The Offseason

At least in my neck of the woods, the triathlon season has come to a close. The days are getting shorter and temps are on the decline. I think it’s beneficial and healthy to take a little time off, or at least to take it easy. You don’t wanna get burned out. Following my last tri of the season I’ll typically take time off each discipline, usually staggered a bit. In past years, after a couple weeks I’ve started to miss it... I’m an addict for sure. Everyone’s wired differently, but I’m not the guy who does the last race of the year and then doesn’t see a pool again until April. I’m huge on trying to be consistent with my routine, although I definitely chop volume and intensity for a couple months.

In an effort to keep up with the Kardashians, last year during this time I essentially had a nose job. Ok, the purpose was really to help me breathe better, as I had a severely deviated septum, but it forced me to take a few weeks completely off. That was tough, although I have enjoyed not being such a drooling mouth breather all the time. Well at least less of one.

the standard we should all strive for

This year I’ve decided to just do whatever sounds fun. If I want to take a day off I do, but I’ve found that most days I genuinely want to go for a swim, bike, or run as opposed to doing nothing. Training is fun for me most of the year anyways, but especially during this time. Most weeks have been 2x swim, bike, run, but usually only 30-60 min. The effort ranges from easy to moderate… I think a kid with a backpack passed me on his Razor scooter the other day.

As a previously mentioned addict who also lives in Excel spreadsheets much of the day, naturally I’ve got my training plan written up for when I start back “for real.” We can create one for you as well if you’re interested... just let us know! I’ll be heading back to Ironman St. George 70.3 in May, then Ironman Coeur d’Alene in August. The rest of my season is up in the air at this time, but I’m stoked to have those two giant pillars on my schedule. My program (“The Blueprint” as I refer to it) will kick off fairly soon, and like most training plans will ramp up over time. I’ve got a couple BHAGs in mind (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), and we encourage you to do the same! There’s nothing like a personal challenge to keep you motivated in the pain cave when Old Man Winter rears his ugly head.