Off season- it's called goals on the back burner- friends and fam on the front burner

Today I went snowboarding with my husband and our good friends Laurel and Juston. I had a blast. We skied from open to close. Sunday I slept in and had a lazy morning with Jeff before Church and then we went Christmas shopping and then to a Christmas party. A weekend like this did not exist when I was in the heart of marathon training. To be honest I love running and there have been a few times that I might have chosen a run over a holiday party- I know I'm unique :). However, right now is not the time. When people talk about taking time off after a marathon, it's often talked about for it's benefits in recovering properly and allowing the body to continue to improve. However, in my years of running it hasn't been until the last couple years that I have really realized the most important part about downtime. It's the time you put your goals and ambitions on the back burner and put the ones that you love on the front burner. During training you have to make decisions that are going to help you reach your goals. You can bend a little in training but not very much. You can't do this all year! During the months after the marathon it's the time that you can be completely flexible and really put others above yourself. If you need to be goal oriented about it.. Think about it as strengthening your support system and relationships rather than strengthening your muscles. It's so important! (And..I mean who doesn't enjoy spending time relaxing with friends and enjoying some other sports : )

(with my guy before a party)

(ski day)

(a rather HUGE Italian sub....that we shared)