End of the Off Season

So, it's been awhile. I'm terrible at updating blogs. It's something I'm working on. Hopefully, with the end of my Off-Season will come the end of not updating this blog. This was supposed to keep me in check, let me rant, let me pretend I have sage advice, and let me put things out into the world.
It's funny, I'm now two seasons through triathlons and I feel like I still know absolutely nothing. Even so, people trust me to instruct others! (I know, I get to ruin other peoples' race lives as well!)

I took up co-leading the club's Masters Swim group. I'm one of eight co-leads/coaches for the group and I probably have less experience swimming than anyone else on deck. I feel like a fraud up there most days. As if anyone should listen to me. I'm giving pointers to some folks who swam in high school. What the hell do I know? Oddly though, I'm not half bad at it and I really enjoy it. I think all coaches are just bullshit artists anyhow. Which is why I think I am able to also pick up volunteering as a co-lead for the Half Ironman Training Program for the club as well. I've run one Half Ironman. ONE. And I didn't run it well. At all. Like, seriously. I was the slowest of our group that went down to Augusta to do it. I also managed to sprain my ankle going into T1 and didn't realize it until after I crossed the finish line. I love endorphins!

This is me now though. Passing on the little knowledge I've gained in two years. Hopefully helping others continue on smoothly where I faltered. Hopefully learning more myself from seeing everything from the other side. And somehow managing to get in my own training!

I have an "A" race this coming year. It's the only race I have on my schedule. I'm trying to figure out what races I want to set up around it. That race is Ironman Lake Placid. I'm terrified and I feel like I've already ruined my shot at it.

I took an entire month off with very little activity. I burned myself out over this past season and needed to reboot. I feel like I'm starting at zero. I'm not, but I'm neurotic. I'm no where near where I wanted to be at this point. I gained 12 points in 3 months. That's crazy. I don't really feel bad about it. I think I did what I needed to do to get myself to a point where I could come back and get to training again. But my little roll is redeveloping on my back and I was really happy to see that go over the course of 2012. I know it won't be around long, but still.

So, it's the end of my Off-Season. It's time to get back into REAL training. It's time to kick it up a notch and remind my body what pain and suffering is and how much it likes it. It's also time to make sure Cat can't catch me!

This disjointed post brought to you by my brain.

Stupid being sick

I've been completely worthless for two days now. Mid-day on Tuesday I started getting a sore throat and was stuffy. Thought it was allergies. Totally wrong. By Tuesday night I was a total wreck and in bed by 9.
Sadly, all I can think about is getting back out and training! Between the guilty need with Augusta only 6 weeks away and the fact that it's become such a part of my life, not being out training feels so backward now.

Am I the only one who gets this way?

I'm a bad triathlete and I don't even feel bad about it

I ended up leaving work early today because I hadn't been feeling great and I had a really bad sinus headache growing on me. I came home and took a nap and put an ice pack on my head just trying to get ahead of it. About 7 o'clock I started to feel better, but by that point, I couldn't head to Masters swim (bad triathlete, missing workouts and all).
Then I got a text from my friend Sean. He and his partner, Bo, were down in Chinatown heading to see the new Michael Jackson themed Cirque du Soleil show, The IMMORTAL World Tour, and wanted me to join. I had never seen a Cirque show and really had no idea that show was even in town. Plus, Ray is in California visiting friends and I'm just at home by myself. So, why the hell not?
At first, I felt guilty. I mean, I'm missing a night of training to go see a show! Then I thought how crazy that sounded. I've become one of those people. A slave to my trade. A slave to the workouts, to the numbers on the scale, to the numbers on the Garmin. Why shouldn't I be able to miss one night of training to hang out with some friends?
It was a good choice. The show was great and the company was perfect, as always. I'm now awake later on a Friday than I have been in weeks and may even get my workout in late tomorrow...

eh, maybe not, I don't think I can continue to rationalize this behavior.

New Blog, Same Dork

Bienvenidos!

So, I was recently told I wasn't a REAL triathlete until I had a blog about it. This is moreso a safe space though. No more updates to Facebook and hopefully less mocking from friends. It's all done in fun, but I do understand that most people probably don't care that, according to Nike+, I "Just crushed another run". Or that I was bumped up a lane at Masters Swim and was dropped to a 1:40 100m.

So, sit back and enjoy the good, the bad, and the sweaty as I recount training, race reports, and general musings.