All my plans ended around September 1^st and life got a bit empty after the race, THE RACE, and I flew back home and life continued. And I turned 41 yesterday. That is a big number. 41, I am middle-aged. Done with tiny kids, have a stable life, a car that I like and many credit cards. And I don’t have dinner at McDonalds or Taco Bell. And I have lots of laundry that needs to be folded, all the time. And I don’t care if it is Saturday or Tuesday when I drink wine since I go to bed around 11 anyway. When my kids talk about old people they usually say she’s 40 something. That’s me! I am now something.

Well, this old lady needs to make plans for this coming year. And I’ve been thinking of my training and racing year and as always I got some advice and help from the guru. What would I do without him? We met and talked. We agreed that now is the time to do fun stuff, rest and try new things. What I heard was mountain biking in the woods, go on long trail runs, fun fun fun fun fun. Take long thinking breaks, watch the view and bring a thermos with coffee, a nasty sandwich and a huge chocolate bar in my backpack. Maybe restart hot yoga and pick up squash again (it’s only been 19 years since I quit after moving from Belgium). Run for fun, I like that. And I saw myself rolling around Sammamish River Trail petting dogs, talking to seniors and having lunch at Red Hook half way into my roller skiing days. That’s what I heard during that hour we met. Sounds nice, right?

I got an email the day after we met. Shoot. Having fun is still ok, I heard right but I still need to do the minimum. My usual strength Monday and Wednesdays, two bike rides per week, at least 20 something miles of running and swimming at least twice per week. And then the fun stuff…

And when should I do yoga, and how about coffee breaks and enjoying the view at the top of Mt Si? And I was going to start with something new. I have heard that biathlon or diving is fun. High jump is supposed to be entertaining for tall people. And how about squash? And curling? And run for fun?

Well, I guess it’s good to get back to normal training hours since it is so difficult to know when to take a shower otherwise. If you don’t exercise, when do you shower? It feels a bit pointless if you’re not sweaty after running or training.