I was due! As much as Triathlete’s we think we are invincible and can keep going and going and going, it was time for a decent off season!.

I have taken a week here and there over the last few years but nothing like the 3 – 4 weeks of absolutely nothing that I just had. It is a real catch 22, because after a great season/race you are on a high, everything is going well, you just want to keep rolling with it. So maybe you do! If it is a mediocre season/race, not the way you really wanted to end the year, you feel like “hey I don’t deserve a break! That was a terrible day, I need to get straight back into it now and get faster and stronger!” But in both circumstances, as I have since found out, taking that decent break at some time during the year is vital.

The first week after Ironman WA, I won’t deny it, I was down in the dumps. It was a terrible race, not what I was hoping for and I was having trouble dealing with it. Guy and I spent the first half of the week in Margaret River where I moped around, slept a lot and enjoyed copious amounts of Ice cream and chocolate. I was not motivated at all for swimming, cycling or running!

Week 2, I was starting to come around, not with the motivation to exercise, but had dissected my race hundreds of times, taken away the positives and was slowly starting to move on. I also was coming around to this off season thing and catching up with friends, staying out late, sleeping in and diving head first into the festive season!

Week 3, I was starting to get itchy feet! Guy and I found ourselves with so much extra energy from not training and were beginning to struggle to sleep at night! Not Tired! We made the mistake of standing on the scales….Not Pretty! And had a good laugh at what we might look like in our “non professional triathlete future”

Finally it was time!

Physically and mentally I know the break had done me good, but man, that first week back was horrible! I felt so sluggish and slow! Wow….I am unfit!

The good news now though, the slate is clean! The new year has begun! There are some new exciting races planned and some classics that I love returning to!

By my standards it is a slow start to the year, but with the right planning, it will result in a more consistent and successful 2015 season.

If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten

Anthony Robbins

Remember, don’t be afraid to try something new, you just never know where it might just take you! 🙂