And we're off...

2009 is off to a, well, anti-climatic start. I had all kinds of big goals and plans on January 1 (see post from January 4), and then....reality hit. I still work 10-12 hour days that have me away from home for 12-14 hours at a time. I still live in Chicago, where in January it still gets dark at 4:30pm and is currently all of five degrees out. So now its time to alter those big goals and plans a bit to fit my real lifestyle. And I have made some progress.

For the first time in my life I have hired a personal trainer. As much as I hate pain when I'm running or biking, I REALLY hate pain in the gym. I hate it so much that at best I get in strength training once or twice a month. And my tri performance suffers as a result, as I'm very weak and often injured. So I had my first trial session last Monday and will start my weekly workouts this Wednesday (look for another post on this soon).

I also signed up for a spring half marathon. Although I was really going to try and "take it easy" early in the season, I have quickly found out that I am really an all or nothing type of gal. "Taking it easy" to me really means taking three days off in a row just because the bed is so comfy. So, I need to have a near-term goal (read: race) on my schedule to keep me focused and motivated. So, I will be road-tripping it to Cinci with a girlfriend for the Flying Pig Marathon in May. I fully intend to get my you-know-what handed to me by the hills, but you know what, I WILL HAVE FUN!

And finally, I have committed (mostly) to finally losing those 10 pounds. Keep me honest people (especially those of you that work with me!)!! I will be logging my calories on www.livestrong.com during the week and will stick to my caloric goals (which the awesome site helps you figure out). I will allow myself a cheat day on Sunday, but other than that it's fruits, veggies and good carbs all the way. This extra weight will NOT help me on those hills!!

So, that's a look at some of my revised short-term goals for 2009 and they seem about right. The other thing that goes along with having fun in 2009 is getting other people into this AWESOME sport. So I've drafted a couple of super cool gals from work to do the US Women's Tri in Naperville this June. Watch for posts soon about their progress and maybe the rest of you reading this will be inspired to "try and tri" for yourself soon too!! C'mon...you know you wanna'!!

- Her

Comments

Laura said…
I love dragging people into triathlons. It's so much fun to turn "oh, I don't think so" into "I did it!". You're awesome for mentoring them like that.

And... YAY Flying Pig!! :)