And I'm Back!!

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!