Off Season!

Wahoo!

Seriously, I am soooo happy to have survived Tri Season 2013.  Seeing where I was a year ago and where I am now is amazing.  A year ago, I was rebuilding and relearning how to run after breaking my heel, hoping that everything I had planned in 2013 would go well.  This year's tri season exceeded my expectations with the main highlight being IMCDA.  I still can't get over how well that day went - it really was a fantastic day.

I spent Sunday putting Merlin back together (so easy now that I know what I'm doing) and putting away all of my triathlon race stuff.  Its a bit sad, but also nice.  Hopefully I'll remember where I put everything in June.

I'm still a bit tired after Oilman.  My muscles are fine but there's still some underlying fatigue.  I've swam 3x and its gone just ok.  One of those times was a 3k yard postal challenge.  It sounded like a good idea a week before Oilman and then it sounded like a not-very-good idea after.  But I had committed.  And I got a free (really nice) silicone swim cap.  But I was a good 1-2 min slower than in previous years and probably a good 3-4 min slower than I should have been, given how I've been swimming this year.

I went for an easy run Tuesday (or "joggy-jog" as my coach put it).  I did 30 min in beautiful Colorado 50-degree sunshine.  I ran too fast but my legs felt good and I just wanted to RUN.  I wanted to do hot yoga last night but the instructor was a no-show.  So I went home and watched tv.  Same thing, right?

We're easing into the off-season.  I'm not quite sure what my training will look like but I'm pretty sure it will resemble last year pretty closely, with maybe more speed/strength added in since I'm not coming off of a fracture.  I'm also going to really try and do yoga once a week because I think its good for me.  I'm just going to put it on my calendar and let Michelle deal with it.

And I'm going to ski.  This year is looking pretty good so far.  Copper opened up Nov 1 - with a powder day!  I'm hitting the slopes Saturday, which may be a early-season record for me.  And its looking like a powder day.  Now to figure out which skis to bring......  And to find my ski gear.

2014 is shaping up to look like a fun tri year.  I'm doing the Winter Distance Series again.  Its really well done and it does keep you running over the winter.  May will be the Colfax half marathon.  June is Boise 70.3.  Yes, I'm signed up for Boulder 70.3 but I have a very important wedding to attend that same weekend in Idaho, which means Boulder is out.  So Boise it is.  (and I say this making a bit of a squinty/scared face, that race and I do not have a fabulous history).  July will be spent riding my bike lots.  And August 3, 2014 is the Big Show - Ironman Boulder.  And then I'll spend the rest of August sleeping or camping or fishing.

Also in 2014, I have some pretty fun tri-related opportunities.  I've been accepted as an ambassador for 2 groups and accepted on a local tri team.

Colfax Marathon Ambassador: they wrote up this super cool bio for me and I get some pretty nice gear, including a light weight running jacket with a ton of reflective stuff on it.  In return, I promote the race, which is a pretty easy deal.  I'm really looking forward to running through the Denver Zoo during the half marathon.

Gone for a Run: I follow their feed on facebook, and it turns out that they have an internet store focused on running stuff.  They'll send me products every couple of months and I'll review them here on my blog.  I've got two things so far (Yakety Yak Knee Socks and PR Soles sandals).  Both are pretty awesome.

And finally, I managed to get myself on a local triathlon team.  I admit, I have a thing for cool looking kits that you can't just purchase (ie you have to earn it).  Its definitely elitist tri-cool-kid envy.  The envy was alleviated a bit with my two Active Ambassador teams (Sony and SunRype) but this year, it takes more than a free team kit and a bunch of free samples to make me happy.  The Active groups don't have much sense of local community and I've decided that community and friendships are something that I want in my team.  There are two main "you have to apply and be accepted" teams in town and I think the competition is pretty fierce.  I've really focused on building my local resume this year with the goal of being accepted.  And yay, I was accepted to Kompetitve Edge today!  Hurray!