Changes...

Anybody that has following me lately may have noticed that there's been nothing to follow for quite some time.  I've made a few attempts to revive my blog, but keep falling short and not getting back to it.  I've hinted at major life changes that are distracting me.

So, now that things are fairly settled, it's time to come out with the major life change.

A big move.

We are moving away from Cochrane, the town we live in, which is right next to the fairly big city of Calgary.

We are moving to a small community in the West Kootenay area of British Columbia.  Trading in mountains in the skyline for being surrounded by mountains.  Giving up my river pathways for different river pathways, though they are unlikely to be paved unless I make the drive into one of the cities (which are smaller then the "town" I currently live in).

Giving up our small urban lot for 1.5 acres of gardens, fruit trees, and play space.

A view of part of our new backyard.  Even with the garden space, our kids will have many times the amount of space to run around.

I couldn't be more excited.

So, what does this mean for my triathlon plans?

Ironman is still on baby!  The climate is milder, so it's likely I'll get more outdoor riding in at both ends of the season.  Running will be a bit different.  There's no paved pathway system, so I'll be doing some running on roads, some on trails.  There's a couple "rails to trails" in the area that should give me lots of pathway to run along.

There are lots of lots of hills which I'll be running and biking on.  Ironically, I'm signed up for one of the flattest Ironman races in the circuit, and I've moved to a very hilly place to train in.  Hill work is speedwork in disguise, right?  The pools in the area actually have much better lane swim times then the restrictive ones in Cochrane, so even though it's a longer drive, it will be easier to schedule.  Plus, there's more places to swim in the open water.

So, what does it mean for the blog?  Right now I'm not making any promises for the next month.  I'll blog when I'm moved to do so, but I'm not putting pressure on myself to keep it up.  I've thought about the reasons I blog, and even though I enjoy my "audience", I do it for myself.  It's a place for me to share thoughts, and writing focuses and calms me.

I do expect the blog to have a resurgence once we get settled after the move.  I'm excited to find new places to run and ride, and getting to know the new pool that I'll be frequenting.  We move at the end of March, so it's a quick timeline.