The calendar turned to December today, and winter arrived in Pittsburgh with a bang.  It has snowed here all day, and the snow on our deck is currently about nine inches deep.  When December arrives, my training regimen changes a little bit, but not because of the weather.

For most of the year, I try to train consistently and when appropriate, I like to train hard.  While this is good in terms of trying to improve, it is not wise to train this way, for the full twelve months of the year.  At some point, your body needs some rest.  In addition, you also need to rest in order to rejuvenate your mind.  For me, a person who races in the Northern Hemisphere, December is the perfect time to relax a little.

This doesn’t mean I will stop training in December.  It just means I will do fewer, very long sessions and my intense, hard sessions, will not be quite so hard.  I will take a few extra days off, to do something non-triathlon related. I typically also relax a little when it comes to nutrition, enjoying some great food over the Holidays.  I will probably put on a few pounds in weight, but that is fine.

The whole point, is to enter the new year feeling refreshed and energized.  My first significant race next year, assuming we get to race normally again, is not until late May.  This gives me more than enough time, to prepare and be at peak fitness.

I will continue to document my workouts in this blog, but I will also take time to talk about some of the other things I do, when not training.  I’m looking forward to a fun month, and equally, I know that come January, I’ll be ready to get back to my harder routine.