I was in a bit of a funk as far as working out around the holidays. I did get a bit of exercise in, so I wasn't a complete lump, but I definitely slacked too much. I decided the only way to really get my butt back in gear was to fork over a few registration fees. So I did. I signed up for the ABD Indoor Time Trial Series. The first race is in 9 days, so that should get me motivated! I hope to do alright, mainly want to avoid making a total fool of myself over there, but we'll see! I need to be stepping outside of my comfort zone a bit, otherwise I'll never do anything, I'll just sit around wondering how I might've done. Not a very good way to live life! I've been doing a bit of cycling on my trainer and been trying to keep up on the spinning classes at the gym, but I'll be stepping up the training throughout the series and will hopefully be able to see decent improvement over time.

The Time Trial Series consists of five races:
1/1/07 -- 10K Flat TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
1/28/07 -- 10K Rolling TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
2/18/07 -- 10K Flat TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
3/4/07 -- 10K Rolling TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
4/1/07 -- 10 Mile TT at Maple Park

I also signed up for the 2007 New Year's Day Fun Run in Chicago. Decided it would be a good way to kick off the year on the right foot. It doesn't start till 11, so I'll have plenty of time to get into the city. I may also jump in Lake Michigan with the Chicago Polar Bears Club, but we'll see if I'm that brave! Definitely would be something to brag/talk about! I'll try to remember my camera if I do go through with it.

I'm making some headway on the planning. I bought Joe Friel's Triathlon Training Bible, and have been going through that trying to set up my training plan. Part of the challenge is figuring out which races I really want to do and which races I can cut out. I'm also trying to decide whether to join USAT. So far it looks like I might be doing three triathlons that are USAT sanctioned, so it would make sense to join ($30 for annual membership or $10 fee for nonmembers to race in USAT races). I would be breaking even, so might as well get me a key fob and those other benefits. I'm also noticing that registration is open for several of the races I'm considering. I know some have a tendency to fill up quickly, so I should register ASAP. The funds are short at the moment, given the Christmas shopping I've been doing, but registering will lock me into participating and be that much more motivation!

I'm also struggling with how ambitious to be about the cycling races. There are several time trials in the area (well, sort of, close enough to drive to anyhow), which would be great prep for the triathlon bike portions. They range from 20 to 40K, and most of them fall earlier in the season than the triathlons I'm planning on. It's tempting to think about signing up for most of them, but will need to work it into the rest of my training plan.

On a training related note, I found out this morning that my personal trainer has left my gym. Now this could be a pro or a con. I was benefitting from the program he had me on, but I have been feeling it was more sprint focused than I necessarily want to be at this point. My newly assigned trainer (good thing I don't have any input here), said that she understands that I do marathons (come again? nope. not yet anyhow.) and that she can work with me blah blah... So needless to say there was a slight breakdown in communciation. I'll be sure to sit down with her and get things in order. Hopefully we can get me on the right track to support my actual goals.

Cycling training has begun. I have had my new bike a few months and haven't really gotten into riding. Now, with the snow, riding outdoors is sketchy at best. (Though with the recent thaw, I could get back outside perhaps this weekend.) I did find a series of time trial races that I am 90% sure I'm going to participate in. It's the ABD Indoor Time Trial Series, and is fairly local. There are five races in the series, including 4 10K indoor races on trainers and one outdoor 10 Mile Time Trial. I figure since I've never raced before, the shorter races would be a good place to start. Hopefully I won't be too intimidated.

I'm also in the process of developing my race calendar and training plan for next year. I've never really done this before, so it should be interesting!

Well here's my blog for tracking my progress as I train for triathlons and other races (running, cycling, etc.). I'm hoping it will keep me accountable and provide a place for me to be able to diary my experiences. I'll be forced to put my goals down in writing, which should make me more likely to stick to it!

As a bit of background, I decided I wanted to try triathlon last summer, so I signed up for a sprint distance event in the area. I had never liked running, especially running for the sake of running, and had never run over a mile straight. Biking seemed pretty straightforward, so I wasn't too concerned about that, and I had done a little swimming when playing water polo in high school, so I wasn't terrified of that. I trained for 5 or so weeks, and met all my goals for the race. The run portion scared me to death, so I ended up going too easy on the bike leg, but I'll get better and better at pacing myself over time. Overall, I had a blast and am determined to improve my speed and endurance, participating more triathlons in 2007, including some longer distance ones.

I've let myself fall a bit out of shape in the last few months, but I joined a gym and am excited to be getting back into it. I need to build a solid aerobic base (which I'm awful at - I always go too hard and too fast), and work on improving my technique and efficiency in all three sports. Those are what I'm focusing on at this point. The main thing is for me to pace myself and build slowly and steadily.