It is at this time of year that people make some form of minor commitment to become a better person. Why the connection to the darwin awards? Because human beings have a chance for self improvement; most mistakes don't cause an elimination from the gene pool. Here are some things that I would like to improve upon, and if I don't, I hopefully won't end up with a fitness of zero.
1) Be more willing to do or say something. In the past, I have walked away from doing things that I was unsure of. Someone once told me "that is just who I am". If I perceived the risk of the action too high, or the outcome uncertain, then I would take the safe road. It is my goal to change that. I need to be more willing to act with less concern for a consequence. If I have another chance, I will not let it slip away.
I remember my mistakes, now I need to fix them.
2) Call and write more. Too much of the contact between my friends is impersonal-text messages, online messaging, etc. With these, it is difficult to tell tone and inflection, making it difficult to understand the true meaning of the speaker. So if I have your address, expect a letter. And maybe a phone call. I promise I am not creeping, just trying to stay in touch. Throw your address in the comments if you want something handwritten.
3) Eat healthier. I plan on going "paleo"(for those that are unfamiliar with this term, it means to very loosely eat how a cave man would eat-lots of protein, vegetables, nuts, etc and stay away from refined grains and sugar) for a month or two. The reason why I put it in quotes is that I am only going to go partly paleo-I will continue to eat the food that I already have in my cabinet (I have probably a month or two of food stocked up with rice, pasta, cereal, etc), but only buy paleo foods at the grocery store to restock the cabinet/fridge. I also am going to make lots of exceptions to this diet. I go home every Sunday (and sometimes other days) for family dinner, and my mom's cooking (and dad's bbq'ing) is delicious. If a friend wants to go out to get a meal, I will eat whatever I want. So pretty much this only applies to the meals that I prepare.
Notice no grains and dairy. Unfortunate.
At the end, hopefully I will be running this fast and sveltely.
4) To use a total cliché, don't make people a priority who make you an option.
Source. One of my favorite images/memes.
5) Race hard and don't be afraid of bonking during a race, because it will eventually happen. With the exception of the past two weeks, I have had a very successful offseason and past season. The hours will continue to build through the coming months, and I have decided some of my races for the spring and summer. I will be returning to Escape from Alcatraz, and I will be racing at ITU World Championships in Edmonton. For these races (and whatever other ones I decide upon), I am going to push myself harder within the races and see what my real limit is.
For training, I am continuing to work with Martin Spierings, and I also just joined a local triathlon team sponsored by Every Man Jack. The team is filled with dedicated, very fast athletes who are consistently at the top of the podium in every distance. It is headed by Ritch Viola, who recently won both Ironman Tahoe and Ironman Arizona. I am very much looking forward to training with the team and racing with them this season.
