Adjusted Reality

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Hi!

On January 23, 2015

I wrote out this really emo whiny post, and then I got busy. I feel a little less like listening to Death Cab for Cutie and putting on eyeliner, but I feel like I should chronicle where I’m at.

I got a promotion at work, with a nice title and salary bump. I had been playing the “what if” game for a while, but that solidified the 2015 plan is to be Senior Producer over multiple projects. Hence, things got busy as of Tuesday when that got made official.

We’re dealing with a lot of change, just when we got to the point where we were a comfortable, well oiled machine. It sucks, and it took some time to get adjusted, but I think we’re moving on with life and finding the new normal.

I’m finding a weird part of this marathon training slump. I’ve never been this consistent with mileage, and I’m not finding any issues with motivating to get a run in every day, but the idea of running for more than two hours kinda repulses me. I was able to knock out a 15 mile run on the treadmill (I know… it wasn’t even as terrible as I thought it would be). However, last week, I had no runs over 7 miles, but I had 33 miles total. Starting last Friday, I felt super flat, like when I started running, I just felt… deflated.

I forced myself to do a longer run (7 miles) Wednesday, and the first half I felt like a half-full balloon, but the second half was awesome. Same with yesterday’s run. I’m hoping this is the upswing.

The fact is, I really only have 4 weeks left to long run before taper. This means I need to hit 4/4 runs, or I really should bust down to the half. This was an emotional touchy subject with me last weekend, but I’ve come full circle and accepting that it is what it is. Tomorrow, I’ll set out to run and see what comes from it. From that, I’ll decide if I continue to pursue the marathon or start playing the “get in half marathon PR shape” game.

I’m ending the running streak Jan 31st (5 weeks). I had considered going longer, but I’m not. I’ve learned that the world does not have to align just so for me to go for a fucking run, which I think sometimes I would wait for in the past. Going forward, I’d like to run most days. Getting in 5-6 miles at lunch is tops. I think getting in random miles on the treadmill or outside when I have a few minutes around the house really adds up. But, I also think I really need a cross training day the day before a long run (15+), though I don’t think an easy mile or 3 is a bad idea the day after. I also think that a better goal going forward may be run, bike, swim or weights/stretch every day. Something something.

My swim is improving like woah without even trying. I’m rocking the sub-2:00/100m pace without even concentrating on it (get in, swim while thinking about other stuff and listening to music, steady pace). Can I swim this marathon instead?

I am itching to be a triathlete again. I want hard swim sets, biking outside, harder trainer rides, and for the lake to be warm enough already for fucks sake. I can’t wait to really start the training to kick ass at the short stuff this spring.

No booze January was a bust. With everything going on at work, I made it 11 days. It’s Jan 23rd and I’ve had drinks twice and probably will on Saturday. I’ve learned some things about myself and trying to a) not have drinks b) not eat crappy and c) not go out and spend money does not work at the same time. I have not been quite as unhappy and bored as I remember the last two weekends at home, sober, and worrying about work/life stuff. I had thought perhaps it would make me more productive, but it didn’t. I had no fun and didn’t like it.

Less booze January did have some benefits though. In that 11 days, my tolerance went way down, which is great. It’s been a long time since a single beer did anything but make me burp. Also, breaking the established habits of “I always have beer on this day” makes it to be a celebration/commiseration when it happens, not just because it’s Thursday.

The scale is all over the place (175 one day, 182 the next). I have done a shitty job at tracking food, and honestly, I have no idea what my goal is with that because I’ve not yet found a calorie count that’s reasonable where I steadily lose weight. I can definitely tell I feel fat lately because my instagram is all random pictures of other things, and not selfies. Workin’ on it.

I’m about 50/50 with my goals for January. They were probably a bit ambitious, so I’m pretty happy with that.

And, that’s that. Heading off to run my requisite one mile, stretch and foam roll and maybe some core, and then rest up for tomorrow’s run. Happy Friday, y’all!

I’m not that kind of person.

By Quix

On January 16, 2015

In Uncategorized

Recently, I stepped back on the scale after the holidays. I’m not going to lie and say it was pretty, but 180.8 is not the worst I’ve ever been, and I needed some time to relax the food rules in December, and it’s a starting point. Onward and downward. At least, I’m trying to keep this attitude, but Zliten can attest to the fact I’ve had some mini-tantrums about it. Rational brain does not always triumph over the feels, sadly.

Then, I think about where I’ve been. I write a similar post most Januarys, and perhaps I should just link those and be done with it, but every year I gain a different perspective of what has happened over these last 8 years (gosh, has it been that long?) since I just barely fit in size 24 jeans and made that fateful new years resolution.

This year I had an epiphany on a run, as I am wont to do now that I rarely listen to music outdoors. I really should stop saying this phrase:

“I am not the kind of person who…”

Because I end up breaking the rules I set by saying that often. Year by year, I break down a lot of these barriers. If I stayed “not the kind of person who” of 2007, I’d be a very very very different person. For example…

2007: I’m not the kind of person who…

…is fit and active. I started the year here, at 265 lbs…

…and ended here. At 210 lbs I still had a long way to go.

However, the difference was night and day. I went from a walk around my apartment complex taking my breath away to 4-5 days of cardio and 3 days of weights being just part of the routine. Tracking my food (which I started using Spark People in September) helped me limit my intake enough to steadily lose weight.

2008: I’m not the kind of person who…

…weighs less than 200 lbs as an adult. I hit “onederland” (199) right before my 29th birthday in February. Best birthday present EVER.

And, I continued to ride the momentum all the way down to 160 by the end of the year.

…is a runner. I don’t know why, but this year I decided I wanted to try and run a mile, something I hadn’t done since 8th grade and certainly not something I ever enjoyed doing before. I almost passed out after, but I ran that mile in about 12 minutes – a far cry from my best of 7:50 of my childhood, but I kept at it and could run 5-6 miles at a time by the end of the year.

2009: I’m not the kind of person who…

…runs races. I did my first 5k in Februray and the bug bit me HARD. I was sure I would be the oldest, heaviest, and slowest one there.

Not so much. In fact, I followed someone that could be my grandpa the whole race and couldn’t catch him, but I placed decently well in my age group (top half, IIRC). That year, I completed 3 5ks, a 10k, a half marathon, and a 5 miler. Zliten joined me for one of the 5ks and that sparked a desire to do triathlon at some point in the future.

…wants a froofy white traditional wedding dress.

Funny that, when you feel like you actually look gorgeous in your dress, most little girls revert back to wanting to feel like a princess. Who knew?

2010: I’m not the kind of person who…

…is into triathlons. After a disappointing second half marathon when I got sick, I thought about the idea of training for a marathon, and those long runs over the hot summer sounded terrible. However, I wanted to sufficiently large goal to tackle, so I signed up for my first sprint and olympic triathlon at the same time.

After battling the terror of open water swimming, and the most painful 4 hours and 4 minutes of my racing life (and coming in something like 3rd to last), I was so hooked.

…can be the leader of a team. Well, it took a lot of guts for me to ask for the promotion when I wasn’t sure I was up to it, and even more blood, sweat, and tears to constantly do things that professionally scared me (read: talking on a microphone in front of the company, leading meetings, etc), but it was an exhausting and enthralling year getting my legs as a Producer.

2011: I’m not the kind of person who…

…would lose weight and gain some back again. I hit my low of 150 one day in April of 2009, and from there, it slowly crept back on, and this was the year I started to really notice and couldn’t stop it. My body found it’s happy set point around 175 and it still doesn’t seem to want to budge without drastic measures.

However, I’m also not the kind of person that lets myself get so frustrated about that and give up and regain back ALL the weight. 175 and fit is so much better than 265 and without hope.

…would have a husband that’s into racing. Well, that changed quickly once he got a taste of triathlons this year. For someone who hated running and swimming, he sure did like racing tris. I wasn’t one to question.

2012: I’m not the kind of person who…

…wants to really do long distance races.

True, I have fondness for the short stuff, but I completed a metric century, a half ironman, and a marathon. And I didn’t hate any of them. Kind of the opposite.

…races every other weekend.

We did 24 races in 12 months born out of a silly idea we had while drinking one night, and while it was TOO MUCH RACING, it was fun to conquer a huge big goal like that and stay healthy enough to start and finish that many races in a year.

2013: I’m not really the kind of person who…

…doesn’t smoke. I had gradually whittled down my consumption to only when drinking and switched to the organic kind (which sounds like bullshit even to me, but I could SO feel the difference in comparison) but letting go of it completely was hard. But I smoked my last cigarette at a 2012 NYE party and haven’t had once since.

DISCLAIMER: I still use an e-cig while drinking sometimes. I’ve done my homework. The juice I use is not the one with all the harmful crap in it that’s all over the news. Nicotine is a stimulant similar to caffeine in terms of effect and danger without all the other crap in it. The delivery system is essentially like a rescue inhaler. I won’t say it has no risks but as an experiment of one, I see a WORLD of difference between that and cigs.

…has the balls to scuba dive. It sounded awesome and terrifying at the same time, but after some conversations with Zliten about our upcoming vacation, which included a trip to Bonaire, which is one of the most beautiful places to dive in the world, we spent valentines day in class and on my 33rd birthday, I got certified.

So worth it. I still have trouble getting down sometimes with touchy ears, but it just takes patience. I’ve now seen 40-80 feet underwater in Aruba, Bonaire, Key Largo, Cozumel, and the Bahamas. It’s worth it to see this stuff up close.

…does something dumb enough to get injured enough to DNS races. I now have a few rules: a) try not to get that drunk b) don’t get that drunk ever on cruises c) don’t get that drunk ever on heels.

I would definitely say I have a healthy respect for what it takes to come back from an injury and will do all I can to not get there again either through being an idiot while drunk or being an idiot with overuse.

2014: I’m not really the kind of person who…

…places in my age group. Well, I usually don’t. But as of this year, I’d racked up a women’s OA win at the indoor tri, a 1st place at a 5k, a 2nd place at a half marathon, and finally placed 3rd at Gatorbait, my first AG placement in a tri. I’m finally at the point where I’m at least considering fighting for 3rd at small races, which is fun.

…could give up grains or batch cook. This was the second year of batch cooking and I feel like I hit my stride. I stopped attempting the super fancy stuff (tikka masala from scratch is phenomenal, but takes so long) and went with easier stuff that didn’t take all day.

I don’t want to say what I did was low carb starting in August, but I ditched the rice, pasta, and bread, and turned to fruit, corn, and potatoes as carb fuel. I wanted to hate it, but I ended up finding it kept my stomach more even, helped my triathlon race nutrition, and took some weight off (before I went on vacation and holidays and fucked it up).

…volunteers at races. We’d done it once or twice, but this year, we did much more. It’s a lot of fun being part of a triathlon while not always racing it. Plus, cool tee shirts and stuff!

In 2015, I wonder…

Currently, I’m not the kind of person who keeps an uncluttered house. But I’d really like to be, if I can find a way to do it without giving myself an ulcer about it.

Currently, I’m not the kind of person who runs every day. But for 17 days so far, I have been and I’m kind of loving it.

Who knows what kind of person I’m not – but I will be by the end of THIS year?

What kind of person are you not?

The Triathlete Rules

By Quix

On January 12, 2015

In Uncategorized

The triathlete rules – in no particular order…

1. If you swim outside in the winter, you always have to emphasize things in this order: 1) the feels like temp, 2) pace/distance, and less importantly 3) how heated the pool is.

2. Everyone eats junk food on the bike. I don’t care if everything else you put in your mouth is organic free range natural fair trade pristine food. During a multi-hour bike ride, you will house a coke, a slurpee, oreos, doritos, pb pretzels, or cupcakes, and they will be the best damn things you’ve ever tasted.

3. The dizziness at the end of the race isn’t the beginnings of heatstroke, it’s explosions of how awesome you are. But your awesome probably needs an ice bath.

4. Post long run/race, it goes water, coconut water or gatorade, chips + beer, then real food. Don’t fuck with the program.

5. Garmins are stopped while in the bathroom, waiting to cross the street, waiting for a train, bending down to tie a shoe, adjusting goggles, or anything else that stops your forward progress. For accuracy of pace, of course.

6. The way to get into an outdoor pool in the winter is the patented roll and push. Sit on the edge, tuck and roll into the water, push off the side, and start swimming. Saves that awful non-moving getting into the water time where you’re freezing your ass off.

7. Beer is a recovery drink. It’s not the only recovery drink, but it is A recovery drink. To suggest otherwise would be sacrilege.

8. Medals are to be worn the rest of the day of the race no matter the location. Particularly long/challenging/triumphant finish race medals can come out when drinking for the next month or so, but not out of the house. When really drunk, it’s appropriate to wear all the medals from the last year, but also not out of the house.

9. Race tees are to be only tried on before the race, you can’t actually wear them until you cross the finish line.

10. Anyone who smirks at you in your tri gear/cycle kit/running gear is just jealous.

11. Bodily functions are a totally valid and appropriate subject matter. Also, having as many near misses as a potty training toddler is, if not a subject of pride, at least a perfectly normal and natural subject.

12. Do not question our need for a fourth or fifth meal, a snack the size of a meal, or ordering two entrees at dinner. It’s called peak training weeks, and no one else’s metabolism (save a teenage boy) cannot comprehend how large the pit in our stomachs (or our calorie deficit) is right now.

13. Also, the answer to post long workout food is almost always Mexican because chips and salsa before the meal. Don’t judge us for the amount of salt we’re pouring on them. If not Mexican, the answer to “do you want any appetizers” is YES. Do not dick around with a hangry triathlete and meal plans. There is no waiting for an hour for whatever. We may literally bite your head off (or at least steal your bag and root around in it for anything edible).

14. I earned the right to be lazy by being very unlazy earlier and running, biking, swimming and/or lifting heavy things in some combination. So that’s why my house looks like this or I can’t go to your thing that starts at 9 at night far away from my couch.

15. Sunrise is wakey time and sunset is sleepy time in the summer. Winter… well, let’s just say they make headlamps and treadmills and trainers for a reason.

16. Running on Thanksgiving is mandatory, race or not. Also, if you have a bike or swim or day off planned on National Running Day, you run at least a mile anyway, because, holiday.

17. It’s always called a brick in training, even if it takes you 20 minutes of futzing to put up the bike and pee and change and drink gatorade before you start running.

18. The day you leave your flip flops in transition instead of by the swim exit is when you graduate from tri newbie to triathlete.

19. The day you leave your bike shoes on the bike and do a flying mount/dismount is when you graduate from triathlete to veteran triathlete. (I hope to be a veteran triathlete someday…)

20. Do not be rude to the volunteers, even if they’re clueless about things. They’ve been told their specific job and MAYBE some general tips. They are not paid, they’re not getting anything out of this besides maybe a tee shirt and some breakfast tacos. They are moms, husbands, children, friends, injured athletes, or nice people that just want to come out and make your race happen. Smile and say thank you whenever you can (even if your face is twisted in pain and it sounds mostly like “ak ouuu”).

21. If you are wearing a garmin, thou shall not quit unless the last digit is a 0 or a 5. 5.62 mile runs are bullshit and you must at LEAST get to 5.65 if you can’t be arsed to get to 5.7 or (better yet) 6.0. That being said, if there are two or more garmins present, you always calibrate to faster pace (see above’s 20 mile run).

22. If I cannot see the finish line, I am not almost there. Stop your fucking lying.

23. Be honest with your estimates during a self seeded swim start. I should not be swimming over people who started 5 minutes before me. (Same with corrals and running races – if you’re walking in the first mile, you probably shouldn’t be in the 9-10 minute mile pace group)

24. There is no porta potty guilt. Everyone waits in line so everyone can take as long as they need to do what they have to do. If I have to take 5 minutes to poop, it’s only so I don’t come back and clog up the line again. Also, see rule 11.

25. If you pass someone on a bike, say on your left. If you pass them a few times, say something funny because they are now officially your bike buddy until a) you drop them or b) they drop you. Also, if you pass someone, don’t be a dick and immediately slow down.

26. Any other swim stroke besides freestyle is bullshit. And that is not because we can’t swim any of the rest of them.

27. Swim caps are hot. Swim caps should either be a) from races or b) funny. Buying a plain one is incomprehensible. If you are out of swim caps, it’s obvious you need to sign up for a race, stat!

28. It’s totally more about the engine than the bike… until you have the cash for an upgrade, and then it’s so totally about the bike.

29. Wearing a race tee shirt is an automatic invitation for strangers to talk to you about that race.

30. Yes, I need all these 100 various different things in my transition bag to be a triathlete. Shut up and don’t discuss it further.

31. You’re not dieting, or trying to fit into your skinny jeans in January. You’re trying to improve your power to weight ratio.

32. Food and booze on race day has no calories.

33. Open water swimming is preferable to pool swimming, unless there are lake monsters (aka, lots of nature).

34. If you run, bike, and swim, you’re staying fit or in training. After you complete your first triathlon, you are a triathlete. You’re in the club. Doesn’t matter how slow or fast or short or long it was. However, we may poke fun at you if it was indoor or had a pool swim and tell you to try a REAL one. And we may heckle you if it’s been more than a year because we don’t understand how someone could go that long without a hit off the good stuff (racing).

What’s your rule?

Bite Size January Goals

By Quix

On January 7, 2015

In Uncategorized

So, last year, I drove myself positively bananas trying to ACCOMPLISH ALL THE THINGS and pretty much after May, if it wasn’t work or training related, I shied away from anything productive or goal-tracking-oriented. I’m not proud of it, but it’s what I needed.

After some hibernation – I mean literally, I did not leave the house, except for on foot, for 4 days at one point, it was glorious – I’m ready to embark again with some accountability and goal setting. However, I want to make sure I do this in a manner that is productive and not exhausting. Also, I intend to list WHY each thing is important to me so when I want to procrastinate, I know what each thing means to me.

No racing goals this month. If I do jump into a race at the last minute, which I’m considering on two accounts, because supported long runs are nice, it will be assessing progress for the marathon.

Training goals:

1. At least 4 runs longer than a half marathon. I’ve built up a nice base over December, but my longest run was just over 12 miles so it’s time to go long and strong. This is important for being ready for my marathon Feb 28th for obvious reasons. I’ll have a stepback here at some point but I want to keep the long run at least 14-15 miles minimum.

2. Run at least a mile a day as per the run streak. Maintain decent (40+ miles) the weeks of 1/5, 1/12, and 1/26, with a stepback week on 1/19 (30-ish miles). Reintroduce the garmin gently on speed days and maybe long runs. I think streaking will help me maintain a higher mileage base without breaking down, and will be an invaluable asset during triathlon season to help me maintain a decent amount of run miles without dedicating a lot of time to it. One mile per day is 7 per week, which was half my run miles on some tri training weeks.

3. At least one swim per week. I feel so much less broken by lots of running if I can also get in the water, even if it’s for only 10 mins. I love long swims, but I’m finding a lot of merit in the 15-20 minute 750-1100m swim during times where I’m not focused specifically on triathlon training. Also, I can fit those in on a lunch break or right after another session at the gym easily.

4. Stretching/strength. Fit this in. If not actual sessions at the gym, pick a night and do the dozen split up between a few episodes. Get up 10 mins earlier and do yoga if nothing else. Twice per week. Even though I feel ok now, I am going to break down eventually if I do not prioritize this and since I can do it in my living room I have no fucking excuse besides the fact that I want to be injured.

5. Cycling as I can, but not at the cost of anything above. For example, Monday, I hopped off the bike early to eat dinner, stretch, and do the dozen. I believe this was time well spent for me.

Food/Eating/Scale:

1. The return of tracking. I plan on tracking my food intake this month to get a baseline. Tracking the weight at least a few times a week. No judgies on either account. I am where I am, and I’m finally back to the point where this doesn’t seem like torture, so whatever slacking it took to get me here is fine. I also don’t plan on trying to stick to x calories (yet), if I’m hungry, I’ll eat more healthy food. However, it’s time to get a status report this month.

2. No booze January. I can’t think of a time since I’ve been 17 21 that I haven’t had some drinks at least once every week or two. It seems like a skill a responsible adult should have in her arsenal. Zliten is on board. Instead of drinks, we’re going to do something else fun and eat something that may not be strictly on the plan. First up – Saturday night gaming session, taco feast for dinner, and homemade key lime ice cream for dessert.

3. Besides that 1-2 times a week, stick to meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, cheese, olives, butter coffee, with a sprinkling of corn and potatoes and beans (1-2 times per day). Aka – normal (since August) eating.

Work:

1. Things are still up in the air, so let’s just go with “roll with the punches and not punch things”. Keeping my sanity is most important of all. We make video games, not launch rockets or perform open heart surgery. Sometimes that’s hard to keep in perspective but it’s important.

2. Get some levels! It’s embarrassing too me to not be current on what I’m working on. No excuses.

Life stuff:

1. Focus on establishing good habits with my purging efforts. This month I want to focus my attention on:

a. the kitchen. I’d love to have less things on the counters and everything fit in a cupboard.

b. my car. That shit is embarrassing, I look like I live in it.

c. my closet/drawers. I have more clothes than hangers and that violates my rule of not doing that. I need to donate some things, cycle some things into storage, and consider the use of my empty guest room closet for special occasion items (that I validly use, but not often) that are cluttering up my main closet.

2. Play a game or read at least once a week for a few hours at home per week. Establish a habit of not always retreating just to the internet and episodes. Finish the book you’re reading. Make progress in the games I’ve started over break. It may seem stupid to have to set this as a goal, but I have a bad bad bad habit of zoning out and refreshing my social media feeds and then not feeling relaxed or escaped from reality because I’ve been firmly ensconced in it. As I put it to Zliten often when I catch myself mindlessly surfing social media in bed when I should be preparing to sleep – “putting my phone down – the little people on my screen are not that interesting”.

3. Spend as little money as possible. We had a really expensive home repair on Jan 2, so the goal is to relax at home as much as we can.

This is my first go at it in a while, so this may be overwhelming, but I’ll give it a try! January is usually a great month to establish habits for me, though not a huge “progress” one, so it’s mostly about setting myself on the right track and maybe getting my wheels turning a little. We’ll save the whistle and the full steam ahead for February, ok?

Question of the week: What’s on tap for you for this first month of 2015?

2015 Resolutions

By Quix

On January 5, 2015

In Uncategorized

I’ve had this written for a while, but it’s taken me a while to crawl back out of holiday slack mode to refine and make sure my intent is straight on all of these.

Racing:

Do some soul searching and figure out what is important to YOU for 2015 race-wise, since you may be on a different schedule than Zliten for at least half if not more of the year. Race the marathon Feb 28th only if training is going well. Make appropriate goals as such. No arbitrary January 1st goals on what you’re supposed to PR or tackle next year, just the promise that each race will be for a reason.

So far on the schedule is:

Woodlands Full (/half if training goes poorly) – Feb 28

Austin 10/20 – Mar 29

That’s it. The year is what I want to make of it otherwise. As of right now, I have the typical conflicting thoughts of wanting to do it all – maintain a major running base and trying to knock over some of my older PRs (5k, 10k, half) while dipping my toe into swim racing and getting faster at the shorter triathlons and maybe doing a full cycling century and maybe even doing a 50k ultra.

What’s absent right now is the drive to do a bunch of 70.3s. I’ll probably do one, Kerrville, but I don’t feel the need to dedicate my year to it. I’m also questioning Kerrville + Spacecoast marathon. Unless I truly approach it as a training run to build to a second marathon later, or I can maintain a really good run base, it’s never going to be my best shot at a great experience. I’m thinking about trying the half next year. We’ll see.

Training:

Polarized and periodized training seems to work. Continue with this. Easy days easy. Hard days on point. Base periods without electronics or focus and embracing the joy of movement with really loose volume suggestions instead of nailing a certain mileage/pace. Months out of your A race – 85% easy 15% hard. Closer – more goal pace work.

Upping the volume just a bit. Hopefully by spending a little more time at each thing and also by getting faster.

1k run miles. Let’s make this one happen. 935 is really close, I could probably have done this with a few more weeks of higher volume.
100 swim miles. That’s more swimming. Like 25% more. I’d really like to figure out ways to tack more short swims onto the end of workouts and maybe not have any months where my swimming is less than 1 mile a week (which was actually 1/3 of my 2014)
3k bike miles (~2800 last year). A higher % of my ~3k bike miles outside or at spin class (aka, not easy trainer miles).

Work strength and stretching in as I can. Do more when I can fit it in. Little stuff during commercials, lazy strength sessions while I’m dicking around at home, 10 mins of yoga in the morning when I don’t have time for anything else, this stuff all adds up. Every week I should think “hey, I fit in a little bit” at least.

DDR is a great plyometric workout. Try to incorporate this into training or maybe look into some of the classes at the new gym. Keep up with the drills during running. Keep some explosivity in the legs.

For January, I’m going to try streaking. 1 run mile per day, minimum. I’m finding that at least in winter, the biggest obstacle for me is getting out the door. Even if nothing else, this will net me another 2-3 miles per week running an easy mile on days I would normally take off.

Figure out a time for offseason. True offseason, same as July for you this year. At least 1 month.

Food/eating/scale:

If nothing else, eating higher fat and less grains has helped me fuel better during training and races. Continue this, but in the way it was in August/September when the weight was starting to come off. Unless it stops working. Then be reasonable.

Continue to batch cook. Experiment with new recipes. Enjoy healthy food.

Track food again, for a bit, starting Jan 5th. To get a baseline of what is working.

No booze January. This will be a bit of an experiment. I anticipate losing some lbs because of it but I’m not banking on it.

Don’t indulge like a jerk on the cruise in March. You get 2-3 days of marathon metabolism eating and then you need to eat like a normal human.

The scale comes with on all trips. That helps not to spend two months whittling away a few hard fought lbs to gain them back in a weekend.

Weigh less in December 2015 than I do in January 2015.

Work stuff:

Approach my new position with confidence, wisdom, humility, and listen to the folks who have experience at the new stuff im taking on

Realize i cant be superwoman. Do my best and walk away from it at the end of the day. No second guessing or judgements.

Get at least 2 more chapters through any games under my purview.

Continue to play a variety of games (online, table top, board, card, etc) as research and experience.

Above all else – nothing is set in stone yet, so don’t completely freak out if things don’t go according to the plan in your head.

Other stuff:

Get rid of at least ONE (non-perishible) net thing every day in 2015. If I do extra, great. But every day, one thing will leave this house via donation, treasure table, giving it to someone, or the trash. If we bring in new non perishable things, we have to donate/trash an equal amount of things (amount, not type). Hopefully this will encourage me to do MORE than one thing per day but I’ll call this a victory at 365 extra things gone.

Continue not going into a training hole and be social – hang out with people and don’t turn down too many invitations out.

Less facebook/twitter, more short posts on here (vs epic long recaps after not posting for a week or 2).

Complete the TX Tri Series with a mix of volunteering and racing. Volunteer elsewhere when I can.

Do something that’s a hobby, not dying in front of the tv, once a week for more than a few minutes. This can include reading, video gaming, sewing, piano playing, writing that’s not for this blog, etc.

Actually go scuba diving in lake travis this summer (or somewhere) so I don’t noob it up in the winter.

Spend as much time in the water I can.

End the year with 3 words to describe 2015 that are as positive as “grateful, fun, and focused”.

What’s your 2015 resolution?

Adjusted Reality

“Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.” – Mark Twain

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