Joel Maley: 2012 By the Numbers!

So arguably 2012 was a very successful year. I made it to the Canadian Forces Running Championships where I won the Half-Marathon in a time of 1:16:22 while setting a new PB for the Half. Shortly thereafter I completed the Epic Ironman St George, which will probably go down as the hardest race I have ever done. Then we welcomed the birth of our third child, Klara Jane. The following week I raced Ironman Coeur d’Alene where I won the M25-29 Age Group and obtained a coveted Kona slot. Kona was, well, a surreal experience and one that I’ll cherish especially considering I set an Ironman PB of 9:35. It was an amazing season of racing with both ups and downs. The keys to success were arguably two-fold: the unwavering support of my wife – Claudia, and the mentoring by my coach Brian Grasky.

So about the numbers…!

Training duration Pie Chart for 2012.

Swimming –338 km / 125 hrs

Biking – 6597 km / 210 hrs

Running – 1994 km / 145 hrs

Brick –2298 km / 82 hrs (Probably 2000 km biking / 300 km running)

Racing –942 km / 43 hrs

Other – 8 hrs

Total = 613 hrs

Performance Management Chart for the Year.

So the numbers are a little lower than I was expecting but considering we had a move in June/July, and I battled a chest virus/cold post Kona (that lasted two months), the numbers make sense.If you look at the Performance Management Chart (taken from Training Peaks), it's very evident that the volume dropped off significantly post Kona.

Moving Forward – Clearly my strength is the run, followed by the bike, and last my swim. I’ve been building my run volume through December by taking part in the Brainsport run every day challenge. I will look to put 1000kms in before the end of the annual slowtwitch 100 runs in 100 days challenge. I’m aiming for volume during that period, but will also try and keep the frequency up. I’ve always struggled getting to the pool, normally finding some lame excuse why I shouldn’t swim, so will set my sights on putting in 5 swims per week while targeting 15kms/week. Much like the 100 runs in 100 days challenge I’m considering a 30 minute swim the minimum to count.

Also some exciting news...the Cold Lake Rum Runners Saturday morning Spin Class. For anyone that knows me, I love giving back to the sport. So starting the 12^th of January I’ll be assisting with the operation of a Saturday morning cycling class. We’ll be operating out of Mackenzie School at CFB Cold Lake. Spin class starts at 0900hrs and we’ll gradually build up the duration to provide people with a good base for Sprint and or Olympic distance racing for the upcoming season. It’s open to all so if you are in Cold Lake and looking for a good workout, bring your bike and trainer and drop in for a solid workout.

Thanks for sharing and following the 2012 journey. Looking forward to racing in 2013!