From couch to uncomfortable chair...

Update from the last post:

Serious decisions have been made.

I'm going with option D, with a little bit of B thrown in. Sheerly due to trips and conference schedules this summer, it would be impossible to do all but one of the races I participated in last year. We're looking at fun times ahead in Hawaii and New Orleans, and feeling quite lucky that our work takes us to such outstanding places. So, new adventures must be had regardless of personal preference. And I am up for it.

After much reflection, I've decided to do short local running races (5K and 10K) through June in combination with speedwork to decrease my finishing times. My cross-training April through June must incorporate some swimming lessons, so I can improve some skills.

Then I'll pick up the pace in July and August with one sprint tri per month. I'm still looking for a good July race somewhere in Colorado, but I bet I'll have no trouble finding one. I don't want to do the Danskin again for a number of reasons (time, location, etc) so will find a fresh opportunity eventually.

One of my friends had a blast last year doing the Fat Tire Tri up near Fort Collins, so that is quite likely to become my great August race. Plus, it incorporates trail-running and mountain-biking, so that will mean picking up some new basic skills over the summer (particularly with the mountain biking but I'm excited about that).

Finally, I'm going to keep the best and last of last year's races on my personal schedule for sure, and do the Boulder Backroads half-marathon again. Last year I finished about 2:06, so this year's goal will be to break 2:00.

Why the uncomfortable chair, you ask? As of yesterday, I will be spending most of my evenings in March and the first half of April stage-managing a show for the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. They perform in the Dairy Center in Boulder, a place not necessarily famed for its cushy technical accoutrements, so I'm expecting to spend multiple hours working theatre tech on some bare-essentials-type furniture. But I am seriously jazzed about the opportunity.

I miss the bug a lot when I do a show, which means I only commit to a large-scale project once a year or so. When it happens, though, it's so exciting to be backstage, working with people who are really good at what they do. BETC is a young theatre company in its second season, and it's a professional company that salaries its workers (!!!), so I am really, really excited by the possibilities that lie ahead. More details as they emerge about the theatrical experience ahead.