Up next was the day I had been waiting for. I’d seen pictures of this epic climb and knew I just had to ride it at some point. Sa Calobra. It did not disappoint. To get to this famous col, we had to get in a few warmup climbs. Our route wound us out of town and up Coll de Femenia increasing our elevation and my excitement level exponentially. We arrived in a little town, Lluc, where we briefly explored an old monastery, before getting back on our bikes riding along a mountain ridgeline (um, they have a thing against guardrails here it seems) that would deposit us at the top of Sa Calobra.

Race day arrived and I was very ready to race. Since it gets light a bit later there, race morning wasn’t a super early wake up call. I think we got up around 5:15 a.m. to get ready and head down toward the race venue. Water temperature was reading at 61 degrees, and the air temp was only 55 degrees. This made me happy and just told myself the water would feel warm compared to the chill in the air.

Jason arrived in Cambridge, Maryland on Wednesday, four days before race day. This allowed him to settle in after two days of driving, and have a low stress week to get his workouts in and rest and relax while not working out.

The ending of triathlon season should be a joyous time. Don’t think of it as the off-season, but as an opportunity to try new things and exercise in different ways than you could during the peak of race season. In fact, I would say it is good for your mental health to turn off the triathlon training and focus on different types of exercise for a couple of months. Below I’ve listed out some great cross training alternatives to help you through the winter and leave you feeling strong and excited about the next triathlon training and racing season.