But I started my race season way back in April. April!! Rage in the Sage in Vegas (BABY!). It seemed a bit early at the time but at that point my race season was to be over mid-September. And I distinctly remember eagerly awaiting the race because the off-season had gone on too long. Oy. Two days after Rage, I lit my headlamp and started running down the Grand Canyon. And kept running all the way to the other side and up a bit too. Until my knees started giving me trouble and I turned around and ran back. For 38 miles I had an incredible adventure.
Grand Canyon
The month of May came and went and I rediscovered my legs after a couple months of "over" training. And I decided to run BolderBoulder for the first time. Then there was the Hugo Bike Race at the end of May (78 miles!) and racing was an absolute blast. And I was training with my peeps and feeling good.
Me, Sonja, Beth post-78 mile road race
And June? Well that's where my season started to go long. I went to Kansas to race in my first 70.3 and qualified for Worlds. And really, who can turn down a spot to Worlds? Certainly not me!! So I forked over my $300 and made plans to be in Clearwater in November......I didn't race Lake to Lake because at the last minute I decided to haul the girls to Hawaii for my sister's wedding. (good decision!)
July came and went, with only one race...Boulder Peak (and the first time EVAH I went to the med tent). But I also met my new love, my new-to-me tri bike Newt and we started spending quality time together. At high speeds. Ahhh, still makes my heart flutter!!
Newt ready to race at State Games sprint
August was all about speedwork. A sprint at the beginning of the month and Nationals 3 weeks later. And then 3 weeks after that, Worlds in Australia. Can you say whirlwind??
And though my season when initially planned out was supposed to end after Worlds, I had one more Worlds to prepare for in Clearwater. But I really wanted to be done. And the weather turned too just to make it a bit more difficult. The beautiful "normal" October fall weather we have here in Colorado turned cold, wet and snowy. And the trainer had my name all over it...in October. I started to doubt my fitness and all the hard work I put in over the spring and summer. I didn't have many long days over 3 hours. But I managed to put a great race together.
Sonja and I racing together!!
Clearwater has come and gone and now I am setting up next year's race schedule!! I am so proud of this last season, I am almost sad to say goodbye to it! But I am ready to put it to bed and look forward to the challenges that 2010 will bring. A couple of bike races, a couple of half ironmans, a handful of oly distances, a worlds race. And the kicker? Ironman Arizona 2010. I'm signed up!
But back to resting, recoverying and all that good stuff. I got sick after Clearwater (and no I'm not blaming Sonja but she did start it!) and decided it was good to take a few days off. A few days turned into a conscious decision to actually take an entire WEEK off. I haven't done that since I had salmonella poisoning almost 3 years ago. The week went on and my cold didn't get better and I really had no good reason to swim, bike or run. It was kinda nice. I do admit to lots of lounging. And eating too because I think my appetite was still big from the race. I have been baking. And I have not missed training.
Until now! So, starting tomorrow morning I am back in the pool. And since I have a marathon in January (why, oh why did I pick a January marathon???) the miles will also pick up tomorrow!
So, with that....farewell to "last" season, and the 2 week "no" season, and hello to "off" season!!!
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