It's a new season! And I feel great!

And to start it off, I feel great! I've been in training now for about 4 weeks, and I'm really excited about the upcoming season. I've got lots of things I want to do during the season, and the hardest part is deciding what I want to train for! There are lots of exciting races & events, and I want to do them all! But I've got a better idea of things I want to do this season vs. prior seasons.

This is my 4th season as a triathlete, and I've definitely learned in the last 3 years the things in training and events that work for me, and the things that don't. I look back at last season's events I had lined up, and I didn't do any of them except the Auburn Sprint Triathlon, which I blogged about quite a bit. That tri really kicked my ass (sprint tri, my ass! only in distance, because it was a bitch of a race!), and I got extremely demotivated about the season after that, so I didn't make training or events a priority. And nothing else was done.

For the weekend of the Lake Chabot 5K, I guess we had other plans. (I don't remember exactly!)

For the weekend of the Tiburon Triathlon, I went on a business trip to Mexico City.

For the weekends of the See Jane Tri Triathlon & the San Jose 1/2 Marathon, we went on vacation to New York City.

Can you tell I wasn't motivated? :)

This season, I feel differently. I made it a priority to start my training earlier this year. So right after the new year, I signed up for plenty of things to get my training in gear. First off is boot camp. I'm in my 5th week of boot camp, and I LOVE IT!! 6 am start, Mondays & Wednesdays, mostly strengthening with some cardio. Absolutely awesome way to start my day, and an even awesome way to start my training. I can tell my body is shaping up already, and I don't suffer the next day anymore with sore muscles. The group I boot camp with is really great, and there's a lot comraderie amongst us. And I love our trainer, Cheryl. If you live in the Bay Area, check out PacWest Athletics for the boot camp schedule, locations, and further information.

Second thing I did was sign up for a Total Immersion swimming class on Tuesday nights. I read up on the Total Immersion swim technique last year, and I really wanted to get one-on-one instruction this year as part of my training. My See Jane Tri swim instructor the last few years is a certified TI trainer, and she was offering once/week classes in Berkeley during the month of January. So I signed up! Awesome, awesome experience. Never until the last 30 mins of the very last class did we even do a complete lap. It was all drills! All drills! But I know that I am a more efficient swimmer as a result of the classes.

Third thing I did was sign up for the Cinderella Classic, an all women's metric century bike ride at the end of March. I'll blog more on that specifically later, but Kassidie (Kellie's daughter) and I have been training for that bike ride for a month now.

As I said before, the biggest challenge right now is figuring out what events I want to do this year. I've decided on the Cinderella Classic in March, the See Jane Run 1/2 Marathon in May, and the Dipsea in June. As part of my training for the 1/2 marathon, I will most likely sign up for a couple of 5Ks and a 10K on those weekends when that length of run is part of my training. Also, I plan on doing a triathlon in April, probably a sprint distance, and I have my eye on one in Sacramento. Also, I want to swim again from Alcatraz to SF, so I need to find an event for that. And I want to do at least two more triathlons during the season.

Whew, that's a lot to think about! And a lot to train for! But I'm super excited about the season and all the possibilities. I'm excited about pushing myself more than I've ever pushed myself before, particularly in running. I'm eager to see the limits of my body, while trying to stay far away from injury. That concern really does plagues me often. I just hope I'm doing everything right and in moderation to prevent any injury this season. I'm open to hiring personal trainers to help me this season, which I haven't done in the past.

A right attitude is most of the battle, and I've got that for sure! So on to the 2007 season! What fun lies ahead is still to be seen... ;)