Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Training through Wedding Season



Me, my cousin Sarah (bride), and Erin
in the photobooth and Sarah's LA wedding


I post novels, don't I? I mean seriously, reading my blog is an undertaking! I don't post that often, but when I do you better have a good chunk of time set aside to wade through it!

Anyway, I promise to be a bit more brief this time around. And while I am at it, I may try to be a bit more frequent. It's just that I am so busy with training and racing and writing my dissertation...oh yeah and with weddings.

Bachelorette party in Atlantic City
It is full on wedding season, and I am at the right age for everyone I know to either be getting hitched or popping out babies. I'm not complaining, I got hitched two summers ago, but this year in particular seems to be the go-to wedding year. I've been to two already this year, and there are at least two more on the way. Two weekends ago I was in LA for my cousin's (gorgeous!) wedding. This weekend I will be wrapped in fuchsia as a bridesmaid for one of my dearest high school friends.

I intentionally planned these weddings into my racing season. I knew that I would be out in LA without my bike or a pool for several days, and I also knew that the bachelorette weekend and wedding weekend for this coming celebration would take up several days of my time with limited moments for training (and limited motivation to wake up at the crack of dawn). I'm not really a drinker anymore. I rarely even have glass of wine these days. But I don't want to be a party pooper, so I try to stay up with everyone and drive people home safely.

Site of a very tough run in LA
I have been less successful at avoiding the food and cake these events usually entail... Might be needing this article soon:
Triathlon Training: Avoiding Mid-Season Weight Gain

Knowing all this would happen starting the weekend after Eagleman (bachelorette party in AC), my next race isn't scheduled until August 5th. This doesn't mean I haven't been up to some great training though! In LA I did many miles of running, including a slightly ill-planned trail run at the foothills of the mountains (desert. mid-day. altitude. Was definitely over ambitious). I ran on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ with fellow bridesmaids. I've been out in extreme weather, both seriously hot and ridiculously rainy (see photo below). This weekend I'll be taking my bike and squeezing in miles before squeezing into a dress...

Flash downpour, mid-run yesterday! SOGGY! I have a similar picture from a few days earlier, but I'm that soaked in sweat, not rain. HOT!
Anyway, the bulk of the wedding stuff will be over this weekend (until the fall weddings start...) so I'm excited to have a great time and then get back to racing!!