Hasta la Vista, 2013 (read in Arnie's voice)

The final hours of 2013 are ticking away and it's my final post of the year.  Most of us, admittedly or not, are reflecting on our strengths and weaknesses of the past 365 days.  And most of us, whether we care to say it or not, are thinking about how to improve in 2014.   Resolutions are made with fervor and optimism but once the Most Miserable Day (reportedly January 23rd, when most resolutions have been dropped) rolls around, they're long gone and elastic waistbands are once again our best friends.

Maybe that's how it goes for you, but here's how it goes for me:  January is attacked with the fury of a woman who ate and drank her way through December (and the latter part of November if I'm being 100% honest).  February goes pretty well, but the training is not nearly as ferocious.  March training is a little on the slack side.  April hits and brings the first triathlon and every year I say "Eff!!  Why did I not keep up those promised changes?  How am I not hitting PR's despite not training all that hard? It all started so nicely.  Oh well, good enough-I'm a triathlete, aren't I?"

But I'm not settling for good enough this year because, like you, I deserve better.  Reflecting on past behaviours, I noticed that there was no real accountability or incentive to sustain my very best, top notch effort.  I enjoy doing it, but just as enjoyable is a night of socializing with friends followed by a long sleep.  So how to improve accountability and motivation?  Challenges and rewards!  Here's what I've signed myself up to do:

30 Days with no grains or dairy:  Sort of Paleo but with wine (Drunken Cavewoman, I guess?), giving this a go to soothe stomach issues and improve energy levels.  I'm on day four and it's been a success, albeit with some pretty intense grain cravings.  These are only supposed to last a week or so.  I hope.  *Disclaimer-I am in no way advocating the Paleo diet or anything like it, or saying you should do it.  I am doing what works for me, and encourage the everyone to do the same*  Reward?  Beer on my bday!

Run 20 miles every week from Jan. 6-March 2nd:  Running is my weakness.  The hardest part for me is getting out there for a run without a friend.  Don't get me wrong, once I'm running it's all good but getting up the motivation is sooooo haaaaard.  The challenge I've joined is through Run With Jess.  You have the choice of either 10, 20, 30 or 40 miles per week and there are prizes!  Woohoo!  20 miles seems pretty daunting right now, not sure how I'm gonna put that one together.  Reward? The possibility of those aforementioned prizes and signing up for the Rock'n'Roll Half's Vancouver debut.

Cycle 20 miles every week from Jan. 1-March 2nd: Made this one up myself in hopes of getting on my bike a little (a lot) more often.  Most of a triathlon is spent on your bike and thus has the greatest potential to lead to a PR.  20 miles a week sounds good now but on top of swimming, running, strength training and life, will I be able to fit it in?  Therein lies the challenge.  Reward?  New tri shorts.

30 Days of Planking-start at 20 seconds and go all the way to 5 minutes:  Does your stomach hurt just thinking of doing this?  Mine does.  You probably think I'm doing this to get a stronger core because the core is so important blah, blah, blah but no.  A stronger core is nice but mostly I've always wanted to be able to plank for more than 30 seconds.  You can find this challenge at Athleta or Tribesports.  Reward? Being able to do a 5 minute plank.

Speaking of Tribesports, I highly recommend checking out their site, they have TONS of challenges for just about anything you can image.  Anyways, these are my challenges, what are yours?  You've probably guesses I'm using the blog as a way to keep myself honest but I'll also try to post updates on Twitter and Instagram.  Best of luck to you in any challenges you take on and Happy New Year!

Good bye summer, Hello Fall

Only 48 hours left until it's October, and with it colder temps, rainy days, early-onset darkness and depleted motivation.  A lot of training plans are underway but clinging to their summertime ways, which mostly means outside in t-shirts. But soon, most of us will head indoors and start to bundle up until Mother Nature plays nice again (say, late March.....we can dream, right?)  While we wait, here's some suggestions for acclimatizing:

Swimming:  Not much choice here, you've pretty much got to hit the pool.  Finding a pool you like is vital (the quality of the hot tub is how I determine pool worthiness), as is a training plan that is both challenging and fun.  Check out Swimplan for some good plans, it's easy to set up and free.  I print the workouts on an index card and put it in a Ziploc bag for waterproofing on the swim deck.  Throwing in a game or two with your swim buddies keeps it fun too-my favourites are SwimGolf and the 3-5-7-3 challenge.  For SwimGolf, swim 50m and add together your time and number of strokes.  Great for optimizing efficiency and bonus points if you get under 60 which is the lowest score I've ever heard of.  For 3-5-7-3, you breathe every 3rd, then 5th, 7th and 3rd stroke on each 25m over a 100m swim and it's reaaaallly hard!  And fun.  

Cycling:  I'm not sure how many people continue to cycle outside after October, but to those who do: Good on you and please stay safe!  For those of us heading indoors, there is a couple of different ways to keep the legs in shape-the indoor trainer and Spin class.  If you don't have an indoor trainer, get one, they're awesome. Craigslist is a good start for finding one.  If you already have one, I would recommend setting up a TV near by for entertainment.  Depending on goals and time available, some people like movies, some people like Spinervals and some people (me) play a game where my kids get to be the boss-they yell out commands (Sprint! Stand! Slow!) and you follow along.  Just remember, kids are mean.  Alternately, there is Spin class-most local municipalities and gyms offer them in some capacity but another source is local bike stores which usually have good rates and discounts if you bring your own bike trainer (another incentive to get one!)

Running:  Best thing to do here is embrace the cold, wet and dark.  Besides not over-heating, you'll be building endurance on one of your most important running components: Your mental muscle! And we'll all be thankful to have it come race day.  Having the right gear makes a huge difference too including a hat, jacket, reflective vest, and gloves.  Just make sure one of them has a pocket for id and money for that post-run beverage (several of my runs have been completed only because of the beer waiting at the end).  If you really have to run inside, there's always the treadmill.  My friend Allison has hers set up in the garage and runs with the door open so it's kind of like running outside, a great idea except when the raccoons come in to check out what's going on (which really happened!)

That's all for now, good luck staying warm, dry and visible out there!