Being a Triathlete in the Off-Season

Winter is generally the off-season for Triathletes. This is certainly my off-season from racing and I'm taking advantage of it in several ways.


This summer when I finished Tri for the Cure, I was heart-broken that the Triathlon season was over. It was such an awesome summer! I told several people it was the best summer of my life. Training for something that seemed impossible to me, and then seeing it WAS possbile -- it doesn't get much better than that. Crossing the finish line (no matter how far back in the pack you are) is a high that can be amazingly addictive.






I extended the season a bit by training for the Denver 1/2 Marathon in October. Although I didn't finish in the time I was hoping, it was still a great experience.






Now I'm done racing until next Spring at the earliest, which requires a shift in thinking. How does one stay motivated in the off season, without that finish-line-goal? There are many possible answers to that question, but one key for me is to continue thinking of myself as a Triathlete, year round. I might be not be training for a specific Triathlon today, but I'm still a Triathlete. That's a title that can't be taken away from me now, and the more I embrace it, the more it motivates me!




People who know me also know I'm a sucker for goals so yes, I have goals for myself for the off-season. Here are my off-season goals:




1. Focus on weight lifting. I admit I've been a slacker in the weight lifting arena this summer. Time to get back to lifting 3x per week again. To be honest I don't enjoy it too much, but I know how important it is so I'll keep at it.


2. Switch things up. These last couple weeks I've taken a few exercise classes (kickboxing, spinning) I haven't taken in 6 months or so, and the change of pace has been great.


3. Have fun, for goodness sakes! I want to relish going for a run "just because," not to get in a certain number of miles. And who cares about time? Why even keep track?




And speaking of goals, now for the moment of truth: sharing my goal for next summer. I want to do an Olympic Distance Triathlon in Summer of 2009. That would be a 1 mile swim (about 34-36 pool laps to give you an idea), 24 mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run. Once I stop hyperventilating at the thought (because now that I've written it down it's going to be a reality), I'll look forward to blogging about it more in the future!

Halloween Scare: Starting a Blog!

This is my first blog post and I'll admit to some major anxiety.

I've been a blogger for Buzz Prevention for the past few months and it's been an awesome experience. I love what I'm doing there. Thanks to anyone and everyone's who has read some of my posts.

I've toyed with the idea of starting a personal blog for quite some time. Yet I keep putting it off. Quite frankly it scares me. Something about sharing the details of my daily life feels incredibly transparent and personal. I know I only have to write about what I want to write about, yet the nervousness remains.

However a writing job I just got requires a personal blog, so it's time for me to step out of my comfort zone and start a blog. It was the kick in the behind I needed to get going.

"Stepping out of my Comfort Zone" could quite easily be the theme for my whole life in the last few years. In future posts I hope to share more of my story -- becoming a foster parent. Losing almost 100 lbs. Moving from a total couch potato to someone who now does Triathlons. Getting our family finances in order (attempting to). Becoming a freelance writer.

One thing I've learned about stepping out of my comfort zone is that the first step is usually the hardest. So thanks for sharing in my first and hardest step, and I hope we can share many more hours of words and ideas together!