It’s been a while since my last blog (Kona in October to be
exact) and there’s a reason for that hiatus. I took a serious break from all
things triathlon. After suffering through Kona with an injury I really thought
that was going to be my last triathlon. I had no desire to race let alone
train. So I took a break. A long break.
I slept in, stayed out late and drank lots of wine until finally that
itch to race and train started to come back.
In the course of that hiatus I agreed to run a marathon with
my dad in his attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon (because in my mind
that was somehow still taking a break from racing). It seemed like a reasonable
task even though I was nursing a partially torn hamstring and not doing
anything physical at all! But agreeing to do that race was probably the best
thing, because it got me motivated to fix my hamstring and get off the couch.
I hired a new coach, Nate Helming (http://www.helmingathletics.com), who
I had been watching on YouTube for a while. I thought his approach to training
was the change I needed. We started working together in December and slowly started
rebuilding this broken machine! He also convinced me to start working out at Deuce
Gym (http://www.deucegym.com). One of the
owners, Logan, is how I found Nate in the first place. This would allow me to
have trained eyes on me while I did my strength work; and Nate could still
program it around my training schedule.
I know I am going to hear so much backlash from all of my
triathlon friends (Dusty Nabor) about incorporating strength training into my
routine but it’s been the best thing I have done in years. Not only is it super
fun, but also I am making huge gains in the swim, bike and run already and my
body has never felt better. It’s only been 2.5 months and the difference is
pretty remarkable. It’s also nice to have a change in training and be around
athletes who are not triathletes!
I am now excited about the idea of racing in 2015 and I am
starting to plan out my season (which still might include some mountain bike
and trail races). It will definitely be a slow build with my bigger races taking
place later in the year, but I am looking forward to having fun in the sport
again!
Speaking of “fun”, the marathon with my dad is THIS weekend,
and although I am far from being in top running shape it’s a chance to do
something just for fun with no real pressure to perform (all of the pressure is
on my dad to break 4 hours!!) Go Dad!
