Mix it Up

Hi Everyone,

Ok so this is the latest in the week that I have written my blog but I promise I will do it on Sunday again this week. So for that reason I will keep this one nice and short. In Australia we are in Autumn and it is starting to cool down a little. Unlike the two years that I spent living in Norway there isn't a huge amount of difference between the seasons. I mean it does get cold but we don't have to worry about snow or ice or any of that ridiculousness you deal with in other parts of the world. I am just a bit soft and find it hard to get into the pool when the weather gets to single digits. So I always think of Winter as a good opportunity to mix up your training a little bit.

As a triathlete I suppose that I am quite lucky that I get to focus on three different sports instead of just one. I however, like any other competitor, like to try something different. For me I play soccer during winter. I have played soccer for most of my life. It was the first team sport that my parents signed me up for. Now before I go on I have a confession to make. I am a terrible soccer player. Not the worst in the world, but for someone who has played the sport since they were 5 I should be a lot better. But that is besides the point. I think soccer is a great opportunity for me to be a bit more social with my sport. Hang out with a great bunch of blokes and I think that the sprinting nature of running actually benefits my triathlon running at the same time.

There are some set backs to this as well. In 2013 when I had moved back to Australia I has spent the better part of 6 months preparing for Cairns 70.3. I had raced my second 70.3 in Canberra and gone 4:53 so I thought I would aim for a 4:45 at Cairns. So I went into Winter and was about 3/4 of the way through the season and about 3 weeks out from the race when I got taken out from behind. I went down hard and landed hard on my ribs. Yep you guessed it, I busted 2 ribs. I couldn't run, could barely run and don't even ask about swimming. I decided to just leave it and hope things would be ok on race day. Long story short was that I got the race done, but I could barely run as I had a stitch and couldn't breath it out. 

I went into the 2013 soccer season being able to hold 5:00 pace and came out the other side being able to 4:45 pace. I am now in my third season since moving back to Australia and I still love the variation in my training. I still do my regular triathlon training throughout Winter but just take out some sessions for soccer training and games. 

So whether you are a runner or a triathlete or just trying to get in shape why not try mixing up your training a little bit? If you train alone, why not try a team sport? If you play team sport maybe head to the gym to do some strength work that might improve your performance.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy your Easter weekend. Don't eat too much chocolate but feel free to relax a little if you want to. We can't be good all the time.

Happy Easter, get some training done and remember to TRI!!!

Not the usual sort of running shoes I wear

Come on you Wanderers!