Don't Become a Tri-Turkey

The Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner and, for many, racing season has come to a close. Roughly 1/2 of us novice triathletes will get all gung-ho, ditch the dinner with the in-laws in favor of an empty pool or weight room. We will max out reps with free weights, join the newest Pilates classes (much to the entertainment of the regulars) and jump into the lap pool with our old running shoes for added resistance training. We will buy any full winter training gear we can get our hands on and start using it before the first snowfall. We will continue to trade war stories from races completed earlier in the year like those high school jocks who never mentally left the field after graduation. We will either injure ourselves or burn out completely just before Christmas and therefore bloom later in the spring with our training than the pros.

Which leaves the other half of us...

...going to that Happy hour on Friday afternoon (hey, no 8-hour training in the morning tomorrow!)
...eating another slice of pizza - hell we earned it sometime in May
...sleeping in another Tuesday morning - we're still in recovery, right?
...becoming one with our sofas, and gaining a good 8-12 pounds - BEFORE THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY HITS THE TABLE.

So, how do we keep from falling into these newbie traps? Here are a few tips I gathered from coaches, peers, and publications:

1. Keep doing SOMETHING on your training days
Good time to locate the friends you abandoned during peak training season, so that when you want to watch the 50th repeat of that Seinfeld episode you'll still have compelling reason to get outside for a short run. Make a play date; catch up, and keep some organization to your training schedule w/minimal effort.

2. Use Goldilocks's measure of effectiveness on your workouts
It's as easy as porridge:
* This workout is TOO HARD = slow it down or cut your run/ride/swim shorter
* This workout is TOO EASY = kick it up a notch!
* This workout is JUUST RIGHT!

3. Holiday fun runs
Two words for you: Turkey Trot. Find fun runs and get friends and family into the mix. They've been standing on the sidelines cheering you on throughout the year, so give back and cheer them on through a fun 1-mile walk or 5-k run! Besides, you need to keep up the running foundation anyway.

Good luck on the fence, fellow tri-rookies!