Looking back and ahead

Year end and beginning bring thoughts back to accomplishments and forward to goals. It's good to have some self assessment. To measure where you come from and where you are going. So here it is. I'm not so much for the resolutions, although if I did have one, it'd be to update the blog more regularly, so my posts don't continue on the mile long road of craziness, so to become less daunting of a task. Looks like I've already failed at that, since my last post was quite a while ago. Anyway...Onwards.

Last year my word was "Athlete" and I'll do my year end review soon.

This year I've decided on "Effortlessness." To most this would seem like I have this disbelief that I won't have to try, but really it's the opposite meaning. I want to excel in what I do and I know this will take much practice, much effort, and much thought. Then, when performance time comes I'll look and hopefully feel effortless.

With that said, finishing an Ironman is a huge goal. Having it feel effortless is even crazier. I know that it will be a long day, but with the right preparation I know most of the suffering will be mental.

Effortlessness. Wordreference.com defines it best: the quality of requiring little effort; "such effortlessness is achieved only after hours of practice"

I will put in those hours.

I've set some goals for this year and I'm reminded of them every time I open my weekly training plan from my coach.
1. Remain injury free
2. Increase run speed and run endurance (This one should just say "become a runner")
3. Finish Ironman St. George with a smile on my face

First off, staying injury free is not effortlessness at it's finest. Balancing "getting it done" with "being able to get it done" isn't quite as easy as scheduling out my weekly workouts...which ain't easy either. Staying on top of stretching, core work, and yoga, along with some (okay, a lot of) help from Dr. Matt at Crac with his ART loving hands has been essential in keeping me ready for training.

Goal 2. Becoming a runner? Far from effortless. This has been my hardest, yet "proudest" part of my training. Every week, and every month, I'm at my "All-time personal record" for run distance. This week is 11 mile long run, 23 mile weekly total, 71 miles in the last 30 days! Which for some, is a part of their life, but for me it's crazy. I've never ran over 40 miles in a month, which included a 13 mile run in a half Ironman race. Yet, with such little training I was able to fake my way through the run of two half Ironmans. I said it out loud. Times are changing. There is no faking the run of an Ironman. I respect the distance because I have a little fear in it. All this running for a non-runner seems crazy, and a contradiction of goal 1. How can I remain injury free, beating myself up? Enter coach Brian. Can't thank him enough for figuring it out for me. Doing the right training, and the right volume at the right pace is the way to become an effortlessness looking runner. I almost laughed at the thought. It'll come, he tells me. I'm waiting for the day.

Finally, goal 3. Finishing with a smile. That's effortlessness. Thinking back on all these "hours of practice" I'm putting in now will accumulate up to the second before I cross that line.

Then, just past that line, according to my coach...my season begins.