It’s an odd feeling when you’ve been training for SO long
and all of a sudden everything you’ve been training for is over and there is no
more set workout schedule. The next
couple of weeks will have no structure in terms of working out which is a
really good feeling after sticking to a plan for so long. Since
the marathon, workouts have and continue to consist of circuit/cardio lifting
sessions, short easy runs with Brutus, easy swims, easy rides, elliptical
sessions, and lots of long family walks enjoying the fall weather with my
guys! One or two more weeks of keeping my
body moving and working on strength before we start an “off-season” strength
plan from our coach! And then come
January, we will each be working one on one with our amazing coach, who I am so
pumped to work with! I suppose January
is the real start of our journey to Lake Placid, and I can’t wait!
No weekend alarm clocks for awhile!!
After the Nation’s tri, I was focused on marathon training
(which paid off!) and I neglected the pool for a good 2 months and my poor bike
just sat inside lonely. Getting back in
the pool this past week felt surprisingly good!
I definitely didn’t feel as strong in the water as I did in September,
but it felt really good to be back at the pool.
Unfortunately, this weather doesn’t make for very good outdoor dates
with my bike, but that’s what the trainer is for! I’ve definitely missed being in the saddle,
but I know that I will have LOTS of quality time with my bike in 2014!
Time for some more dates with the pool!
These past two weekends have been so nice. Today, we ate breakfast, made a grocery list
& meal plan for the week, walked Brutus, grocery shopped and were back home
before 9am…and now we have NO plans other than folding laundry and watching
football! No workouts that we HAVE to do
and certainly no LONG workouts. We will
both hit the gym or hop on the bike trainer, but there is no rush and if we
choose to take Brutus hiking instead, that’s ok! I am really excited to get on a more
structured workout schedule again, but I am really enjoying these few off
weeks.
My body is also appreciating this down time. The same amount of sleep goes a lot longer
when you aren’t putting in 50+ miles per week!
I am starting to feel so refreshed
and I’m sure that I’m going to be SO ready to start working on speed for IMLP
come January! Until then, I will
continue to work on strength and low impact workouts to prep my body for the
upcoming journey! I plan to start incorporating more swims, weights, yoga, and
easy rides as well as less running. It’s going to be hard for me to run less, but
I know that my body will appreciate the lower impact workouts and it will be
ready to hit the pavement feeling strong when the time in the training schedule
is right!! Although, I’m sure I will be incorporating a few 2-3 miles “yogs” (realllyyy
easy & slow jogs) with Brutus each week…can’t let him get out of shape!!
Gotta keep this guy in shape! :)
This is our first true “off-season” where we have to really
focus on strength and maintaining fitness without burning ourselves out. We have some BIG races next year and we’ve
got to prepare our bodies for what’s to come.
We will continue to fuel our bodies with good real foods and keep our
eyes on the prize, but we will also enjoy this “down time” that we have before training
picks up and our focus shifts. I know
triathlons and marathons are not for everyone, but I am SO glad that we jumped
in and went after our dreams. I have
found a true passion in triathlon and distance running this year and I could
not be more excited to conquer my dream of becoming an Iron(wo)man! The best part is that I get to share this
passion and journey with my amazing husband!!
Beyond just enjoying the off season for the reasons I’ve
listed above, I am SO excited for the holidays with family. I don’t get to see my brother and his beautiful family nearly enough. We are busy, they are busy, and we don’t live
particularly close so unfortunately that doesn’t add up to us seeing each other
very often. The good news is that we will
get to see them over Thanksgiving AND over Christmas…I can’t wait!!! We will
also get to see my amazing sister-in-law, Heather, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles,
cousins, and I can’t forget the family dogs!!
We are so blessed with such an amazing family (I think I’ve said it
before, but when we got married we joined two of the coolest & most loving families
on the face of this earth!)
SO exicted to see these guys!!
It may only be November, but 2014 better get ready for the
Nelsons!! We’ve got some serious goals to accomplish and we are going after
them with everything we’ve got!
How are you spending your holidays?
What are your goals for 2014?
