Planning the 2018 Season

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
Benjamin Franklin

It is always exciting to plan for the next season, however, there are so many aspects that need to be considered before finalizing the calendar. On one hand are the logistics and limitations of each event itself (i.e. slots available, location, entry restrictions, etc.), on the other hand are the personal aspects that impact a participation in a race (i.e. family commitments, financial considerations for a race beyond the entry fee, race demands, terrain, etc.)

For me as the father and husband of a young family, my first consideration is always my family, and how my participation in a race will affect them. The things that I always consider are; how will my time away for this particular event will affect my family?, if I am away, who will help/assist with looking after the kids?, what will I take away from my family if I relocate financial and time resources to a race/event?, how involved will my family be in this event? Will they attend it? will they travel? Will they stay home? How much time do I have to take away from them during the training? Will I train 10, 15, 20 or 25+ hours a week? …and much more, but the one of the most important thoughts in my mind is, what can I teach my kids with this experience? Will I inspire them, will they learn from seeing me working hard and diligently at training? I hope that they learn that hard work is required to achieve big goals and with hard work we can get closer to achieving our dreams and goals.

Then I have to consider the race itself, can I do it? Has it been done before? What are the conditions of the race? What is attractive to me in this race? WHY do I want to do this race? What will I get out of this race? I have actually build a matrix through which I run each event I am considering to participate in.

EVENT

EVENT DATE EMOTIONAL COST WHY WHAT DO I EXPECT TO GET OUT OF THIS RACE WHAT DO I BRING TO THIS RACE

Based on this, these are some of the events I am considering for 2018

2018 EVENTS OF INTEREST
  DATE EVENT TRIATHLON CYCLING RUNNING
January 14-Jan-18 Houston Marathon x
26-Jan-18 Vuelta a Puerto Rico x
February 2-Feb-18 PaceBend Ultra 6Hrs x
10-Feb-18 Bike Sebring 12/24 x
10-Feb-18 Rocky Raccoon 50 milers x
25-Feb-18 Cowtown 50K x
March 3-Mar-18 Tinajas Ultra x
17-Mar-18 BadWater Cape Fear x
18-Mar-18 70.3 Puerto Rico x
April 6-Apr-18 Bessie’s Creek 6-12 Hrs x
8-Apr-18 Galveston 70.3 x
20-Apr-18 Texas Ultra Spirit 6-12-24Hrs x
28-Apr-18 IM Texas x
29-Apr-18 BadWater Salton Sea x
May 5-May-18 EPIC5 Hawaii x
June 2-Jun-18 Amarillo 6-12-24 Hrs in the Canyon x
2-Jun-18 70.3 Hawaii x
10-Jun-18 70.3 Italy x
July July 2018 Cycling Training Camp with friends x
7-Jul-18 Triple Bypass x
15-Jul-18 Solo 12 Hr Ultra – Dobrovnik SLOVENIA x
21-Jul-18 Alaskaman x
23-Jul-18 Badwater 135 Crewing x
August 4-Aug-18 70.3 Boulder x
6-Aug-18 EPIC5 Canada x
September 4-Sep-18 Silver State 508 x
9-Sep-18 70.3 Santa Cruz x
22-Sep-18 IM Italy x
30-Sep-18 70.3 Cascais x
October 7-Oct-18 Chicago Marathon x
November 4-Nov-18 New York Marathon x
4-Nov-18 70.3 Buenos Aires x
23-Nov-18 Ultraman World Championship Hawaii x
December

Over the next few days I will be finalizing the events I am committing to in 2018. I am taking into consideration that some of this events are subject to acceptance either through a draw/lottery or through interview and selection by the organizers. Also, some of them would be mutually exclusive, meaning that by choosing one, I will not be participating in another event.  I will publish my racing calendar, once it is finalized.

What events are you considering/participating in 2018?