A much needed break

In May I decided I was going to take the summer off of triathlon.  After 10 years of  training I needed a mental, as well as a physical break. I was just going through the motions of training, but my heart wasn't in it.  I've stayed true to my decision, that is until I decided I needed a goal so I could maintain some level of fitness.  I registered for the Kelowna half marathon on the Thanksgiving Day long week-end.  I need a goal for training; I can't just run for the sake of running - that's boring.

I still ride at least once per week - when I want to - and it feels good to not feel obligated to put in so many hours on the bike.

I wanted to stay somewhat involved in triathlon, and once a triathlete always a triathlete, so I registered for two back-to-back sprint triathlons... Lake Chaparral on August 7 in Calgary and St. Albert on August 14.  After all, they are short triathlons and I figured I have enough of a base that I can get through a couple of short races with no training.

As the day of Lake Chapparal was approaching, I started getting nervous that I may not race too well, but I wasn't overly concerned.  I have nothing to prove to anyone.

Race day is here and I'm ready to toe the line.  My swim is going well and I'm not going off course, well not a lot anyway.  My time was 17:49 - decent, considering I haven't swam since Ironman last August.   At 47:53 the bike took longer than usual for a 20 km ride, but I later found out that the course was long, so that made me feel much better.  Oh maan!  Am I going to be able to get through a 5 km run after all that.  I guess we'll see.  Good news; I got through it with a time of 32:16.  My overall time was 1:37:57, 9th out of 27 women is pretty respectable - the top third.  Check out my results here.  Oh, and just so you know; triathlons are easier to get through if you train!

That was last week-end; now onto this week-end.

I didn't have to wake up quite as early this morning since I only live three minutes away from the race site.  My swim was slower today than last week-end.  I guess wet suits really do improve a person's swim time.  The swim took 18:13; bike 45:05 and run 28:51.  Fourth out of 13 in my age category is very decent, and considering I'm at the top of my age group and the majority of my competitors are younger than me, that's even more of a well-deserved pat-on-the-back.  Each of my three disciplines are OK; it's my transitions that need work - they are so slow.  Here are my results.