Now that I have finished all my competitions for the 2007 outdoor season, it seems appropriate that I take a tally. The goal of this season was to gain as much racing experience as I could as 2007 is a development year for me. I'm proud to say that I have accomplished this goal.
- 1 half marathon
- 4 marathons
- 1 10K race
- 5 track races (including provincials and nationals)
- Montreal 24hr Relay
That's 12 weekend of racing. Woah, I spent half of my weekends in the outdoor season (April - September) racing. I haven't even included my dragonboat regattas and the fact that I went to Europe in April and again in June!
Of all the races, I think provincials and the Canada Day Marathon were my breakthrough races for track and road racing respectively this season. My results in provincials were huge improvement over last year and it kicked off a trend of breaking my personal best throughout the season. I felt good on the track and it was a great boost to the morale. The Canada Day Marathon gave me the confidence to skate solo in a notoriously slow course. It was this confidence that gave me the resolve to race to the best of my ability even though I was dealing with a very small pack in Duluth.
Nationals and Ottawa Inline Festival were the low points of my season. Due to inappropriate change in training and my inexperience with tapering, my times at Nationals were slower than my rec-skate days from last season. Bonking and boot problem plagued my race in the Ottawa marathon. However, I learned what works for me and what doesn't in both events so I am appreciative of these learning opportunities. As I have no big expectation this year, these are all valuable lessons which are quite affordable when I look at my development as a skater/competitor.
Compared to 2006, I have increased my training load. I manage to keep up with a disciplined 6-days-a-week training schedule. I supplemented my skating with dragonboat practices twice a week which strengthened my core muscles immensely. I rarely experience any back pain during skating (touch wood). During early season, I went twice to Rondeau Provincial Park for some much needed mileage. I also took up running for cross-training purposes. I can now consistently run 5km in 26 minutes.
All in all, I am happy with my progress in 2007.
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