Tagged!

I was tagged by Stuart of the Quadrathon Blog and Podcast. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged and leave a comment below, with a link to your blog post.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

1. What are you most proud of accomplishing in 2010?

I know a lot of people might think that I should be proudest of finishing my first half iron in June, but although that was an accomplishment, I'm never really content or proud of simply "finishing" a race. I don't like going into a race simply to survive it - I much prefer to do my best training and come close to a reasonable goal time. I'm really not so concerned about where I place in my age group as I am about meeting goal times that are possible for me.

So that being said, I guess my proudest moment this year is the Oliver Sprint Tri last May. It was the first time I had a good swim, bike, AND run in the same race. It was my fastest triathlon run and as a bonus, it was the first time I actually 'podiumed' in a race.

A very close second is my first half marathon in October - although I again had some ITB issues, I was able to overcome the pain and finish in a reasonable-for-me time.

I should probably mention I'm also pretty proud of swimming across the lake this summer. It was more of a mental accomplishment than a physical one. :)

2. What are your running goals for 2011?

My first goal is to do a decent half iron in Oliver in June 2011. That means I'd be happy to have the same swim and bike time as last year but knock at least 30 minutes off my run - in other words, actually run the whole thing. :)

My second goal is to run a full marathon in October 2011. This one is kind of a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) because I don't know if I can actually accomplish that goal this year but I'll give it a good shot. OK, I know, yes, I can run a marathon next fall - but as I mentioned above, I'm not interested in simply surviving a race - I'm not going out with the intention of running a 5:30-6:00+ marathon. I think a reasonable goal would be 4:30-5:00 and if I can't even come close to that, then I'd prefer to keep plugging away at my running and wait another year.

3. What is your favorite race?

My favourite race is actually the Oliver Sprint Tri - it's fun, it's not too big, and it's early enough in the season that I haven't had summer vacation get into the way of my training. Plus you win a wine glass - I need a second place glass next year to complete my set. ;)

4. What is your most embarrassing running moment?

I've been thinking about this one a lot - trying hard to think of a time when I've been embarrassed during a run. For most people it's a bathroom break issue but I guess I've been lucky in that regard. I supposed my most embarrassing moment running was when I tripped and rolled through a deep mud puddle when was running along the highway down in Osoyoos last summer. It was embarrassing mainly because the trucker driving by, must have seen me go down. It happened so fast, I just suddenly found myself sitting hip deep in the middle of a puddle. I was a little scraped but the worst of it was the drowning of my ipod.

My most embarrassing cycling moment was running into the back of a parked truck after doing hill repeats on Steel one afternoon. Lesson learned - don't hang your head down even for a moment when you are tired. Luckily I wasn't going very fast.... ;)