Welcome, who cares?

Evolution of an athlete...

I have had a super time heading to Boston the past couple of weekends to hit the boards. I am always psyched to see different friends and competitors in the tight confines of Boston's indoor facilities. With the current popularity of blogging and online logs I have been fielding a lot of questions about the location of my log. I have tried a few different online formats and have not really liked what I saw. I thought Strands was the answer but it does not really seem like the community has gotten off the ground. With the regularity that I check my friends blogs it seems fitting that I make another addition to the training blogosphere.

I am calling this blog Evolution of an athlete because of my rather unorthodox goals that I have set for myself heading into my third decade. I have been joking around with my friend and training partner, Greg Hammett that I want to be looked at as a well rounded endurance athlete. With that being said my goals for this calendar year are sweeping and unique and will require a tiny bit of evolution on my part.

2010 goals

Run a "fast" mile:

Snow shoe race:

Run 2:22 for the marathon at VCM:

Complete and win an Xterra mountain triathlon:

Return to bicycle hill climb racing:

Plan of attack

First on my plate this year was racing the mile in an attempt to crack 4:10 for the first time since 2004. Following eight weeks of some basic speed work at Baker Street with the Keene training group I was able to run 4:08 last Saturday at the Terrier Classic. Given that my body was a wreck last week, strained hamstring, strained calf, etc... I was more than happy with my effort. I ran even the whole way but once again was lacking the big finishing gear that I had earlier last decade. So it goes... With a "fast" mile in the books it is time to turn my attention to running 2:22 at the Vermont City Marathon the last weekend of May. There is going to be plenty of excitement along the way with snow shoe racing but the primary focus is on the marathon. The day after the marathon I will begin to formulate my training for the triathlon.

Mark