(Psst be sure to check out the bottom of this post for an awesome giveaway from SBRSportsInc, makers of TriSwim!)
UPDATE: We have a winner! I emailed the lucky Anne Brown and will be shipping her a set of TriSwim products from SBRSportsInc. Thanks for playing, everyone!

Even though I haven’t exactly been slacking off during the off season, I was really excited to open up my TrainingPeaks account last Sunday and see a packed week with lots of biking and lots of swimming. This winter Coach Jeff at PRSFit.com had me focus on my running to set me up for a successful triathlon season, especially with my first 140.6 triathlon this year, and a bunch of REV3 halfs on the books.
Originally I was planning to tackle an early season marathon this year, as (1) my friend’s bachelorette party! (2) preparation for Lake Placid and (3) confidence building after not getting to the start line in 2010 due to injury. But ultimately we decided not to do the race, to avoid injury before a jam-packed tri season. This turned out to be an awesome decision because I got really, really sick the week before the race. I got some kind of nasty virus and had 5 days of 0 workouts.
It was really hard to not work out for almost a full week! This is when I was really glad I had a coach to tell me to take it easy. I think if I’d been left to my own devices I would have attempted to go back to training earlier than I should have, which according to the nurse at Target (what? they have Starbucks there. It was win-win) could have delayed my recovery. Sometimes you need your coach to tell you to take it easy, as counter-intuitive as it sounds!
I’m feeling really strong as a runner going into this season. Coach took the winter to build up a great base and we have been doing some awesome tempo-ish runs that have made me faster. Now I’m eager to hit the bike and swim hard again. After all, my first race is coming up, May 5! Eep. This week was about getting back into full-on tri training after a winter focused on running.
The hardest workout of the week was a 3700m swim with some killer intervals. I think it was hard mentally because I KNEW I couldn’t make this one interval, so it took a lot of effort to still give 100% knowing I would fail. I think that training for a full 140.6 I’m going to need to see these “failures” as important experiences and necessary parts of training :) The tough workouts make you stronger!
Speaking of swimming, the lovely people at SBR Sports Inc (One of my Team Rev3′s sponsors) have generously offered to do a giveaway! SBR Sports makes Tri Swim, a line of chlorine-out hair and skin care products. I have been using their products since January and LOVE them. The lotion especially – I hate most lotions because they make my skin feel sticky, but SBRSports product just feels silky smooth while still moisturizing. The hair products have done a really good job of getting the chlorine out of my hair without stripping it of shine (or color! My highlights survive the pool now).

To enter the drawing for a set of Tri Swim products – 80z each of the shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and body wash – leave a comment on this post telling me what you’re training for this year! To get up to two extra entries, follow SBRSports on twitter or like them on facebook (and be sure to say you did so in the comments so I know to put your name in twice). I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday evening!