Happy New Year Everyone! I hope the holidays brought a good mix of family, friends, feasting and moments to sit back, give thanks and reflect on 2011. Now that it’s 2012, it is time to get back to work!
My final two weeks of 2011 were filled with a lot of packing, organizing, logisticizing, and saying farewell to my friends and family in New York City and along the East Coast. I left Maine just after Christmas and I arrived in Los Angeles on January 1st after a fantastic few days driving with one of my closest New York City friends, Kate McGlynn. Kate and I met up in Denver, Colorado, and while the drive to LA can be done in just over a day, we decided to make an adventure out of it. We drove south through New Mexico and Arizona, visiting the Grand Canyon and celebrating my last day of vacation/ off season by ringing in the New Year in Las Vegas (and winning a bit of money to boot!!)! It was an amazing trip with tons of great memories!
Training commenced in full force on January 2nd, and commence it did. I got my butt seriously kicked last week. It was a true taste of what living the life of a full time professional triathlete is like. Between the training, the eating, the downtime between sessions, the massages, the functional strength sessions, yoga classes, and daily (and sometimes twice daily) foam rollering I’ve been seriously starting to wonder how I ever managed a full time job and training over these last few years. Since arriving in LA my days have been starting at 4:45 AM and finishing around 4:30 PM. By the time I am done eating dinner, it has been all I can do to stay up to 8:30 PM before collapsing into bed from exhaustion.
Needless to say, my first few days back in action were pretty painful, and saying my performance in week one left something to be desired is a vast understatement. My swim coach noticed my fitness right off the bat. I think our initial conversation after the first practice went something like this:
Sarah: Thanks for practice Gerry! See you tomorrow!
Gerry: Tell me – how many times have you been in the pool in the last month?
Sarah: about 4, why?
Gerry: That is what I thought.
And that, right there, is why the “off season” is both good and bad. Taking a much needed break is amazing for the body and soul, but it is one brutal climb to get back in the game.
But, despite what was a challenging first week (and what I consider to truly be my first week as a pro athlete), I am so happy I made the decision to come west. I love being able to go to swim practice every day with a great group of people and a coach whom I trust is going to help me become a faster swimmer. The riding here is both breathtaking and soul-crushing all at the same time. And there is an endless maze of run trails to get lost in. I love it. I feel so motivated and challenged and excited.
So that is the wrap – Week 1 down – many more to go. Check back soon for some exciting updates on my new sponsors for 2012! I can’t wait to announce the amazing companies I have partnered with!
Until then, stay happy, healthy and always reaching for the stars!
Don’t Dream it. Be it.
xxx
S-
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