Now that the Half Ironman is over, a lot of people have been asking me:  “What’s next?”

My immediate reaction is, “NOTHING! I want to do NOTHING!” and then I throw myself dramatically on the couch, grab the remote, and watch a marathon of Downton Abbey episodes.

Hah Hah. No. Really.  Over the past few days, I have wanted to do nothing.  October was a whirlwind month, personally and professionally, and I’m cherishing the peace and quiet of this week.  But now that I’m all healed up from the race, I’m thinking ahead (also, I finally am caught up on Downton Abbey and have nothing else to watch on Netflix – all I have to say about the Season 3 finale is NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO).

Anyway…

I loved running the race, and I had a really great experience.  I enjoyed training myself up to those distances and feeling so strong.  But training was a huge time commitment, and the race was a huge financial commitment, and I think one 70.3 is enough for me…for now (as in, for a couple of years).  A few of my fellow triathlete friends have said with a wink, “You’ve been bitten by the Ironman bug, haven’t you? Are you doing to do the full distance now?”  I just have to laugh! I cannot imagine running an entire Ironman (a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run).  I bow down to anyone who can train for an Ironman, let alone actually complete one!  I don’t think an Ironman is ever in my future.

I’m excited to do more shorter triathlons once the season returns in the spring.  But for now… again… there’s no way that I’m training for anything big. I need a break!

But I do have some fitness goals.  I don’t plan to really veg out on the couch forever.  Some thoughts:

• I’d love to maintain my swimming endurance.  Before this race, I would swim 1000 – 1500 yards for workouts, and at the end of training, I was doing 2000 – 3000.  I believe that swimming is the ultimate workout – it’s something you can do throughout your life, no matter what your age or life stage (heck, I was swimming laps two days before I delivered Henry!).  It’s gentle on my body and makes me feel good. So I’d like to keep up the longer distances.

• Yoga!  I really want to do more yoga.  DadHTP, Kristien, and I have been talking about doing a ‘yoga challenge’ at the gym; we want to go to yoga 2 – 3 times a week, every week.

• I’d also like to do some strength training. I’m thinking about checking out the kettlebells class at out gym. My gym also has a rip-off version of Crossfit.  I’ve peeked my head into the studio a few times and it looks pretty fun.  It’d be cool to do that once or twice a week for strength training.

So – that’s what’s next for me in terms of workouts.  A different (slower) pace.  Basically – a return to ‘normal people’ exercise!

But I’m really looking to free up some time because I’d love to work on my novel.  Remember that?  I got about 40 pages in and outlined the entire plot – my agent reviewed it and everything – and then I stopped.  That’s the third fiction book that I’ve started, gotten 30 – 50 pages in, and stopped in as many years!  I’d really like to finish one, even if nothing ever happens with it beyond putting it up on the blog for people to read.  I know I just need to make the time and mental space for it.  That’s the biggest challenge with writing!

If you recently finished training for an important race, what are you focusing on now?  Other workouts or another hobby?  

(Speaking of books, we’re going to do the book club for The Circle – stay tuned for a post about this on Friday!).