Good question. For the past 10 years I've really only done triathlon. 98% of my travel and vacations were planned around races. A few months ago I started working part-time at a winery tasting room and I really enjoy that. I'm also in a book club and reallu enjoy cooking. Now that the weather is getting warmer I'll start doing some gardening, but that can sometimes be more of a chore than fun.

My husband (also a triathlete) and I jointly decided that one of our 2008 goals was to work on getting more well-rounded in terms of life outside of work and triathlon. Aside from those two we love to do anything with our dogs such as hiking, ski-joring/cross country skiing, off-leash park, etc. We both love wine and good food so we eat out at good restaurants whenever possible, are working on our Washington wine collection, and are attending a charitable event that will have some washington vitners next Monday.

For us it's a matter of not letting triathlon run our lives as it has in the past. Perhaps we'll miss a run one night but we'll go to a silent auction for homeless pets instead. Or take a day trip to the mountains to go hiking. Or, my personal upcoming favorite, I happened to hear that a band we both like is coming to town and got us tickets. Even though neither of us are really "concert-going" type of people (at least since we graduated college mid-90's) we figured it would be fun and different from our normal routine. Yes, once again that means we'll be missing that evening's workout but I'm sure regardless of what happens it'll be a lot of fun. Or we go to the aquariam or the zoo. Totally dorky but we love it (and neither are too expensive).

Oh - and "date night" is my favorite thing in the world. As a true triathlon dork our date night is a ride together but it's not a training ride so much as get on the bike for 90+min and bike to my absolute favorite place where we live. It's a great bike ride and something we try to do on a weekly basis once the weather warms up and it gets light enough at night. I can't wait for that to start up again.

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http://smallfoodbiz.com
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Once I get my second bathroom added, you have to come and visit me and bring bikes! I'm about 3 hours east of Seattle, right in the middle of a bunch of wineries. I work in the tasting room at Alexandria Nicole Cellars, we also have a tasting room in Woodenville. Check it out, the wines are fab.

Read (books and magazines)
Write
Travel (OK, most is tri/bike related, but not all)
Portuguese class
Wine and Belgian beer
Dinner out
Shopping (if I had more $$ to spend on clothes and stuff)

Relax: watch reality TV. HA

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Perhaps we can swing through on our way back from Walla Walla in May...and we'll have the bikes though we may be more inclined to check out the wineries. ;)

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http://smallfoodbiz.com
</blatent self-marketing>

Reading
Writing
Cross stitch & needlepoint- easy to get 100+ hours of stitching out of $50 worth of supplies and stitch charts

Women's Hockey is my passion. I never played until I was 30 and ten years later I can't get enough. My husband still laughs at how we apologize if we bump into someone and help them up if they fall down.

It was actually fellow hockey players who got me interested in triathlons. I am working on convincing more players on my team to participate in our local tri this summer.

I realize this is a "athletic" activity, but I figure the beer we consume after we play makes it more of a recreation than a sport, kind of like slowpitch in the summer.

i try to do alot to keep things interesting.

write
spin yarn, and design/knit for Moa (which is my heart and soul)
i'm a mom to 2 pugs, and also have 3 adorable kittycats
garden
read
study fashion
dabble in teas/herbs/holisitic medicine (i'm not a witch, but could play one on tv.)

soon i want to learn to hand dye fibers to work this in conjunction with Moa. Fun!

since last August i have been doing lots of other things except for tri. over the last week or so i realized i'm behind the stick and need to get on it if there is any hope for a 2008 season. so now i'm training for a 1/2 marathon, and woa, it's hard work after being out of the game for a bit!

but i think it's easy to have tri become a major focal point in free time. it's very demanding, but i've found that it's just too singular for me--i'm like ADD and have to have a bunch of other stuff going on in order to feel "complete" and happy.

I have a new hobby - teaching myself blues harp. I'm having a lot of fun with it and improving, but I'm a long ways away from sounding like Sonny Boy Williamson. I trying to devote an hour a day to it taking lessons off the internet.

Nice thing about the harmonica is that it's quite a cheap instrument. I picked up a Hohner Special 20 Marine Band for only about twenty dollars at the local music shop. That's the same type of harmonica that many of the great blues pros play so I can't blame my missing the notes on my equipment.

Cook (I especially love to bake and make ice cream... bad news) and can (jam, pickles & chutneys)
Listen to live music (went to hear a favorite Scottish trad band last night)
Enjoy excellent wine (although I'm off it [!!!!!] until after IMAZ!)
Take lots of photos
Collect vintage crate labels (citrus and pears, mostly)
Watch Food TV
Geek out (Mac stuff, web dev stuff, home network stuff)
Make quilts

Hm. This kinda makes me seem like a girly girl, no?

Outside of tris...hike/backpack camp with my dogs, agility training with one of my dogs (the other claims he can't jump), kayaking, reading historical books (biographies of the presidents mostly), scuba, surfing, knitting, cooking, trying to work on my Karman Ghia (normally means getting it taken apart and then calling a couple friends to help who show up with beer, then a couple hours later we call a tow truck), and playing black jack when in Vegas.

After IMAZ I'm looking forward to doing those things a lot more.

We also did agility with one of our dogs and want to go back for more classes. We also want to go try fly ball with both of them and lure coursing for our English Pointer.

I like to play with my dogs, go hiking and camping, redecorate my house, see movies, watch tv (more than I should).

My husband loves the show Ace of Cakes. I really like cake, so we are think about taking a cake decorating class.

Oh Ace of Cakes is my FAVORITE show. I'm a pastry chef so my husband knows that when it's on (or any "pastry"-type Food Network Challenge) I get the remote. Definitely take a cake decorating class, it's a ton of fun!

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http://smallfoodbiz.com
</blatent self-marketing>

hey, do you have any quilt pics to share?

yAY! Another women's hockey player! where do you play? I also started at age 30, thinking, just what I need, another sport! But I love it! and the apologizing for running into each other, LOL! i play coed too and never say sorry to the guys...they sure don't like it when a 110 pound girl can outplay them.
I was a triathlete first though, but the team sport is just so fun, now I'd like to get some of my teammates out there doing tris.

other passions/hobbies:
snowboarding
telemark skiing
snowshoeing
backpacking
rock climbing
reading

now I need to work on non-sports related activities to feel truly well rounded.

Here are a few. I'm a total amateur, as you'll see.

http://www.flickr.com/...s/72157594564622156/

OMG, that sock monkey one is AWESOME. Nice work!

M

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The beatings will continue until morale improves

Sounds like we need to have a gathering of NW women STers. I'm about 20 miles east of Seattle.

I also struggle with hobbies. My husband just got a new Harley and I keep saying I'm going to learn to ride a motorcycle but I keep thinking about my training, etc. All of my vacations are around racing or camps. It really is pathetic.

I really do need to find something else in my life other than training and watching TV :-(

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Reading
Sewing
shopping
eating out
trips to Dairy Queen (LOL)
master's swimming parties
Going out with our tri group to eat after a workout
tri club parties
fixing up the house

golf
racquetball
sailing
food (cooking and dining out)
camping
chillin w/my dog
volunteering

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http://www.rdsupplier.com "making race directing easier"

When I read the title of your post my first thought was "train"

I am having to think hard to come up with other stuff I do for fun. Read, I guess. I like Outside magazine... Jodi Picoult and Chris Bojalian books...

I like rock climbing but rarely do it because I do not want my arms to be sore for swimming. LOL.

Walking downtown on a summer evening and shopping

I write... but usually more to dispell anxiety than for fun

Card/board games on occassion

Spending time with my boyfriend, but mostly that time is spent swimming so we're back to square 1.

Going to the beach

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

With my boyfriend and I both trianing for our first HIMs, I agree the workouts are our primary "hobby" right now. We do try to incorporate other stuff... here are a few of ours:

• Between the two of us, we have three dogs. Any opportunity to wear them out we take. Long walks, romping in the backyard, hopefully running with the older one soon (oops that's training!).
• I'm in a Bunko group
• We started a tradition of getting together with friends every Thursday night for dinner and drinks.
• Home improvements are always an opportunity to stay busy. My kitchen tile is the latest (unfinished) project, along with my main bathroom.
• He is in a recreational softball league every summer
• We are both getting our MBAs... not that homework is a hobby, but keeps us busy
• Last summer we planned trips to see 2 or 3 concerts. Far enough away to get a hotel and stay overnight, but not too far away that we had to take off work. Weekend trips are so much fun.

Thanks! I made it for the baby of a friend (and IM finisher) who LOVES sock monkeys. We decorated onesies at the shower and I made one with an Ironbaby (B with a dot) logo.

Movies, dinner with friends, movies, drinking wine, movies, cooking, movies, reading, and more movies. I'm a regular at Landmark Theaters

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http://nikeep.blogspot.com/

I'm a bit of an artsy fartsy type (so my hubby says) and I work at a commercial photography studio so I'm surrounded by creative people, thus I am inspired / influenced almost daily. I take photos, not as much as I used to though. I enjoy stamping / scrapbooking when I have time. I usually try to make birthday / Christmas cards for people. I like to garden, especially vegetable gardening because I LOVE to cook and there is NOTHING better than eating fresh veggies right out of the garden. But, that can become a bit of a chore, especially when the training gets heavier in the nicer weather. My garden went to hell in a handbasket during my training for my first Ironman. I'm currently training for IM #2 so we'll see what happens with the garden this year.

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Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.

http://www.teamrunningfree.com
http://ironmanredux.blogspot.com/

Sorry for the late response, I just got back from a game, 0-0 tie. We were in total control of the game but ran into a hot goalie.

I learned to play hockey in a very small town (2500 people) in the interior of British Columbia. I then played in the suburbs of Vancouver for a few years. The level of competition was great in Vancouver, but the weather sucked, I am a sun lover. We moved back to Ontario a couple of years ago and I was playing hockey the first night back.

The women's league here is great. We have over a dozen teams and each year players are drafted to new teams so you play with new people all the time and the teams are even (ability wise) and beginner players are mentored by more experienced ones. There is also a competitive women's division that I played in last year, but didn't have time for this year. I play occasionally with men from my husband's office at lunch time, and yes I don't apologise when I run into them either but I'm usually picking myself up off the ice or trying to recover my wind.

Last year I was fighting for the puck in the corner with my husband and he turned and cross-checked me - knocked me flat on my ass. The whole arena went quiet and the guys went -oooh, he's dead when he gets home. He claims to this day that he didn't realize it was me.

We still never play on the same team.

Wow, we are still trying to really develop women's hockey in my town and experiencing major growth pains...i might need to pm you for some tips! What level are you playing at?

Love the story about your husband...I once got really mad at my husband when he was on an opposing team. he had stolen the puck from me mid slap shot. Something took over me and somehow the blade of my stick found its way to the hole in the blade of his skate and I lifted up as he skated away, took flight and landed flat on his face. he had no idea it was me.

The organizers of the league rank the players at the beginning of the season (beginner, intermediate and experienced). New players are encouraged to participate in a couple of "draft" or exhibition games where they are ranked by the captains of the league teams (I'm one of them). Then the captains get together over pizza and beer and choose teams starting with experienced through beginner. The last twenty or so players are randomly put on teams so that no one is really the "last pick".

This was my first year as a team co-captain/manager. Our first priority in the draft was not to pick any "fun-suckers", we just wanted a team that would show up each game and have fun.

As far as my level of play, I am ranked as a "low-experienced" player. We a dozen or so "high-experience" players who have been playing since they were kids and one who even made it several steps through the Olympic team tryouts.

The league asks players who are extremely skilled to play only in the competitive division, especially if they can't bring it down a few notches and be a teacher instead of a puck hog.

Here's an interesting article from last year if you are interested http://soogoodlife.com/sitepages/?aid=49

The league co-ordinator would be someone to contact if you want some ideas for building your league. There's some contact info in the article or you can check out the league site at http://womenshockeyleague.ca/index.html

What do I do for fun?

• Cake Decorating. I took the Wilton classes at Michael's, and when there's an occasion, I make a fancy cake.
• Genealogy. Though I've been on hiatus for a while, I do enjoy finding documentation to support the oral history that's been passed down through my family. When my employer sends me to Washington DC, I often find a bit of time for a side-trip to the National Archives or the DAR library. From what I've been learning about my West Virginia ancestors, the truth is even more interesting than the wild stories my grandfather told.
• Photography and Scrapbooking. The scrapbooking aspect of this is particularly important because I have a long-term goal to have all paper stuff I'm saving for the memories (race numbers, certificates from my son's ice skating class, etc...) either put in scrapbooks along with the accompanying story and photographs or put in the garbage. The clutter is getting to be overwhelming.

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"Real winners aren't content with yesterday's victories"

what do you mean-do triathletes reallyhave a life outside of work and training? JK-Love anything outdoors-camping, hiking,kayaking, horseback riding, etc. however, usually too tired to do these things during season, so they are good to do after season is over. Other than that, more low-key things like reading,movies, hanging w/friends,etc.

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Jolene Wilkinson
Triathlon Coaching http://www.pacificfit.net

I play trivia in a bar every tuesday night. The only night a week when I don't sleep early.
I write for magazines and local papers and take pictures. :)

I also read and drink a lot of coffee with friends on weekends.

I enjoy reading, camping (esp. in the Boundary Waters), working with my dogs--either going on hikes or to the dog park, or doing agility and obedience, and in the springtime I like to putz in the yard. I also like to golf, go fishing, hang out with family, and play board games.

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com