Happy New Year!

I can’t say I’ve ever really been one for resolutions on New Years. I’ve always thought that if there was something I wanted to change, 12:00 AM on January 1 was as arbitrary 1:52 on June 28. Instead, I prefer to set goals to be achieved between the 12:00AM on January 1^st and 11:59 PM of December 31. I found this works best because resolutions are vague and imprecise (example: look good in a swim suit by summer), goals are definitive (example: lose 10 pounds by Memorial Day) and can be attained by establishing good habits (I’ll lose that weight by working out 6 days a week).

So below I present my goals for 2014 and exactly how I will achieve them:

Physical/Athletic: Top 3 at Xterra East AG (Richmond, VA), Top 3 at Xterra Nats AG (Ogden, UT)

This is admittedly two very tough goals. Realistically I know these MIGHT not be achievable for me this year. But I think overshooting on my athletic goals still usually yields good results that when the Holidays come around again, I can look back on my season and be happy with what I accomplished.

The swim of these races is both 1500m. I’ve found this to be my strength as the half iron 1.2 is a bit longer than ideal for me and sprints are too short for me to “swim away” from the rest of the field. My background as a swimmer is extremely helpful with this as I know how to push myself in the pool. The goal is to workout consistently and be sure to mix in lots of open water when the beaches open up.

The bike is 30km (~18 miles) of trails. The two races are wildly different in their physical demands. Richmond is technical with short punchy climbs and is historically very hot and muggy. Of the two races, this favors me the least. I’m not the best technical rider and I do not seem to thrive in super-hot temps. I’ll work on this by really focusing in on how I hydrate on the bike this winter while I’m on the trainer (which can get really hot) and making sure I know what works best for me. When the trails finally open, I will force myself to ride technical trails that I don’t necessarily enjoy riding to make sure I can handle a wide variety of terrain. The other course (in Ogden) is much less technical and features a lot of climbing. This is what I prefer but since this event will be at altitude and I live at sea level, I really need to make sure I have a really strong aerobic base and increase my power to the pedals by doing lactate and low intensity high resistance intervals.

 

The run is my weakest discipline. My goal is to better my run so coming off the back, I know I can catch other racers. I need to run consistently (at least 4 times a week) and during peak weeks run 30 to 40 miles at least. I’ll also incorporate speed and hill workouts to really build my speed.

 

Academic/Professional: Earn PhD Candidacy

I have already started on this. To get candidacy, there are two parts. The first, write a 10 page proposal unrelated to my research. I have started this already, and have been scouring the scientific literature and have even written up a rough draft. I’ll continue to tweak this and work on it every day for at least 2 hours in addition to my own research.

The second will be to present my data so far on my research to my committee and they’ll determine what else I need to do before I can graduate.

The key with both of these is to work conscientiously on it every day and make slow steady progress rather than leave it all to the last week and try to get everything done.

 

Social: Brew One Beer per season

I think being a grad student and being a competitive triathlete can be incredibly time consuming and this can lead to not very much social time. But this year I really want to make sure I am still seeing my friends and spending time with them. Since my girlfriend bought me a brew kit for Christmas and all my friends like beer, I figure I could combine those two things. I figured by inviting my friends over to brew and sample the beers, this would be a good way to spend time with my friends while also starting a new hobby.

Philanthropy: Give $50 OR work 8 hours total for charity

I’m finally at a point where I am comfortable enough with my schedule and financial situation (they pay us just enough to live in grad school) that I can achieve this goal. I know even though times are not ideal for me, I am fortunate enough to still be able to afford to live comfortably and do (most) of the stuff I want to do. I realize there are others not as fortunate as I am and I feel like I can finally donate my time or money to help them.

 

What are your goals for the New Year?