Transition

The title of this post encompasses my mental and physical state at this stage of the year, plus my current location in the yearly training cycle that shares the name of those descriptive attributes. This is always a difficult time of the year for a dedicated and competitive triathlete to navigate, but also an important one. I am a little more than 5 weeks past my final and marquis race of the season, my "off-season" and time away from training is over, and now I am into what can best be described as the transition phase of the macrocycle. This is often a time when you are tempted to start training hard right out of the gate, and start laying down some serious volume in anticipation of the year to come - however this is the last thing that should be done and in the end patience is key. This is the time to recharge the batteries while getting active again and getting back into something of a routine. Now make no mistake, this is not the same sort of routine as what one would find in June or even February for that matter, but it is a routine nonetheless and important to get back into the daily habit while having some fun. Fun has consisted of some masters swim meets, crazy swim relays for charity at practice....., trail running, mountain biking, cold morning barefootin'....., and even some crossfit. The crossfit has been the most notable addition to my routine, and this has been due in large part to my brother Chris' suggestion and also my desire to work on my all around strength for next season. I have yet to get too crazy with the olympic powerlifting component, but have been doing some rowing, wall pushups, pullups, pushups, jump roping, and my new favorite full body move, the thruster. I hope to learn some different routines and get into it a bit more to help build some full body strength and explosiveness that I hope will add some speed and enhance my power for next year. In the meantime though, I am trying to get back into the habit of frequent morning runs, evening swim and bike sessions followed by lifting, and then weekend adventures and even another swim meet this coming Sunday. That and some Dirty Dozen recon with (for) Jocey this coming weekend, as the Thanksgiving weekend tradition of the Turkey Trot + DD is just around the corner! In any case, the fitness is returning and I am having some fun starting to push the limits again, so the transition is in full effect and just what the doctor ordered. If all goes as planned, I will head into the start of my base training very shortly with more strength and motivation than ever. That first race of 2011 will be here before we know it! Good evening all-