Winter.....It's not my favorite time of year, I hate being cold, I hate the snow and most of all I HATE training indoors. If I could pick up and move somewhere to train outside year round, I would be there in a second. That being said, I have always made due during the winter months. I suck it up and jump on a spin bike or treddy until we get a decent day and I can go outside. It has never been ideal but never has it been like this! This winter has just been an absolute mess!
There is a pool under there somewhere.....
That being said, my off season has been just about as messy as this wonderful winter weather. After the race I kept up my training as if I were going to another race in a few weeks. That did not fair well for me, my body did not like it and I had to shut things down for about two weeks around Christmas because my IT band was crazy inflamed. From their things just began to snowball (pun intended) into more injuries. I have had a locked sacrum, threw out my back, knots, tightness, pain...just about everything you could possibly think of. None of it has been serious but it is just ANNOYING. While I was talking with a good friend and my personal athletic trainer last night, he warned me that my body could STILL be getting used to everything that has happened over the past year. Although that is not what I wanted to hear, the more I thought about it, the more I knew he was probably right. I practically lost an entire person that I was carrying around and I trained hard for a triathlon. My body is probably in something just short of shock. My joints and muscles and everything else are screaming back "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU INSANE?!" As much as I want to jump right in and do an Ironman tomorrow, I know now more than ever that I really need to take my time.
Unfortunately I have learned the hard way that it is very important to train you body and to train your WHOLE body, not just the parts you want to change. One of the areas that I have neglected the most was my core. I never dedicated days to working my core and I am paying for it now. It is called your core for a reason, it holds everything up and you need to take care of it, much more than I have! I felt myself getting stronger in the pool and on the bike, meanwhile I did not realize I was destroying myself by not following the basics. Learn from me, train your core and don't neglect it, you use it way more than you think when swimming, biking and running.
As of now I am nursing myself back to good health, just trying to take it easy, do some light training and keep myself in shape before I really start ramping things up. Our Youth Tri Club has started and I am coaching the swim sessions which I am super pumped about and having a blast. Along with the youth I will be helping with the adults, especially when spring arrives(is it ever coming back?) and we begin training in open water.
Just to follow up from last post, I have not shared this page with the adults I have been helping. For one I am unsure on how to bring it up and so I have just avoided it all together. On top of that, I have not had a session with them for a few weeks now due to this horrible weather around here. If anyone has an recommendations on how to do this please feel free to contact me or post a comment here!
All for now
Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself
I don't post on here on a daily basis but I do on other social media!
