Training is such a big part of my life from the spring until the summer that it's often a bit depressing when it's all over. I mean, what could be more fun than spending an ENTIRE Saturday on the bike in 120* heat, eating mocha gels and Lemon Zest Luna bars, hoping that you don't wake up the next morning with saddle sores?!?!? Or waking up at 6am so that you can rush to Master's swim practice, only to be lapped by high-schoolers? I miss those days!
But off-season
definitely has its perks. Some habits I've recently picked up that'll be quite difficult to break come April:
- I don't set an alarm anymore.
- I have yet to swim over 2500 meters whenever I hit the pool since IMLP. My favorite swim set now is the classic 5-4-3-2-100. Done.
- My hamstring is 98.7% healed! My weekly mileage is up to 15 miles and I'm impatient for my long runs to break the double-digit barrier!
- The grocery budget has shrunk quite a bit since I don't feel the need to be munching on something every 20 minutes.
- Scheduling a 2-week trip to South Africa doesn't come with the guilt of not being on my bike or in the pool for 2 weeks!
- 5 months saddle-sore-FREE!!!!
- Did I mention my hamstring is almost as good as new!??!?!
- Discovered cupcakes. I am that person who eats the top part with the frosting first, then finds the rest of the cupcake useless.
- Haven't dealt with bike grease issues since Penelope is sitting on the trainer and hasn't been outside for 2 months!
- The pool man still recognizes me, quite possible because the only Asians who go to my pool are me and an 80-year-old Chinese lady who shoots hoops in the shallow end with a tie-dye plastic ball.
- Time to do stuff like this:
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| Read...and study... |
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| Bake...lots... |
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| Happy Hour with Dumplings and Mango Mojitos! |
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| Plan to visit unexplored territories! |
