I like to reflect in December on how my year went in terms of general health, training, and races. What went wrong and why? What were the highlights and mainly count my blessings.
Being a personal trainer and coach, I strongly believe that New Year’s resolutions are BS, excuse my French 😊. Instead by reflecting on this ending year you can better assess your present situation and establish new goals accordingly, they will be much more in tune with you and your reality!
And this year I decided to ask you about YOURS! It’s an interesting exercise if you haven’t done it before and it will help me to support you better on your journey!
To be fair, I am sharing mines with you and some tips/ideas how to keep on track!
So, let’s get started!
Your 2023 summary:
Your Highs
Your Lows
Your “What the heck”?
What are the things you could have done better? Spent more time on?
What are your areas of improvement?
What are you happy and proud of?
My 2023 summary
I had 4 big highs:
My 50 km trail race in Pikes Peak this year was a blast. I shaved 30 min compared to last year. I felt strong on my legs. I didn’t feel light headed at 1,100 f elevation, and the energy kept going up to the finish line. I didn’t reach the” pain cave state” which is very unusual on distance events. I sang in the rain and really felt there is no better place to be right now.
This one is indirect. My hubby managed to finish his first 100-mile trail race in AZ. No sleep, over 31 hours and everything went according to his plan. Lindsey and I paced him/ drove the jeep/ prepared his aid stations with foods, hydration, clothes …it was an extraordinary human and racing adventure where we learned a lot, on so many levels.
We invested this year in a cold plunge, and it made such a difference for me in terms of aches and pains especially after long runs. My soreness post exercise in feet legs and back has been drastically reduced. After getting out of the water after 4 min at 55F I feel brand new mentally and physically. It’s still not a piece of cake- especially in winter- and it’s still a good mental game too!
At 48y old I finally don’t have a sweet tooth anymore! I don’t know how, why, I didn’t work on it specifically, but I’ll take it!
My lows, I did not finish my 100km race. I didn’t take with me my poles soon enough, by the time I had access to them my quads and knees were fried. Lesson learned! So I am planning to try again this year and asked my hubby to pace me which will be a big advantage!
New to me, I have been a poor sleeper this year, I always slept like a baby. Working on it!
What the heck…is obviously my frozen shoulder! My very first long term injury so it’s really teaching me PATIENCE. Thanks to the shock wave therapy though the unbearable nerve pain is gone. As for the rest, I can rehab it daily. One day at a time.
I am so thankful that’s it’s the left shoulder. I can continue to work with my supportive clients even if some of you are raising one arm instead of two! It left me to finish the racing season and its timing will be spot on for the next one.
Finally, my area of improvements would be to have more long runs. Also my left arm muscles shrank so they need a boost.
Here are some key tips that will help you and me to stay on track.
(Probably top of my list)
A year-long mapping with the timeline of events, vacation, work events, main goals on a calendar poster. Then on it you put your monthly goals or quarterly and finally put your weekly ones (like 4 weeks ahead).You get to see at-a-glance how you are doing and you can motivate yourself to meet your goals at the end of the week if you are not on target.
The best time to start is RIGHT NOW not January. Really sit down, reflect, and put down some exciting new goals or simply the ones you strongly want to keep going!
Reduce friction. Here are 3 examples:
Share your goals with others/ partner/trainer. You are more likely to hold yourself accountable if you have made your goals public. Plus, you can pick up their brain and get different points of views.
Be vigilant at your busiest times. It is really easy to say, “September is too crazy”, or “I’ll get started as soon as things calm down.” There will always be an upcoming busy time to deal with. Things won’t calm down (sorry, but you know this is true). If you want this to work, make it work when you are busiest and the rest of the year will be easy. Once the plan B options or what I call the “damage control times”. It keeps the momentum going! It gives you stability mentally and physically. As I always say: Consistency is the key!
One final note: My routine isn’t just about what I do, it’s also about what I don’t do and need to improve on.
What about you?
Start to brainstorm ideas and give them a realistic timeline. If you are unsure, get the help of your trainer before grabbing your brand new 2024 calendar and get the new year off to a healthy start!