And Awaaaay We Go!

And so my 4 weeks of down recovery time is over....and somehow I've managed to pack on 8 pounds........umm.....

8 pounds in 4 weeks??!! Is that even possible? Criminy, that's a little pathetic! Dang you seasonal beers and holiday treats!!!

Not to worry though, I fully expected this to happen (not quite to this extent) and actually embraced the increase (perhaps too much). Did I go a little overboard? Yes, yes indeed - and I'll definitely be working on finding a balance this next year. Triathlon.competitor.com has a great article though (as do many other sources) on the 5 basic rules to follow during off-season and the actual benefits of weight gain during this time....here is a little tidbit.....

Agree or disagree it is interesting, no? Though I would never advocate an extreme fluctuation in weight loss/gain or anything that resembles yo-yo dieting, I do believe this makes a lot of sense. You can't possibly keep up with the quantity and intensity of a half ironman training plan throughout the whole year. Your body needs those precious off-season weeks to recover, re-build and in many cases heal. 

That being said, there are certainly adjustments that one must make to caloric intake during these down times...and this, my friends, is where I apparently fell off the wagon. Hence the added task of having to take off some extra lbs over the next few months before even getting the chance to focus on getting down to my ideal "race weight".

Ah, "race weight" - that's another goal of mine for the 2014 season.  From now through September I will be taking the necessary steps needed to find out what this magic number is for me so that I can plan on being there at the start of each season and not just the end. "Race weight" is when a triathlete reaches the weight that they are swimming great, biking great and running great. It's hard to specifically attach a number - rather at your race weight you will start to feel powerful, fast and energetic. Dip a few pounds below and you'll start to feel lethargic, weak and slow. Mainly because you'll be losing more muscle than body fat - the very muscle that you need for power and speed. It's definitely a fine line and different for everyone.

Over the next 8 months I will be experimenting and stepping on the scale every week (which I currently do not do - oh joy) to track my weight loss and how I feel at each weight. It's a bit of an unscientific process that requires you to listen to your body and pay attention to your performance in workouts and races. Much more than just finding your ideal BMI and rolling with that. I look forward to the end result and wonder how far off it actually is from where I assume it should be...ahem...130/135.

After all, as my tri friend and fellow blogger over at thetrigirlchronicles just posted...(check Courtney out, she's awesome)

Can I get  a, "Hell yeah!"?

So, In order to keep track and stay accountable, each week I will be posting a recap of my training hours, weigh ins and nutritional counts, as well as energy levels and emotional stability. Similar to what I am currently doing, just in more detail. And I apologize in advance if I start to bore the heck out of anyone....but like I said in the beginning, this site was created to give me space to do just this - and hopefully we can all learn something along the way.

Let the 2014 season commence!!

What are your thoughts on weight gain during the off-season?

How do you manage caloric intake when not in training mode?