It’s traditional at this time of year to look back over the year that was, and plan for the coming one. As I’ve entered my first half-Ironman later this year, I certainly have plenty to plan for, even if there is not so much to look back on.
To get me started, Strava provided this natty little video of my activities over the year:
2017
2017 was the the year I started taking Strava seriously. I have dutifully recorded each of my commutes for last year (much, I’m sure, to the annoyance of those who follow me), but it does mean I get an accurate idea of how far I’ve been and what mileage I’m putting through my bikes and components.
Bike – 2,917 km
I’m pleased to say that Strava reports my 2017 total bike distance as 2,917 km. Just a few years ago, that would be further than I ever thought I would cycle, yet I figure I expect to easily surpass in 2018, with more training and a few k per day extra commute.
Run – 71 km
The run front was much more disappointing. With both running and swimming, I really lost my mojo in the second half of the year – a mixture of general lack of enthusiasm and moving city. That meant I only covered a paltry 71 km on foot. Again, this has to improve, and early signs are that it will, with 7 km covered in the first week of the year!
Swim – 37,634 m
I covered 37,634 m. I don’t really have a sense for whether that is a good, bad or indifferent number. What I do know is that, similar to my run, activities stopped once we moved house, so my last swim activity was way back in September. If I can manage a full 12 months of training in 2018, there is no reason this number can’t be much higher.
Outlook for 2018
I think this can easily be summarised in the Olympic motto: faster, higher, stronger although in this case, it should probably be mangled to faster, further, longer!
- complete Ironman 70.3 Edinburgh
- increase ratio of bike training:commute (not sure how I can measure this with Strava’s tools)
- run further
- cycle further
- swim further
- spend more time on the turbo trainer (don’t know how to quantify this either!)
With those goals set, I’ll let you know how I get on this time next year!