So it continues...

Two weeks. It's only been two weeks. It feels like an eternity! Somehow, it is still sometimes very surreal. Does that feeling ever go away? It's been a truly remarkable two weeks. The indulging in foods and drinks (mostly booze....) that I had been depriving myself of, the recovery massage, the no-alarm setting except for work (0345, I do not miss you!), and the general feeling of bliss that comes from not having sore muscles and feeling fatigued has been simply delightful. I know my body has needed this recovery. I put it through a lot. More than I ever thought possible. It's still amazing!

Officially branded. And I love it.

And through all of this, I am restless. I've never been one to just be. I don't like not having plans or a schedule or a goal. Downtime for me equals lazy (I know that's not rational!). I feel squishy and a little bit lost. Who am I if I'm not training? As it turns out, I'm still me. I need to take this time to figure out what I can do now that I don't have to ride for 4-6 hours on Saturdays. You mean I can have a life? I can sleep in? I can stay up later? Madness! But I also know myself. I know I am going to take this time to regroup, settle in on new goals, and achieve them. Nice and easy trainer rides. Suuuuper easy runs (I hope to not go over 6 miles for the next month!). No swimming (new ink says no). So this time is for me. To focus on muscle imbalances (I would really love to not have knee pain anymore because of weak core and glutes), to focus on nutrition, to focus on really getting lean. But more importantly, to focus on myself mentally. I suffered a lot during training, and only about 40% of it was physical. Perhaps this means going back to therapy. Perhaps this means finding some sort of daily meditation to do. I don't know exactly what this means, but I am going to use this off-season and I am going to become not only physically stronger, but more importantly, mentally stronger. If I can do all I've done while not being 100%, the world will be mine when I am.

Relentlessly. Moving. Forward.