Four weeks have passed since IM Cozumel and it's finally time to start looking toward 2014. This month involved three weeks off and about an hour of exercise/day for the past week. I don't always take that many days entirely off, but it felt like a real necessity after this season, particularly with the stacked IMs at the end the year. It took until the third week to feel really tired which makes me glad I opted to take this month off for the most part. This past season I opted to race very early with Panama and Puerto Rico, neither of which went well, though it was for entirely different reasons (Panama = out of shape, PR = sick with a cold). This next year I will approach the early season a bit differently and won't do any short races before IM Texas until I feel like my race prep requires it (I do like to race before I RACE, if possible). Ideally, that time frame will fall around Galveston or Puerto Rico, but I'll wait to see how it all plays out first.
The first couple months of the year will include a couple non-racing events with Endurance Corner.
The first will include the Texas Triathlon Clinic in Plano, Texas. We have put together a series of presentations (and instructional/moving sessions) from David Bertrand (Ex Phys Dude, coach, etc), Ron Tribendis (EC Coach, Chiro), Harold Wilson (PT, Strength and conditioning coach, tri coach), Lyndsi Bieging (tri coach), and me. If you are in the DFW area, I would really encourage you to come out and attend this event. Registration is only $189 through Dec 31 ($199 after that) and there will be a ton of valuable information from all of these folks.
Dates: Jan 24-26 (core of the clinic on Saturday and Sunday, the 25th+26th)
Location: Tri Shop in Plano, Texas
The second event I'll be taking part in is the Endurance Corner Tucson Camp. This a week-long all inclusive training camp in Tucson that I have been involved in since 2008. This is a high volume, cycling emphasized, training camp that falls at just the right time of year. It's far enough from the new year for you to start getting moving again (myself included) and far enough into the season that it can be specific to your raining and training needs for 2014. This camp has great riding, great weather, and most importantly, great people. Come join us this spring:
Dates: February 23rd to March 2nd
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Happy New Year!
-J