As 2013 comes to a close, I have started to plan my 2014 racing season with a few goals.

Goal #1: Qualify for 70.3 World Championships in Mt. Tremblant (Sept 2014)

After returning to longer distance racing this summer, I wanted to continue on that and attempt to qualify for the 2014 World Championship 70.3 in Mt. Tremblant. Okay , I put it out there. Now I have to plan appropriately in order to peak for the qualifying race in Syracuse at the end of June. I spent a lot of time trying to plan the timing of the race. End of June is technically too early for a wimpy cyclist like myself! I am a fair weather cyclist, so if we have a spring like last year, then there will be a lot of indoor miles on the bike trainer or a lot of cold miles outside! But driving distance to the race plus my daughter’s camp dates and not wanting to race too close to the Worlds were the key decisions. 2015 happens to be in Europe and as much as that would be lovely, the $$ to get there etc were also a factor in timing the qualifying race. So that is goal #1!

Goal #2 : 1:30 half marathon . St. Louis April 6th

My 2nd goal is to have a 1:30 in my half marathon time. Not sure this will be possible in an April race as training through the winter is harder than when it is warm out. At least for me. Footing is not great and the cold weather makes it harder to get the legs going faster. Regardless I will give it a try. My husband has a cousin who lives in St. Louis and runs the marathon each year and has been trying to convince us to come down and visit, so we will kill two birds with one stone. My husband has signed up for the full, and I will do the half.

Goal #3 : Continue to improve strength and balance and stay injury free 

I have a chronically torn high hamstring tendon (15 yrs and counting) and a small tear in my hip labrum, but neither of these issues are  currently severely limiting to my every day or my training which is good (this does not mean they have not been in past!) .  I have started some online yoga (yogaglo.com)  which has helped both areas remain even more manageable. I just do about 2x a week for 30-45 mins (after that I get soooo bored!) and this seems to be enough to keep me flexible and balanced along with twice weekly TRX sessions (once a week during race season). Also staying consistent with training I swear has also kept me healthy. Oh and I can’t forget the monthly rehab sessions I have with my athletic therapist! I practice what I preach as a physio……have that team of people in your back pocket and use them regularly to keep you finely tuned . This is far better than requiring lengthy treatment and time off for major injury.

So that’s it for now. I just need to get myself through another Canadian winter with a smile. Which given the Seasonal Affective Disorder I experience at this time of year makes it a long winter. I am going to try my very best to focus on my good health and the good health of my family and enjoy the winter as best I can. Dressing properly is the key. I have figured this out for running, but not so much for just walking my daughter to school, dressing warmly at home and all that. I finally got one of those great warm Canadian coats as a gift (lucky me) and some great boots and outerwear and I have to admit after all this time as a Canadian I have finally figured out I need to dress like one in order to make it through the winter happily warm!

Till next time……..have a wonderful holiday and here’s to a happy and successful 2014!