My Off-Season in Photos

Well, my last race of the season was exactly two months ago so I thought it would be an appropriate time to write about what I've been up to since then (and it's much more fun than writing another race report!) So, here it is, a summary of my off season in photos.
  

Camping and Hiking

We spent a glorious weekend camping and hiking in the Shenandoahs when the weather was perfect and the leaves were in full color.

We also took a day trip up to rural Maryland to hike part of the Appalachian Trail to Annapolis Rock. After the hike I may have also stopped at an orchard and bought a half bushel of apples, followed by exploring and dinner in Old Town Frederick (including the best dessert I've ever had- pumpkin mousse!)

Getting Crafty

Artistic projects are something I seldom have time to do (except during the off-season) but really enjoy! It's so important to enjoy activities I don't normally get to do during this time of the year, to give myself a mental break from the grind of training for athletic performance. 

(At left, fall leaf placemats)
 

                              Wine and Painting Class with Shannon

Bike Commuting

My bike commute is pretty awesome and during the off-season I've been commuting to work by bike at least once per week. The first 30 minutes are on the Capital Crescent Trail and the next 30 minutes take me past all of the DC monuments, along the National Mall, and past the US Capitol before arriving to work. It is pretty amazing to think how much history is along that path!
 

Jam- and Apple-Butter Making

Most people's hurricane preparedness list includes heading to the store to stock up on bread and peanut butter, but mine had me scouring every store in the area to find one that sold canning jars. Following the east coast storm my office was closed for two days, and in between working from home, and with a half-bushel of apples use (and not a lot of outdoor activity options) I spent some time making a giant batch of apple butter, cranberry-jalapeno jam, and rhubarb jam!

Trip to Ironman Florida

My friend Doria was competing in Ironman Florida, so I traveled down to support. Not a bad place to spend a weekend, and fun to be on the other side of the race experience!

Thanksgiving with the Turkeys

Chris and I attended "Thanksgiving with the Turkeys", a vegan Thanksgiving potluck dinner hosted by a local animal sanctuary which rehabilitates abused or abandoned farm animals. There had to be 1000 people there and an equal number of vegan dishes and desserts- I've never seen so much vegan food in one place. We got to eat some great food, make friends with some of the animals, and feed pumpkins to the pigs!

Thanksgiving with the People

I kicked off Thanksgiving day with the YMCA Turkey Chase 10k, and followed by a fun-filled hike with the dogs (Doria's and Chris's, that is), a short mountain biking expedition, and then a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at the Goorevich's!

Some "Real" Mountain Biking

I may not have been on my tri bike for 2 months, but have been getting in some fun (i.e. scary) mountain biking on real trails with fallen logs, rocks, stream crossings, and other fun obstacles. I'm certainly a novice at it but it is fun.

 

My First Trip to the Shooting Range

Chris got a LivingSocial deal for the shooting range and talked me into going with him. I was pretty good at it... hit the bullseye twice in my first 3 shots!

Reading the Entire New Testament

Yes, that's right! My Bible Study group did this together and though it was a challenge to get all of the reading done, I really enjoyed it.

A LOT of Cooking

  

I have done a lot of cooking in the last two months, including a lot of recipes featuring pumpkin and recipes using veggies from the garden (sadly, they are no more of these now that the cold weather has hit).

And... A Trip Out West!

I may be getting back into more triathlon-specific workouts (ie, dusting off my tri bike and taking it out on the roads) but that doesn't mean the off-season fun has to end... we'll end the year with a trip to the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Vegas for New Year's! (And, I expect all of my photos to turn out exactly like the one below...)