Tuesday, February 25, 2014

"Off" Season

I am not sure how much of an off season other triathletes have, or what other sports enjoy, but for me I did not have much of an off season this year.  I had a forced 1 week completely off after having sinus surgery.  I was able to get back to light training one week after the surgery and was able to swim another week later.  The surgery was well worth the pain and time off, since I believe I am training better than I ever have.  With less than a week until my racing season starts, I will find out soon enough how fit I am.
As for my off season from racing, I had a lot to get done in the winter months.  With the next Olympics 2 years away and my swim not where it needs to be I have embraced the dry skin and hair bleaching with open arms; I can tell exactly where my cap stops on the back of my head.  I have been working hard and have seen small gains in the pool.  I am excited to see where that gets me out of the water in a race.  
I have set monthly PRs for total yards and total hours on the bike in the month of January.  It is crazy to think that I rode more on a trainer in January than I have in any month outdoors.  It is a good thing I have real course videos and ErgVideos to look at while on the CompuTrainer.  A lot of people believe quality training can only be done outdoors.  If Andy Potts can train daily on a CompuTrainer and only ride outside when he races, I believe I can gain fitness riding inside for 4 months.  I had a chance to be in Las Vegas for 3 months, but I chose to stay in South Bend and build a base indoors.  I ran outside as much as I could, but like most of the country South Bend has had one of the worst winters in a long time.  It has been bitterly cold and there has been at least a foot of snow on the ground since early January.  Why did I not go to Vegas??  I got married in the summer last year and I could not leave my wife for that long.  Plus I will be traveling a lot this season for races outside the country, so I wanted to maximize my time with my wife while I could.  We will see if I gained enough fitness this winter. 
I am a little nervous about riding in a draft pack after not riding outside all winter, but I have the day before the race to get comfortable again.  Clermont is the season opener and I am using it as a warm up race to prepare for two world cups in Australia and New Zealand in the middle of March. I am excited to get out of the cold for a little bit and to start racing again.

Always do your best.  What you plant now, you will harvest later.  ~Og Mandino

Kaleb