Triathlon Holiday Gift Guide

It seems like every blog is posting a holiday gift guide this time of year.  I thought I’d get into the spirit as well, but with my own take on it.  First of all, full disclosure: yep, I do love gear and all kinds of “stuff’;  but several years ago I decided that the most valuable things to give are time and memories.  I no longer exchange gifts with Jason, family members, etc., but we choose special things to do with each other instead.  Here are some suggestions for “gifts” for the active people in your lives.

The swimmer

A super-fun, yet challenging, swim workout.  My most memorable swim was of course swimming 100x100m with Jason in Hawaii.   Another was last xmas when we swam the “12 Days of Christmas” swim: 78x75m (5850m).  We’ll be doing that one again this year together, but starting at 12 instead of 1.  You see, the workout goes just like the song, where you do 1x75, then 2x75 , then 3X75… so on.  It didn’t take long to get the first 6 “days” out of the way (1575m), but the last 6 (4050m) took forever.  This time will start with 12x75, then 11x75, then 10… same mileage obviously but mentally more fun to be counting down rather than up.

The cyclist

How about a ride on a cool, out-of-the-way route that you don’t normally ride?  Get your cycling buddies together for some flowy singletrack, or a sweet road ride on backroads where you don’t have to worry about traffic and can ride in a group and chat.  Or create a fun mock-cyclocross course through some local parks and share the laughs with your best riding pals.

The runner

Meet early one morning for a long run, then head out to the best brunch place afterwards.  Mimosas and carb-overloading feels soooo good after up to two hours of pounding the pavement or trails.  Or maybe a shorter run, but try to find one of those Participarks to play on the fitness circuit while running!  Participarks may be a strictly Canadian thing – they were built in parks around the country in the early 80’s to encourage Canadians to get more active.  It’s basically a fitness circuit with 12-ish exercise stations, placed throughout a 2-3km loop through a park or trail.  Fun!

The water lover

Even though it’s wetsuit season here in the PNW, get out the SUPs and go for a paddle.  Find a calm morning, or brave the afternoon winds and have some fun in the chop!

The hiker

Scout around the rumour mill for some off-the-beaten track places and go exploring.  The other day my friend Candace and I (and her dog Shadow) poked around an abandoned property to find a fabled waterfall – involved some scrambling, climbing over fallen trees, tall grass, jumping creeks, eating dirt… and was fantastically fun.

The multi-sport athlete

Do some chores or something to free up some of their time, which they could use to have a nap.  'Nuff said.

The special someone

Book a trip to a training mecca (Kona, Tucson, wherever…), and up the mileage in this offseason by training like crazy and creating your own triathlon training camp.  All it takes is the desire to swimbikerun every day in a warm, sunny spot, a comfy couch to recover on, and some good food to fuel up with.  And of course, time with the peeps most important to you to create those special memories.