Time for Resolutions and Reflections

Resolutions for 2014

I have been thinking quite a bit about the year ahead.  It could be a big year of change for me as I will become eligible for full retirement from my day job, after 32 years of service.  However, it is the opportunity to race in Kona at the Ironman World Championships in October that has me most excited about 2014.

I’ve thought about the many things I could resolve to do in order to be healthy and happy not only in 2014 but in the years to come.  I think it is better to put these thoughts as positive to do’s rather than negative don’t do’s.  I’m sharing them to get the creative juices going. I’ve thought (in no particular order) about resolving to:

·         Get back on my daily vitamin and pro-biotic regimen
·         Plan meals/feedings ahead of time, so that I eat protein and vegetables every three to four hours
·         Get my first workout done in the mornings
·         Leave work on time in the evening
·         Set aside some time every week to spend socializing with friends
·         Get a monthly massage
·         Do something nice for my husband every week

I’m not sure which I will pick, or maybe I should choose them all.

I had a conversation with a co-worker today and she is following a suggestion of choosing a word for 2014 rather than a resolution. The word will create a vision for the year and be the focus. An example that stands out to me would be something like “intentional” or “mindfulness”; I will make all of my activities intentional, versus going through the motions.

Some other things I know I’ll do for my health and happiness so fortunately I don’t need to ponder them:

·         The workouts assigned to me by my coach (typically 6 days per week, sometimes 7)
·         Monthly chiropractor visits
·         Wellness medical appointments
·         Take vacation time off from work

Reflections on 2013

I aged upped!  I turned 55 in 2013 and moved into a new five year age group (AG) in tri racing. Another thing I love about this sport is that it actually makes me look forward to getting into the next older group.  I’m not saying that it is necessarily easier to do well in the sport as one progresses through the age continuum. There are some wickedly fast women in the age groups above 50 who continue to be faster than many women even half their age.  There are however less of us, due to the fact that this level of training gets harder as we get older as the body takes more time to repair itself.  Among the women over 50 there is still a high degree of competitiveness but a sense of camaraderie dominates the interactions.

The year 2013 was my first full year of having a coach and it paid off as evidenced by my race results:

·         Ironman Hawaii 70.3 – AG 4^th place
·         Donner Lake Half Iron Distance – AG 1^st place
·         Ironman Lake Tahoe – AG 2^nd place
·         Tahoe Trail Run 10K – AG 2^nd place
·         East Bay 10K – 3^rd place

I enjoyed spending time in Hawaii and Tahoe around these triathlons and the company of my husband and friends.  I had a great weekend in Monterey with Cecile when we rode in the Sea Otter Classic Gran Fondo and were challenged by the hills and head winds of the last 20 miles.

The word for 2013 had to be “FUN.”  Trips to Mexico with family, ski trips to Whistler with friends, the rides to Davis with Mike, Lori, Cecile and others, as well as the training camps in Tucson and Tahoe with my coach.

“FUN” might be my word for life.

Running is a FUN way to explore a foreign city.

THE PRE-SEASON

This time of year is generally considered the “off season” for triathletes in North America.  For those of us with high aspirations or big goals, like racing at the Ironman World Championships, my coach calls it the pre-season.  There is no real break from swimming, biking and running, the focus just shifts primarily toward working on strength and form. The goal is to build on the fitness gained in the previous season, rather than losing it and having to build it all back up again.

My recovery from Ironman Lake Tahoe consisted of one entire week off while also recovering from a cold with an incessant cough. Over the next two weeks I continued to get quite a bit of rest incorporating low intensity workouts, every other day. I really appreciated the luxury of being able to sleep in and to do things I rarely had time for over the past year such as going to brunch on a weekend with my husband. After those three weeks of relative leisure, I got back on a regular training schedule. The first two weeks back into consistent training, I planned some end of week highlights as a treat; a 10K run and a 100 mile group ride.



Last 200 Yards on the Turf

This is a great season for running and there are lots of nearby running races to choose from. For a 10K, I participated in the inaugural "Let's go 5-1-0" 10K which took place across the bay from San Francisco at the Golden Gate Fields race track. It was organized by Brazen Racing and the last 200 yards to the finish were actually on the race track. Brazen Racing does a great job of organizing their races and this one had the added luxury of not starting until 10AM. Of the triathlon sub-disciplines, running is my weakest link. I planned to set a pace between 9:15 and 9:30 minutes/mile. The first 4 miles felt pretty easy with my splits all being 9:21 or under. For the last 2.2 miles I had to focus quite a bit and my pace slowed such that I ended up with a 9:23 overall pace. That was a personal record (PR) for me and put me in 3rd place. I haven’t had many high placements in running races, so I was pretty stoked to get an award. My fastest 10K race which was back in June of 2000 was at a 9:27 minute/mile pace and that was the year I trained for the Paris marathon. I also felt good about beating my previous PR from 13 years ago, proving that just like wine we can get better with age.

Once or twice a year, for the past few years, I've joined a friend and anyone else we can gather together to ride 100 miles from the North Berkeley BART station to Davis and return on the Amtrak train. This year we had a group of 12 riders and the best matched group to date. We stuck together pretty well and the pace was good enough that were able to catch the earlier return train. It was great fun, I met some nice people and it was the easiest time I've had doing the ride.



The Gang



Fall Follage



Goofing off at our 80 mile rest stop

Planning some low stress, group activities is a great way to get energized and revved up again to get back at it and into the “Pre-Season!”