This Time of Year

I'm referring of course to the period of time from November to whenever it is that we get daylight before AND after work again. This time of year is really hard for me to keep up on my workouts. This time of year I start to lose my motivation. This time of year I start to indulge in food and drink a bit. This is the time of year for something called an "off season". While I don't intentionally let myself have an off season, I guess I end up having one after all.

I workout year round in the mornings. It usually consists of some aerobic activity and is inside. Sometimes I'll do some weight training in the morning, but I usually save that for the evenings. We have an elliptical, which on its highest setting, provides a great cardio workout. I'll get on that 3 to 4 days a week. We used to have a borrowed treadmill which came in very handy on cold winter days. We were on the lookout to locate a replacement. We have a bicycle training stand that will fit both our bikes. It is handy during the foul weather, but the most boring thing I've ever done. And I'm not kidding.

Due to some recent events at my employer, we've decided that buying a treadmill right now isn't the wisest investment. Getting a membership to the rec center is being put on hold as well. I was hoping to be in the pool all winter and spring and make the transfer from duathlons to triathlons next year. Unfortunately that's going to have to wait another year. The economy is constricting. The company I work for is unexpectedly constricting. My training and racing plans are going to constrict accordingly as well. The gray weather reflects my mood this time of year.

So this time of year I plan on running outside when possible. Long runs on the weekends and whatever I can do during the week, logging miles on the bike trainer instead of the treadmill, running my elliptical into the ground, and lifting. I need to work on my leg strength anyway. Hopefully this winter will go by as fast as the summer did.

Mr. P