Training season is off and running! (literally)  This past week I have hopped back on the bike and breaking in the new shoes which I love so far!  I didn't realize how much I missed working out until I was doing it this past week.  I will confess that I am starting off then I did last year but I figured that since I am starting earlier I have the ability to start out a little slower and ease my body back into all the training.

My runs have been fairly short and incredibly slow!  That would be the one thing that is really bothering my right now.  Then again, I have to remind myself that I will start out being out of shape and that it will take a little time to get back into it.  My runs consisted of an easy rolling hills run on Monday, a Fartlek run on Wednesday, and today will be a long aerobic run with maybe some rolling hills.

A lot of changes have happend with regards to my bike.  I have dropped the handle bars/aerobars about 1.5", raised the seat post a few centimeters and I've noticed a huge difference in my positioning.  It's not the perfect aero position but it is certainly an upgrade from how I was positioned at Racine.  It will take some getting used to but I think it will help me with overall speed down the road.  I'm hoping to get a long bike ride in either Saturday or Sunday, depending on when I will have time and the weather.

That's the major update for right now, hopefully I'll have a few more interesting updates to give next week!

So it's been quite a while since my last post.  I have to say that I have enjoyed my off-season to the absolute fullest!  It didn't take me very long to start getting a serious itch to start training again but I forced myself to take more time to really let my body and mind rest.  Getting a chance to watch the Madison Ironman in person last weekend and volunteering drove me to the point that I need to get back to training.  So, here we are, training season has begun again!

Coming off of not feeling well, today will be my first official training day.  Although the past few weeks have been filled with strength training, my aerobic training combined with strength training begins today.  With that said, we will see how long I can go coming off the bug I had over the weekend.

My goals for this upcoming year are fairly straight forward.  First, I want to compete in a couple more triathlons then I did last year.  I would like to do a couple international distances, Chicago Triathlon perhaps?  Second, I want to compete in my first half and full marathon runs.  Not sure which ones yet but will be doing research in the coming days to pick two.  The full marathon definitely won't be happening until next fall.  Finally, my plan is to race the Muncie 70.3 ironman.  I considered a repeat of Racine again but decided that expanding to another race would be a more enjoyable adventure.  So there it is, my plan for this upcoming year!  Will update soon on how I plan on going about succeeding.  Stay tuned!