Revising the Training Plan... Yet again

I'm sure I'm doing myself no good by revising the training plan yet again, but my goals seem to be changing every few weeks or so.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene is likely not a reality next year. I just don't know how I can find the time to help raise two newborns and still have the energy to go to work and train for an Ironman race. I still haven't ruled it out, but I only have a few weeks to decide, as the 2006 Ironman CdA race is rapidly approaching, and I would need to sign up as soon as registration for 2007 opens following the race.

Okay... so what's the current plan? Running. I'm a terrible runner. I used to be pretty good as a kid, but alas! I'm slow as an adult. This is the one area of multisport I REALLY need to work on. So how am I going to do it? The Colorado Outward Bound Relay and the Denver Marathon.

The Colorado Outward Bound Relay is a 24 hour, 170-mile, 10-person relay race through the Rocky Mountains on September 8-9. It consists of 30 separate race legs ranging from about 3-12 miles each. Each team member is required to run 3 legs of the race, and the teams must cross the finish line together. I volunteered for one of the most difficult legs, doing 6.2 miles up Guanella Pass. Looks like I have a lot of hill running to do to be ready for this race.

The Denver Marathon (October 15, 2006) will be my first stand alone marathon ever. I had planned to do the Dallas White Rock marathon back in December of 2003 in preparation for Ironman Wisconsin, but a nagging knee injury forced me to withdraw. As a result, the only marathon I've ever done came at the end of the Ironman, following 2.4 miles of swimming and 112 on the bike. I'd like to see what I'm capable of in a standalone marathon. My Ironman marathon was a little disappointing, as I ran/walked it to a 5 hour split. With proper training, I think I can get down to a 3:30 finishing time (eventually), and I'm shooting for a sub-4 hour time this fall. Prparing for the Outward Bound Relay should help a lot, as I'm sure I'll need to run quite a few hills and mountain passes to be ready for that. That can only help my speed and endurance for the flat Denver Marathon.

Marathon Goal Time: 3:56:00 (~9 min/mi pace)

More to come on the training front.