Change in Season

Saturday 10 mile run / 1:43:22

Sunday 13 mile bike / 41:55                    3 mile run / 27:51  (brick)

Monday 3 mile run / 26:59                      60 min boot camp

Tuesday 3 mile run / 27:36                     60 min boot camp

Wednesday 3.5 mile run / 31:40           15 mile bike / 43:43

Interestingly enough, looking over my workouts this week, only the weekend workouts were done outside. I’ve been running on the treadmill and biking on the trainer. Even boot camp moved indoors for the next month!

This week felt like I was really jumping head first back into triathlon training and I’m finding I really like the idea of a season.

You see, in Louisiana, we really don’t get seasons. Unless you count these:

We are in Mardi Gras season, otherwise known as winter. People put seats on the tops of ladders so that kids can sit in them and get all the good stuff coming off parades. We have seriously considered renting a child. Just kidding. But seriously.

And for years and years I was a runner and that’s all I did. Sometimes I ran long, sometimes I ran short. But I always ran slow.

But last year I started playing with triathlons, which have a season. My last triathlon was in September. I didn’t run anything longer than maybe, 6 or 8 miles all summer and the start of fall.

Once I finished my last triathlon, I switched gears and started running long miles to prepare for Ole Man River. I tried to swim. I tried to get Mo out to bike. I read how the ‘off season’ was such a great time to work on your weaknesses.

But I just wanted to run long. I even toyed with the idea of just running and not going back to triathlons. Briefly.

And then after Ole Man River, I quit running ‘fast’ long runs and maxed out long runs at 10 miles. And right around New Years, we had two weeks off from boot camp and I took 3 days off from running in one week. Unheard of. I would never have planned for it, but it just kind of happened.

Last week I was really putting my plans together. Getting the bike trainer set up, meeting Coach C for our first swim session. And this week, it started to all come together. I feel refreshed from the break and ready to train hard.

Well…we’ll see if I’m still saying that after swimming tomorrow.

Do you live some place where there are seasons?

Do you train in seasons/cycles?