January flashback

I know, I know, it's February, and I'm actually quite excited about this shorter month.  It already seems to be moving at a faster pace, both for school and also for that training-thing.  But I thought that I would back up to January because I dug around and got some photos and also because it felt like such a strange month.

Not 'weird' or anything truly exciting, but it was not the month that I expected.  What did I expect?  For some reason, I did not think about what I would actually be doing in January but thought of it in general terms as a new year, a time to really focus on training, and blah blah blah.   The reality was that January ended up being more of a challenge and there was way less consistency than I expected, so I did NOT settle into a routine at all.  Some of that was due to things like getting a cold, which I did not anticipate (fortunately it did not wipe out for days on end, so I consider myself lucky because a lot of people were not that lucky).  I also traveled a lot - returning from Boulder at the beginning of the month, going to Carlsbad/Encinitas, and then also taking a quick trip to Texas.  While I tried to be active during some of these travel days, it's not the same as following a plan at home.  Plus, I was super sore following the Carlsbad Half-Marathon - a good sign that I really pushed myself, but I had a light week after that race because I needed to recover.

Here are a few snapshots from the month:

This was an awesome beach around Encinitas - we're actually going back that way in March and we can't wait!

A post-race photo with everyone!  I think that our dogs were officially grumpy and ready for a nap at that point.  I was too!

Ah, the trainer.  I made an "upgrade" to the bike - aerobars!  I thought that I would have to learn how to ride all over again, but it hasn't been that challenging, and I even put in a 50 miler with them!  But a decent amount of my saddle time is on the trainer.  Still, time in the saddle is time in the saddle.

I usually dread February for different reasons, but I'm actually excited about consistent training and getting in the yards in the pool and the miles on the bike.  Running and I are currently on a hiatus, but hopefully we'll make up soon!