‘Tis the Season (The “Off” Season)

I’m working toward taking it to the next level in 2013 so I won’t be having the kind of off season that I’ve had in the past. Instead I’ll continue to swim, bike and run but I’m already mixing it up with some core training and weights. I may also be doing some cross country skiing this winter in place of running.  My planned “week off” will be in February when we go to Whistler for the Dave Murray Ski Clinic.

I’m writing this as we are driving up to Tahoe for our first ski weekend of the winter. Today I went for a longer bike ride so that I have the weekend free for skiing. It was a beautiful sunny day in Marin County for my 57 mile ride followed by a half hour transition run. Tomorrow morning I’ll get in a swim before skiing. The snow conditions are still early season so I’m pretty sure it won’t be a full day of skiing. That will be fine since I also have a jump rope/core workout on my schedule and I should be able to fit that in after skiing. It might make me late for Apres Ski. Then Sunday will be a rest day, or shall I say a sleep in and “ski only” day.

 

It does present a challenge to get biking in during these darker days of winter, especially if I want to ski on the weekends. This week, I did a two hour ride indoors with my bike hooked up to the computrainer.  Two hours is probably about the max that I can stand on a stationary bike. My coach suggested a combo ride to minimize riding in the rain on a rainy day. I think it might be an alternative for getting in a long ride on a weekday morning; start the ride indoors while it’s still dark and then move outside for the rest of the ride once the sun starts to rise.

Effectively training trough the winter and through Christmas vacation will be a new challenge. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.