Wow...Another Year Already

It's almost that time again...to take a look at the closing year before I set my sites on things to come.  I figure the way things have been going lately, I better go ahead and write this post now instead of waiting until the end of next week.


Once again, it's so hard to believe how much I've changed in one year, how different my life looks today than it did just 365 days ago. 

In my 2012 "Looking Ahead" post I said in the coming year I wanted to:

• consistently work toward my goals, even if that means allowing the iron to get red-hot in the fire.  The difficulty with this will be knowing what pieces to work (goals to work toward) and which ones to stick back into the fire.  (See my last post if this doesn't make sense.)
• add P90X to my training plan for strength workouts.  I wanted to do this last year and tried for a while, but it became too hard to manage.  The difficulties with this will be scheduling (there are only so many hours in a day), and making sure I get enough (quality) calories to support all the work.
• follow the training plan I have outlined from now til my first half iron race (April 22), maintain my fitness level (coast) until after my daughter graduates from high school in May and THEN make decisions about the rest of the year/what comes next.
• come up with a nutrition plan so I don't end up drinking a venti soy latte for breakfast and eating potato chips for lunch (as I have done today).

Let's see...I changed my mind about P90X after just a few days and I scrapped my own training plan and started getting coached by Eric (best decision!!).  But, I did somewhat come up with a nutrition plan (for the most part) and I did consistently work toward my goals.

Here were the races I planned:

• McKay Hollow Madness -- March 24th.  With that in mind, I hope to run most of my longer runs on trails. ((I wasn't as prepared for this race as I would have liked because my bigger focus was on IM70.3, but I did complete this race and felt GREAT ...I just realized I didn't even finish writing my race recap!!))
• IM70.3 NOLA -- April 22nd.  With that in mind, I have a detailed training plan on my Training Peaks calendar that starts Sunday (January 8th) and runs through race day.  ((I traded in my plan for Eric's and that was the best thing that could have possibly happened...although this race turned into a 67.1 duathlon, I felt very prepared and had a great day out there.))
• Frank Maples -- ??.  I'm not sure when this one is, but I know I want to race it this year.  ((Ironically, this race was on the same weekend as NOLA.  Ironic because it was my very first ever tri, and just one year later I was about to complete a half iron!))
• Cotton Row -- May 28th.  Time goal: under an hour.  ((I learned a lot about "Managing Expectations" and didn't quite make my goal.))
• Wet Dog -- July 14th.  Time goal:  better than last year! :D  ((CHECK!!!  I had a pretty darn good race, although I'm certain I will do better in 2013.  I cut 10 minutes off my 2011 time!!))
• Hood to Coast -- August 25th.  Time goal:  every leg with an average pace under 9:30.  ((I did this event, had an unbelievable experience but I didn't keep every leg under 9:30, but that's a whole other story...  Our team ended up placing so we got an automatic entry into next year's race so I'll have another chance!))
• Frantic Frog -- September 8th.  Time goal:  better than last year.  ((I ended up not being able to do this race either...I was in Providence, Rhode Island getting my USAT Level One Coaching Certificate!!!))
• MAYBE Beach to Battleship -- October 20th.  I'm going to wait to pull the trigger on this until after IM NOLA.  ((I did the smart thing and decided to wait on doing a full until I had some more time on my legs and in my lungs...so glad I decided to wait!!))
• Turkey Chase -- November 22.  I'm a streaker on this one (I've done it every year it's existed) so this one will certainly be on the list.  Time goal:  Sub 23:30 and beat my husband who has said he will run it this year!! :D  ((Another race I didn't get to do...we didn't travel to see my husband's family this year...I'm super sad about missing this race.))

Some other things that happened this year that I didn't even consider a year ago...I became a life guard as well as a preschool swim instructor!!!  I also became a certified TRX Group Suspension Trainer.  Two things I did expect-finishing my Personal Trainer Certification (that was one of the hardest tests I've ever taken!) and earned my Spinning cert from Mad Dogg.  I think the biggest thing that happened to me this year (on a personal level) is becoming a USAT Level One Coach.  I was able to run a triathlon training group at the YMCA and now coach eight athletes! 

I seriously hardly recognize my life.

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon for the year in pictures and to find out my plans for the coming year!! :D