Is the off season a chance to move backwards or forwards?

So the off season has begun.  And not without a little trepidation. There was me thinking that the off season meant kicking back and munching on Tayto’s in front of a fire with a pint of Guinness in my hand. My bad!

Apparently the off season simply means training continues, maybe not as intensively (but I can’t say I trained too intensively during the season anyway) but with no races to break up the monotony.  However, rather than put a realistic training plan together, I have actually spent more time creating a completely unrealistic wish list. What gadget will shave 4 seconds off my run, what helmet/bike/wheel (delete as relevant) will increase my speed from slow to slight less slow?

But worst of all is that the mornings have closed in and it is dark now when I hop on the train to go swimming twice a week. While there will be a bit of a let up on this in a month’s time, it is an easy excuse to use to simply turn over and reset the alarm for a Godly hour! While I have my targets written now for 2013, I am still not 100% sure quite how I will get there. Swimming was the focus for 2012.  The key benefit was a better understanding of the mechanics of a swim stroke – as complex as a golf swing as far as I’m concerned – and while I can’t yet properly auto-correct, and am getting advice on a weekly basis, I know that I am improving, getting more efficient and ultimately getting faster.

So with that in mind, I think running has to be the focus for 2013 and I have signed up for a chi running course with Irish distance legend Catherina McKiernan.

However, running has always been the one tri discipline that I have avoided when it comes to training.  Having ruptured my Achilles tendon more than 10 years ago, I have always been a reluctant runner. And in a previous life I never raced more than 110 metres, and two warm up laps of any pitch or track filled me with dread.  So a few years ago, any thoughts of taking on a triathlon with a 5km, 10km, let alone 21.1km run always cast a shadow over any race.  PBs of approx 22, 49 and 119 minutes respectively are testament to that shadow. Never sure to push, never sure to trust my ability. And ultimately getting passed by so many on the run to be almost demotivating.

So, much as our swimming training has gone back to basics, I am hoping that the chi running course will do likewise and I will get a better understanding of my running mechanics and how to improve them. Then, I might hope to be able to compete, rather than simply finish, one or two triathlons next year.

Catherina, it's over to you.