2016 Season Wrap-Up

At a Glance

A look back at a breakthrough 2016 season — from winter running PBs and a duathlon title defense (after getting hit by a car!) to a half-Ironman PB, a 70.3 Worlds qualification at Muncie, and a second IRONMAN World Championship finish in Kona, capped by the NYC Marathon and IRONMAN Cozumel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Set personal bests in the 10K, half marathon, marathon, and half-Ironman
Qualified for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships at Muncie
2x IRONMAN World Championship finisher (2014 & 2016)
2nd overall at the TOUGHMAN Half Championship
Qualified for the 2017 Boston Marathon

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Consistency compounds: A full calendar of running and triathlon racing produced PBs across every distance.
Resilience matters: Bounced back from being hit by a car to defend the Cedar Creek Duathlon title.
Big goals unlocked: Muncie delivered both a 70.3 PB (4:18) and a Worlds qualification.
Race the whole season: Capped the year with Kona, the NYC Marathon, and IRONMAN Cozumel.
Rest is part of the plan: Wrapped up with downtime before ramping into 2017.

All I can say is…WOW!

The season started up in January with a handful of running races, where I set personal bests in the 10km, half marathon (twice) and marathon. In March, I ran a 1:17 half marathon at Rock n Roll DC and then followed it up with a 1:16 half marathon at the New York City Half Marathon a week later.

Anthony Chan racing during the 2016 Season Wrap-Up

In early April, despite getting hit by a car during an afternoon run, I was able to bounce back quickly and defend my title at RaceAwesome’s Cedar Creek Duathlon in Merrick, NY.

Triathlon season started at the Kinetic Half Ironman, where I set a half ironman personal best while watching Christina take the overall Women’s win!

Race highlights from the 2016 Season Wrap-Up — matchy matchy!

June was a busy month with some shorter distance triathlons, highlighted by a 2nd place finish at the Port Washington Triathlon. Then came July and August, where we raced IRONMAN 70.3 Muncie & 70.3 Steelhead and climbed Whiteface mountain on our bikes.

Triathlon season moments: 2016 Season Wrap-Up

At 70.3 Muncie, Christina and I qualified for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, which will take place in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Moreover, at 70.3 Muncie, I set personal bests in the 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run that resulted in an overall finish time of 4 hours and 18 minutes, besting my time at the Kinetic Half Ironman by nearly 15 minutes!

On course during the 2016 Season Wrap-Up

By September, I had started ramping things up for IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. As part of the build-up towards Kona, I raced the Lake Placid Half Marathon and TOUGHMAN Half Championship. Thanks to an overall net-downhill course at the Lake Placid half, I was able to take the overall win in 1:17, less than a minute slower than what I ran at the NYC Half Marathon. A week later, I consolidated my training with a 2nd place overall at the TOUGHMAN Half.

Endurance racing during the 2016 Season Wrap-Up

Afterwards, I had 3 events left for the season, all of which have their own race reports:

2016 highlights

- Qualified for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships (September 10, 2017)
- 2nd overall at TOUGHMAN Championship
- IRONMAN World Championship finisher (2x – 2014 & 2016)
- Qualified for the 2017 Boston Marathon (April 17, 2017)
- Personal Bests in 10km, half marathon, marathon & half-ironman [70.3]

I am now very much enjoying some extra free time to catch up with family friends, do non-triathlon related things, and spend quality time with CCL 😉

2017 is right around the corner and training will be in full swing after Christmas.

Thank you to all my sponsors – you help make training and racing even more enjoyable!

And, stay tuned for some exciting news!

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