Update... about nothing very important

And who doesn't like to read about that? Off-season update: I'm starting to become more emotionally involved in the workouts. That kind of sounds weird, but it's the only way I could think to describe it. I remember this time last year I was just kind of going through the motions of each workout, whether it was treadmill, trainer, or pool. It took me some time to get into it and start doing it with a purpose. It probably wasn't until January that I started looking at it differently... instead of just looking at the upcoming workout and then doing it, I would think about why I was doing it, especially right as it was happening -- if I work the big chainring hard on these intervals, then that hill in the Owen Sound Olympic will seem a lot smaller next August -- that kind of thing. I did my first triathlon in 2005, but 2007/08 was really the first off-season I did any kind of regular workouts. Before that I just kind of assumed that playing hockey a few times a week would keep me in shape. Yeah... how'd that work out, big fella? So, it's really only my second off-season, and I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm already approaching the workouts this way now, several months ahead of last year. I have no doubt that more experienced triathletes are pretty much always focused that way, but at least I'm going in the right direction. I think. Of course, even though it's only November, I find myself wishing it was next May and that the spring races were already here. And yes, if it was suddenly May and not November, then it goes without saying that I would have put in all the work over the off-season and have made massive fitness gains since last year. Ah, yes. The dream never dies, just the dreamer. On another note, I would like to say thank-you to Eric for leaving the words of encouragement on my Muskoka 70.3 race report (and mentioning this blog in a post!). My frame of mind when writing this stuff is basically that no one will ever read it. That someone actually did (and took the time to comment) is in itself very encouraging.