Are we halfway through November already?  When I think of the off-season, I think of a time where I am basically doing nothing.  Just recharging the body, the mind and catching up on a lot of missed time on the couch.  Yet, each year I seem to pack more and more into the winter months and this year I seem to have over stretched myself.  There has not been one dull moment and I feel about as tired as if I was coming home from a race.

When I am home, I am cooking, cleaning, shopping, running, riding and playing some tennis here and there.  On my trips so far it has felt like a stage race, with hotel transfers and with activities planned from sun up to sun down.  Unfortunately, during the winter months I can’t use my “I need to rest and recover for my next race” card and my wife knows it!  Guess it’s payback for the rest of the year when she is taking care of me.

If I looked back to the summer months I was already looking towards the off-season and making plans to do this and that.  Trying to pack in as many fun things that I could.  The possibilities seem endless at that point.  Once the off-season finally arrives you realize that the more you have planned, the faster it goes, and that is the case for me this year.   But I can’t say that I would do anything different.

I really have had a great time so far.  I was able to be part of so many cool experiences in Texas, our annual tennis tournament is coming up this weekend, which will be a great chance to catch up with some friends and then on Sunday I am off to Peru for a week with Right To Play (www.righttoplay.com).  I can only assume the Peru trip will be a huge eye opener.  We will be touring different villages and schools, giving talks and playing games and other activities with the children. I have no idea of what to expect, but I am sure it will be something I will always remember.  After Peru, it will already be Thanksgiving and then off to the first Team Columbia-HTC training camp.  It really does go so fast, but you only live once…