Off Season!

By mid-September, I was ready to wrap up my road racing season.  After the Folsom Omnium, I decided to take a little break. What do cyclists do during off-season?  For a couple of weeks, I forgot about my bike and did that thing that cyclists DON’T do.  Yep, I went running.  Slowly.  It was really fun to spend time running with the husband and the dog until both got in running shape and decided I was to slow to join them. I was relegated to full-moon and night hikes with the family.

Found the Turkeys!

And a Christmas Tree on the side of the road

I cleaned out my car.  Cars can get kind of gross when you spend most weekends living out of them.  I did a lot of laundry and cleaning–also a function of the traveling every weekend.  I cooked labor intensive meals which took 2 to 3 hours to prepare but were really yummy.  I fasted for three days.  I ate “gluten free” for two weeks.  I ate too many pumpkin flavored things. I meditated.  I found a new yoga studio and started going to classes.  I did work outs that took less than 2 hours and sometimes less than 1 hour. It was awesome.

One of my favorite off-season/winter training activities is lifting weights.  I jumped back into lifting weights–big thighs and all– with enthusiasm and zeal.  At some point, I jumped back on the bike. This year, we actually had a (dry) fall season with amazing leaf colors and very little snow.  I rode outside as much as possible.