in 1:58:53 (21 mph).
Race Results
As of March 2013, I'd never won a bike race. My best ever result was from a long range breakaway in a race where I finished 4th (out of a 6-man break that finished several minutes ahead of the pack).
This year, out of 11 races, I won three, finished 2nd in three, and finished 3rd in one race for a total of 7 times on the podium. I never could have imagined such a solid season.
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With the end of the season here, I'm faced with picking goals for the next season (including training goals, race selection, amount of weight loss, and target body fat). When I was fat and out of shape lats year, it was easy to set goals. Now that I'm a lot leaner and faster, I'm finding it a lot harder to pick goals that are challenging, interesting, motivating, and at least remotely possible so I can reach them.
I have some other ideas that are more nebulous. I know my flexibility and core strength at not great. The gap between my 5 minute and 20 minute power is a little larger than I'd like. I want to see if I can get just a little more aerodynamic on the TT bike.
Oh yeah.... and maybe I'd like to win more than 3 out of 11 races ;-)
