Looking Back

My lack of blog posts is reflective of my lack of any sort of training regimen. I have been reading alot of blog posts and other articles to make me feel sort of better. This was a good article at active.com. I thought at the 'end' of the season it would be good for me to step back and take a look at what I've accomplished this year, and how I can learn and move forward. So here goes.

1. In hindsight, were your season goals clear and attainable?
I started off really well in this department, when I had Hal Higdon and NTP give me all my training plans and goal races. For the half mary and sprint tri, I was okay with not having a set goal time. This is different for me, but these were such different experiences that I felt I just needed to set a good baseline to work off for next time.

When I was left to my own devices in the second half of the season though, self-doubt started getting in the way and things kind of fell apart. In hindsight, my goal of 'complete an Olympic Tri' wasn't nearly prescriptive enough. It should have been 'complete an Olympic Tri using an 8 week training plan and continuing with Master's swim and Conte's Thursdsay rides and not getting lazy.'

Speaking of, I never would have gotten anywhere without Master's. A sub-goal of the season was to conquer my fear of the swim. Check. I didn't get as 'hooked' as I thought I would though. Everyone's a different kind of learner. I think maybe I need to shop around for different styles/dynamics of a swim group.

2. What were you most proud of this season?
I had the urging of friends to motivate me to sign up for the half mary. But the courage to take the plunge and sign up for NTP was HUGE for me. 'The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step' as they say, and that first step is often the hardest part for me. I am a notorious overthinker/overplanner/fretter. It wasn't so much courage, I guess, as a momentary letting go of my reservations and just doing the damn thing already. Totally out of the norm for me but I can't think of doing it any other way. I try to have the same mentality in making other decisions in my life. And I haven't regretted those either. And for that I am proud.

I am also proud of my other friends who have achieved their goals after seeing me achieve mine. You all know who you are. :) I can only hope that in my backwards, zig-zaggy path towards my goals I serve as inspiration to others.

3. What would you like to duplicate next year?
I would love to duplicate and ENHANCE all the relationships and training partners I developed over the course of the season. I cannot thank the NTP kids, the MoCo folks, the Weds night track kids, the RMSC Master's ladies, and OF COURSE my blogging friends enough for all the help and support this season. Whenever I needed someone to train with, bounce ideas off of, etc, there was always someone around. But at the same time, I also needed to develop a sense of self-motivation and an internal drive to do the workouts, regardless of the 'fun' and social aspects of the sport. You have to develop a good sense of balance in that sense, I guess, in order to be successful.

I would also like to duplicate and CONTINUE some of the healthy eating habits I learned over the course of the season. I've made some serious changes to my everyday and training nutrition that I think will help me make better choices for both my immediate and long-term health. It definitely wasn't easy. But I've also learned to read my body better and not to feel so guilty for the occasional indulgence (a nice middle ground- chocolate milk!!)

4. What frustrated or disappointed you the most this season?
My training constantly takes a step back due to injuries or old injuries flaring up. I'm often frustrated by myself for not keeping up with routines that I know are effective and keep me on the move. I also think I try to work through a lot of these problems without asking for help. I know I probably need a good in depth gait analysis and bike fitting to keep these things from recurring, but I have been too stubborn to do so.

5. What do you not want to happen again next year?
Getting complacent and losing the self-motivation through the second half of the season.

Up next: Moving forward and planning for next year. I need alot of help in this department.