Coaching matters

In case you were not aware, Fred Rogers was brilliant

I have had a number of coaches over the years both for running and triathlon. The best ones, in my opinion, understand the wisdom of Mr. Rogers above.  They understand YOUR goals, acknowledge your limitations, expect you to do the best you can with what you have, help you reach your goals and celebrate with you when you do. 

I have been fortunate enough to participate in both individual and group coaching that met those needs and only rarely found myself with a coach or group that did not gel for me. So this is blog to all those groups and coaches that have helped me reach my goals happily.  These groups and individuals worked best for me for a number of reasons.

Panther

My first coach  (after I decided that having your wife coach you is a good idea for only so long) was Phil Carmical, aka, Panther in Austin, Texas.  I was a member or associate member of several of his groups in Austin.  And when I moved to Rhode Island to take a job we stayed in touch.  While I was there, he coached me via e-mail to a successful first half marathon, and my only marathon.

This is one of Panther's groups after a local Austin 10k (we ALL PR'd...Panther is in the white hat in the middle)

Celebrating my PR that day

There are many things I could say about Panther.  He was patient with me and believed in me.  He was also honest when he wasn't sure why something was happening...and informative when he was sure.  

Best of all he celebrated all of us....fast and slow (and I was by far the slowest) and made me feel part of the group, even when I was living far away.  

He coached me through the Green Bay Marathon in 2009.  The time cut off was 7 hours and  my only goal was to finish before they took the finish line down.  I completed in 6:43:48.  When he announced it to the group (which he did with all of the athletes) he said that I had beat my goal by over 15 minutes.  That meant a lot to me...because he understood my goal and could celebrate it with the group despite the fact that compared to many of them it was very modest.

The other amazing thing about Panther's groups is how they gelled socially...in fact a number of meetings and marriages came out of his various groups. 

Tough Cookies

After I moved back to Austin from Rhode Island, I was at loose ends.  I struggled with being so slow.  Glenda and I went out to cheer for the 3M Half Marathon and as we watched runners pass, she pointed out many of them in Tough Cookie gear.  Some were fast, and some were back of the packers...and there were plenty in between.  We had both heard of the group...a women's only triathlon, cycling and run training group.  We had even done some of the races they put on. She turned to me and said, "you know...you might like that group."  And a few weeks later I joined them.

There were advantages to being part of a women's only group.  There is a different vibe in such a group. It is generally very supportive (not that many co-ed groups I have been part of aren't), and maybe even more important, there is discussion about things that are specific to female athletes that sometimes get short shrift in other places.  

They were also good at celebrating their athletes in both formal and informal ways (as you can see below).  We always waited and cheered each other in at events, as well. 

There were a number of ways to participate in Tough Cookies and a number of ways to access the coaching. You could train for a specific race or event (which many did) or you could pay a fee and have access to a variety of weekly workouts, which was the option I took.  This allowed me to "drop in" and work on the basics, I did many track workouts, some pool and open water swims, some bike rides.  I even signed up for a bike workshop, where I learned a lot about gearing, cadence and riding hills...among other things.

The Tough Cookie motto is "Tough Cookies Never Crumble" and to this day, I tell myself that I'm a tough cookie and I won't crumble when things get tough.  

Some Tough Cookies gathered before a race

I appreciated the TCs and they appreciated us, posting this shortly before we moved to Wisconsin

In March 2014, just days before we moved, I received the Tough Cookie of the Month Award, for the progress I had made...Tzatzil LeMair, TC founder presented me with the certificate at a TC social gathering

Jeff Galloway

December 2014 Glenda and I were in St. Louis to do the Hot Chocolate race and pick up another state.  We had moved to Madison in March, and I hadn't not really been training with any coach or group on a regular basis.  I was still running and training, but kind of on my own.  I was laying in the hotel room, playing around on my iPad...looking up something about the kind of walk/run training I had found that the man who is credited with the walk/run method actually took on online coaching clients, and he was not unreasonably expensive.  I had always been annoyed that people wanted me to phase into running the whole distance (whatever the distance was) and I alway developed outrageous aches and pains when I ran more than a certain interval at a time.  So why not go to the guy who was sure not to push that particular path and will instead help me make the most of what I am best able to do. I signed up the same day.

That spur of the moment decision was one of the best I ever made.  Jeff was very human even at a distance.  He got to know me as a person, he didn't just write a plan. He celebrated, commiserated and encouraged no matter what was happening.  He enjoyed the photos, I sent.  He liked our costumes.  He recognized me the first time he ever met me in person, and greeted me with enthusiasm every time we crossed paths, often remembering exactly what we had discussed in our last few e-mails. He is not only a former Olympian and great runner in his own right.  He is a good coach and an outstanding human being. I was sad to leave him when I decided to train seriously for triathlon (but a coordinated effort seemed to make sense).  I still catch him up from time to time and will be back in Atlanta in December to run in his signature race series. 

At our most recent meeting last January

Prairie Athletic Club Triathlon Team and Fleet Feet Running Club Madison/Sun Prairie

I start talking about these two groups together, because we came involved with them at about the same time. At first we were generally social members of both.  Doing drop in bikes and runs, cheering others at races, and generally getting to know people.  As time went on we got more involved in coached groups and workouts with both...and both Glenda and I still both claim "dual citizenship." Of the two, I had my first seriously coached experiences with Fleet Feet, and I am currently being more seriously coached through the Tri Team. 

Fleet Feet

I first joined a group at Fleet Feet known as No Boundaries or NoBo.  Generally speaking this group is promoted as one that is intended for people who want to run their first 5k...but in reading further I found it was also good for those starting over, or those who just needed someone to run with.  So I joined.  Since NoBo I have done 2 sessions of Force of Orange (FOO) and two of Winter Warrior.   And I will be doing the summer SpeedPlay in June and July for the third year in a row. Glenda has also done FOO training, as well as serving as a pacer.  Every group was very welcoming, the coaches were very friendly and helpful...and I have met some of my best local friends in these groups. 

Glenda and I gained a reputation at Fleet Feet where our costumed shenanigans are loved and celebrated.  This outfit was at our goal race, and we called it "Force of Oranges"

Tri Team

The Prairie Athletic Club Tri Team started for me as a social group.  It connected me to the triathlon community in the Madison area, provided a few workouts and a lot of new friends and relay partners. And this is a team that truly cheers each other, so that was a bonus.  It wasn't until recently that I decided to take advantage of the paid coaching option.  There is a team of coaches and while you have a coach of your own, there are others to turn to as well for questions, etc.  The whole thing has been a growth experience...from expanding my abilities on the bike and swim...and continuing to run, to learning that sometimes it is important to make hard choices. It took a little while to connect well with a coach, and though I had some frustration and made some changes...I'd recommend any of the coaching team to someone who wanted coaching. I'd also encourage anyone searching for coaching to find a really good fit, and know that sometimes that takes a little while to know. I'll know for sure how well the training has worked when I race this summer...but I do know I'm stronger, and maybe more importantly, more consistent that I have been in years. And that accountability that leads to consistency may be the best reason of all to pay for coaching. 

Me, left, with two of my teammates before we ran a relay together

Sometimes February is the Longest Month

Nassau, Bahamas February 1...The month started out well

February may be only 28 days, but this year it was VERY long.  Oh, it started out well enough at the end of a trip to the Caribbean...but it was sort of downhill from there.  And it seems to be lingering. Recently, these words  from Jim Croce's Hard Time Losin' Man popped into my head.

Oh, sometimes skies are cloudy
And sometimes skies are blue
And sometimes they say that you eat the bear
But sometimes the bear eats you
And sometimes I feel like I should go
Far far away and hide
'Cause I keep a waitin' for my ship to come in
And all that ever comes is the tide

Melanie

As many who are reading this already know, my daughter Melanie has been struggling with health issues in recent months.  In the end these issues lead to the decision to perform a cystectomy with an Ileo loop (basically bladder removal with a reconstruction and urinary stoma). This is a surgery most often performed for bladder cancer, but in her case the issue was repeated and severe infections that never quite healed...which can lead to further complications (including risk for a form of cancer).  After 6 or 7 hospitalizations in 5 months, the surgery was scheduled for January 4, but she got another severe infection and it had to be put off to February 15.

Her body did not make things easy...she got another infection requiring hospitalization (we think the 9th since September) on February 5.  After several days of treatment, consulting with multiple doctors from various specialties etc.  it was decided she would stay in the hospital until the surgery.

Happy that surgery day finally arrived

At long last the 15th arrived, Mel had all her parents there and her brother and a niece came by as well.  The surgery itself went well. They did have to place the stoma in a more awkward position than was hoped which would/will require more practice for her to deal with, but that is relatively minor.  We were in great hopes that in a week she would be home and on her way to a healthier, more independent phase in her life.

But it was not to be.  She developed an ileus (basically a section of bowel that did not want to wake up). She spent her 37th birthday feeling nauseous and awful.  All of this slowed down her recovery, but she finally went home February 27th...22 days after admission, making February a very long month.

I wish that was the end of this story, but on March 2 she developed another complication (an abscess and infection) and was re-admitted to the hospital. As of this writing (March 9) she is still there....

The weather

In December the weather was fairly mild.  We talked about wanting to have some winter so we could snowshoe, etc. It was most definitely a case of "be careful what you wish for." The cold and snow started in January (and we missed much of it in our travels), but it kept right on going with over 20 inches in February, along with some freezing rain and bitter cold.

The worst part was that between Mel's stuff, training, and both of us getting miserable colds we didn't even get to do much snowshoeing. I think Glenda went twice and I never got to at all.

The weather also affected my races for February.  On the 17th we started out for our Valentine race an hour away...it was snowing and the roads were awful and slippery. We turned around and came home.  Fortunately there was a virtual option and so I ran the "race" on my treadmill later that day.

The other race affected was March 2 in Nebraska...It was to check Nebraska off my list. We were to drive starting the 28th of February. But as the day approached wind-driven white outs were creating havoc on Iowa roads that we would have to travel, and the forecast for the race was bitter cold on race day, with frozen rain the day before.  So we made the decision not to go.  In the end, it was the right decision as the race was cancelled due to ice on the course...they did not feel they could make it safe. We will be doing a different race there in June.

Triathlon training and coaching

Meanwhile a problematic situation cropped up in my athletic life, ending in a change in coaches.   In hindsight I know that sometimes things just don't gel. As a teacher and academic advisor I've seen these things happen before both to me and others.  No one's fault particularly, but highly frustrating, nonetheless. And just as in those other situations, a change was in order. A lot of things were up in the air for a while which was pretty unnerving.

On the bright side I seem to have connected better with the new coach.  We have changed up some things, and I feel like things are on a more even keel. I will be cheering my previous coach and her athletes, I think she is a good coach and I regret that things didn't come together as I would have liked. I apparently just needed something different. So things have settled down, but the turmoil around this change initially, contributed to a long month.

There were still some blue skies

So, February was LOOOONG!  But I would be remiss if I didn't point out that at least a few good things happened too. So I've listed the highlights below:

Started the month dressed as a mermaid in the Bahamas...not all bad!

Proud to start my second year as a skirt sports ambassador

Had a blast at my first indoor try of the year!

Here's hoping that March and beyond have more days...but aren't quite so long!

Runners in Paradise

We earned this medal by the end of the trip

Glenda and I are recently back from a well-timed vacation to the Western Caribbean (we missed the worst of the polar vortex).  It was a running cruise (more on that below) and while I felt like I might  need a vacation from my vacation when it was over,  it was a great trip and I want to share (even if I'm about a month late in getting it posted)!

First about running cruises....Marathon Expeditions (https://www.runningcruise.com/) does a variety of cruises every year. The regular yearly destinations are Alaska, the Caribbean and Hawaii. The cruises offer not only a great cruise experience and runs in every port, but also great camaraderie and just plain fun.  They are hosted by Coach Jenny Hadfield and her husband John "The Penguin" Bingham (one of my running heroes...but I digress).  This was our third cruise with John and Jenny...First Alaska in 2017 to celebrate our 20th anniversary (after which we were hooked) and then 2018 Hawaii and 2019 Caribbean.  We have already signed up for 2020 Caribbean and have talked about Alaska again at some point in the future. 

Arrival Day...Miami

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning. After collecting our luggage and finding lunch, we headed to Miami.  I had not managed to get my swim in on Thursday, so we started poking around and found the Flamingo Park Pool...a perfect lap swimming venue.  It was so nice to swim outside. 

Swimming in the Flamingo Park Pool

We were able to sign in with the group that afternoon, get our bibs for the weeks' races...and probably best of all reconnect with Cathy and Pam from Cruise and Vacation Authority (truly amazing folks with the all the answers and a sense of fun), and of course Coach Jenny Hadfield and John "the penguin" Bingham.  John and Jenny are the best hosts ever!  Once we were signed in...we felt like we were "home" among friends and looking forward to a great week. 

That evening we had a cocktail party kick-off and the next morning a run in the Tropical 5k (part of the Miami Marathon Festivities)  These pre-cruise events were optional...but very well attended. Naturally we had themed skirts for the race.  Our 2019 Caribbean Cruise shirts showed the beach, so we added the ocean with our fish-covered skirts. 

Race morning in our themed outfits

Race morning was cool and rainy, which doesn't sound ideal, but is better than warm and humid.  I followed my race plan and tried to enjoy the views of the cruise ships as we ran across the causeway. I was happy with my finish.  It was a great start to a week of running shenanigans.

This is my finish picture with the classic..."look my antiperspirant worked!" pose. :)

Later that day we boarded our ship, the Symphony of the Seas and were able to explore and have lunch.  The Symphony is the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet and the largest cruise ship on the ocean.  It is massive!  Besides all the usual amenities it has a rock climbing wall, an ice rink, a "central park" and a carousel...just to name a few.  And everything was almost brand new. We were thoroughly impressed with the ship and the service.

Here we are in front of the BIG ship

To give you some idea of how big this ship is.  The first sea day we did a 5k (actually more like 3.3 miles)...it was only 8 circuits around the ship track.  So approximately 2.5 loops to the mile.  Because there were 200+ of us in the group we had to do this event in waves.  We drew what for us was the short straw, as we were in the 6 a.m. wave.  John seemed to agree as he walked the 6 a.m. group to the start he asked,"What's wrong with you people...you could be sleeping?"  

We were dressed in very simple ships officer costumes, and when asked our rank, we responded "amateur".  These may have been the most popular of our costumes on this trip...I think because they were unexpected.  BTW, there is no requirement, or even encouragement, to run in costume except for the adventure race day.  It is just something Glenda and I love to do.  And after the first 2 cruises we were pretty well known for it. 

Ship's officers on the 5k...rank:amateur

The next day we landed in Roatan, Honduras...a beautiful and mountainous island.  Our race that day was called Extreme Roatan and it was the trail run for our trip.  Extreme, was not overstating the case!  We had been told in no uncertain terms that it was hilly, and that there might be mud.  Also that some of the hills had ropes to assist with the up and down.  This was a prediction race...you predicted your time and whoever was closest won. I didn't finish and Glenda wasn't close.  We were told that we might want to wear older clothes and shoes.  So we did, but still managed to make a costume of it.

We called these costumes "Indiana Adams and the Trail Run of Doom" (we were not wrong)

I definitely struggled on the first hill which went straight up 180 feet over maybe a third of a mile (like 15+flights of stairs) and then down with ropes, which was actually harder on my knees and hips.  I bailed at the first bailout point...but making it up and down that one hill still made me feel like a winner. 

Up....

...and down 

And a gang of "first hill and done"  winners!

Since I didn't go the whole race...I ended my workout day swimming back and forth in a very short pool. 

That's a lot of back and forth!

Costa Maya was on tap for the following day.  On tap? A 5.5K or 5 mile race...and a beach party! Part of the purpose of this cruise was to celebrate John "the Penguin" Bingham's 70th birthday...so dressed in penguin costumes for the race! Winning on this day was by luck of the draw, literally.  There are many ways to win on the cruise, so that the fast people are celebrated, but they don't get ALL the glory.

Penguins with the man himself

The party beach in Costa Maya

Party is in progress!

Looking sassy in the Caribbean

Official Birthday Party Day, Cozumel

Cozumel was our second Mexican port and it was here that the official celebration of John's Birthday was to take place.  The day began with a pirate themed adventure  run....sort of a running scavenger hunt in pirate dress.  We had determined that we would do only part of the run then stop and catch pictures of our fellow runners as they came back.  We were pretty tired from the other runs and it was our vacation after all.

Decked out in our pirate togs, ready to take photos of our fellow runners

This was one of our views running along the sea wall...lots of pelicans!

Then was party time at Margaritaville with a live band, dancing, good cheer and the best chicken fajitas I have ever eaten

An awesome party, with our ship in the background

Sea Day

That evening we left Cozumel for a day at sea en route to our final port.  We found plenty to do aboard the ship, from just loafing around and recovering to checking out the amenities.  We began that evening by having dinner and hanging out with our Madison friends.  One of the fun things about this trip was that without planning we ended up on the same trip with Fleet Feet Running friends Heather, Barb, Amanda and Jared. This was their first running cruise and it was fun for us to see a group of friend discovering the experience.

After dinner, we enjoyed a Caribbean sunset

And a ride on the carousel

The next morning we thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in and hanging out on the balcony of our cabin.  But we couldn't leave out workouts altogether...so later we hit the gym

Sweating rainbows on the bike

Nassau, The Bahamas

Our final destination was Nassau in the Bahamas where we had a 5 or 10k (I did the 5, Glenda the 10).  The day started with a one mile-ish (emphasis on the ISH) hike to the start. But when we arrived...what a greeting! This was the day that the fast people got to win, Glenda was running well on the 10k, but when the heat and humidity got to her, she decided to finish with me.  I was delighted.  And we wore one of our favorites...the mermaid costume.  Those may appear again somewhere (just saying')

We were greeted with amazing music and Junkanoo dancers

And what's a better fit for a tropical island than a couple of mermaids?

Coming home

The next day it was back to reality, but not before one last swim in the pool in Miami. Unfortunately we came back to one of the coldest and snowiest Februaries in recent history in Wisconsin...but at least we had some sunshine and good memories to sustain us...until next year.  And yes, we've really already signed up for next year!

Academic nerdy stuff...

Me giving a presentation at an academic conference

In this edition of my blog, I want to talk about ways that I have brought my academic life, and the rest of my life together.  

My academic background includes a Bachelor's Degree in Theater Arts (Upper Iowa University '77)...thus my penchant for costume running, a Master's in Library and Information Studies  (University of Wisconsin, Madison '88) and a Ph.D. in Information Studies (University of Texas, Austin '06).  I then taught for the next 13 years in the field of Library and Information Studies (LIS) as either a full-time tenure track assistant professor (University of Rhode Island) or an adjunct, part-time or per course instructor online or in person  (San Jose State, Sam Houston State, UT-Austin, Drexel, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Alabama).  Throughout that time I conducted research (required or not) mostly in the general area of the intersection of information and recreation. 

I'd like to share and talk about and share three of my projects having to do with how serious recreational athletes get their information, the gamification of fitness and the reasons why people run in costume. 

HOW DO SERIOUS RECREATIONAL ATHLETES GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED?

My first research had to do with virtual play spaces and video games...but it wasn't long until I encountered the idea of Serious Leisure and the work of Robert Stebbins. From there I interviewed people who run or biked or swam or triathlon, etc .... basically people who chose an event to do and trained for it. I asked for how they got all kinds of information...how they found events, planned workouts, chose clothing, etc. etc.   I found that in one community (Austin, TX) the same names came up over and over.  These people were "gatekeepers" of information and another ethnographic research study was born as I interviewed as many of these folks as I could get to talk to me about how they got their information.  What follows is a link to a class lecture I made about my results, which were also presented at the Information: Interaction and Impact Conference, June 2011 in Aberdeen, Scotland.  

My question to you....do YOU have a gatekeeper? How did you find them?  Are YOU a gatekeeper? How do you get your information? 

Gatekeeper VoiceThread

If you don't get audio...copy and paste this link https://voicethread.com/share/5545236/

THE GAMIFICATION OF FITNESS

A few years ago, there was a boom in all kinds devices and websites to measure, keep track of, and reward fitness activities.  Although I was fairly early on the bandwagon and enjoyed having the data on pace and distance etc.  I began to wonder about rewards.  Wasn't doing this a reward in itself?  I remembered all the stuff I had learned years before about intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation...and began to wonder if sometimes the "rewards" didn't do more harm than good.  So I found myself doing a review of gamification literature, as well as what little work had been done to that point in looking at motivating fitness. 

I came away unconvinced one way or the other.  This still is of interest to me...and I wonder if my readers use any of these devices or websites...and what your thoughts are on their motivational effects.   The VoiceThread linked below is from a conference presentation (SW/TX Popular Culture Association. February 2014. Albuquerque, NM) on the topic. 

Gamification VoiceThread

If you don't get audio...copy and paste this link https://voicethread.com/share/5467881/

RECLAIMING THE JOY: MAKING PLAY OF SERIOUS RECREATIONAL ATHLETICS THROUGH THE USE OF COSTUME 

If you know me at all you know that I love to run in costumes and themed outfits.  I know what I love about it,  but I wondered about other people.  I am also a big believer in deliberately bringing play and joy into adult life...so this little side project was born, and eventually presented at The Association for the Study of Play conference at Rutgers University in 2016

Have you ever run in costume?  Why?

Here is a link to a blog post I wrote about my results

and a link to the powerpoint from my conference presentation

So that's enough academic nerdiness for one day...thank you for letting me share!

Lessons from a year of Skirt Sports

On February 1, 2018 I became a first time Skirt Sports Ambassador

Late in 2017 I applied to be an ambassador for my favorite sports brand. And to my great surprise I was accepted in the program.  I knew I would be wearing my skirts and other gear, I knew I would be telling my friends and social media circle about them...sharing sales, etc.  But I did not know that I would be learning new skills. This blog talks about those skills, and the new ones I hope to add this year. 

I knew I would be sharing photos like this

I do a fair number of races where there are photos.  And in various running groups and such there are photos taken.  I assumed I would share these and I have.  I was also given a code (5Adam) to share with my friends.  It is still good and readers can use this code for a 15% discount on a lot of stuff until January 31, 2019.  And I was given a link to share to send folks to the website (http://bit.ly/2OQXpG4).  But the fun began with the challenges!

As ambassadors we are offered challenges to earn points.  They are basically suggestions of the kinds of things we might post or do.  They include specific ideas, hashtags and requirements for photos/videos, etc.

Some of the ideas included wearing the products for things other than athletic endeavors.  I don't know why I did not think of this myself!  I learned to  wear skirt for all kinds of things...

Like travel...

From Vegas to Wyoming to Hawaii to Prince Edward Island and Beyond!

And volunteering...

My skirt and I checking in athletes for IM WI

And partying...

Like this holiday party with the crew from Focal Flame Photography

And just hanging around...

Hanging with Bernie Brewer and granddaughter Maeve at the ball game

But maybe more important than wearing the skirts to bike, run, do PT, swim, and add them to my wardrobe for the rest of my life is the fact that being in the ambassador program has led my to renew some technical skills, hone others and learn still more.

For example,  I renewed this blog.  I have had a number of blog over the years, but my ambassadorship gave me the push I needed to restart (and continue more consistently) on blogging.

Here's my Instagram!

I honed my use of social media, particularly Instagram and Twitter.

The result of setting up an iPhone with a timer burst and a bit of editing

and learned to use the photo features on my phone, including taking "non-selfie selfies" and editing on the phone as well as played with some slide show software  (example linked below) and played with video (but haven't posted yet.)



https://plus.smilebox.com/play?g=11db4ed4-a7a3-4658-9596-e92a7c7f77cc

So if life ever sends you an opportunity like this...use to learn and explore new things.  It has definitely paid off for me!

Goals 2019

"Do not be afraid to fail. Be afraid to accept that who you are right now is all you are going to be." --John Bingham Running for Mortals

The time has come that having reflected back on the last year, people traditionally set goals for the next year. After some consideration, I have keyed on four words to define the coming year: LEARNING, GROWTH, CONFIDENCE  and JOY.

At 62, I think I could probably rest on my laurels, but what fun is that?  That's why the above quote from one of my running role-models is important.

Work/Professional goals

My work is really in 3 pieces: Teaching, photo editing and my side gig. 

My goal for the teaching piece of my professional life is to be a "quitter."  I retired last May, only to find myself saying yes to a class in the fall and another in the spring.  So while I am still semi-retired, I'd like to take another shot at being fully retired.  I have decided that, although I like to keep my hand in a bit, one class per year would be plenty. So, I am teaching my spring semester course....and practicing saying "no" firmly to more.

I am still enjoying my very part time job rating and editing race photos for a local photo team (shout out to Focal Flame!).  And short term, I'd like to keep doing what I'm doing for them.  Longer term, I'd maybe like to learn more about photography.  Down the road, when I'm not running every race...maybe even shoot some backdrop photos. Presumably knowing more will make me a better rater and editor, so for now I just want to spend some time reading and trying things.

Finally, my "side gig."  I have an etsy shop called Mimi's Folly. It is mostly for fun.  I like to craft and try new things, and this is a way to entertain myself and make a few dollars.  I want to keep it fun. My goal for this piece of my "work", is to avoid setting goals and just let it be fun. 

Athletic goals

“It isn’t a matter of getting the body you want, it’s a matter of doing the most you can with the body you have.”   John Bingham,  No Need for Speed.  

In thinking about my athletic goals, I have been thinking about what I really want out of it.  Of course, I'm interested in fitness and weight control and blood sugar control. Naturally doing well in some races is nice, too.  But honestly, at the end of the day I am looking for two things...confidence and joy.   These are, I think, the same things that people of all ages get from all kinds of play.  So I guess I want to keep playing. 

"The only magic in our lives as runners is the magic of consistency. Not every run will make you feel great."John Bingham,  No Need for Speed. 

Step one to confidence for me has got to be consistency, I've done pretty well the last part of this year...but it will be important to keep it up.  To that end I have hired a triathlon coach and set a goal to do 3 sprint distance triathlons this year (as well as finishing the last 3 states in my quest to run in all 50--Nebraska, West Virginia and Montana).  I think I can get there...but it will require consistency and a trust in the process.  

“Focus on where you are instead of where you wish you were. The joy will follow.”--John  Bingham, No Need for Speed   

And step one to joy, is to stop worrying about comparisons with others, with where I used to be (as I age, I may not be there again) and with where I want to be.  Rather, my goal is to be present with where I am and be grateful for what my body will do. My best races have always been the ones where I felt grateful and present (often in costume and aware of the smiles of others...and my own).  They may or may not be the fastest, but they are the ones that bring joy...and that is where I want to go this year.  So keep on doing what I'm doing and learn to really be there for myself.

General/other goals

“Trying harder doesn’t always equal more success; it leads to more frustration, less satisfaction, and giving up.” --John Bingham,  No Need for Speed

When it comes to many of the other important things in my life (my family, my relationships, and all the things that I worry about day to day), I realized recently the phrase that often goes through my brain is, "but I try so hard."  

My response to this feeling is to attempt to try even harder...until I hit that point of "I can't even...."

So this year I am going to try to learn new coping strategies.  I do try hard, I don't think that is going to change...I think the growth will come from learning when to try harder and when to be confident that I have done what I can do. I expect to be a work in progress for a long, long time.  But I'm hoping some investment in relaxation, meditation and therapy will lead to less frustration, more satisfaction and less "I can't even."

So looking at all of this is a tall order.  Some of it is quite specific, while some is still nebulous.  If I had to choose one thing to sum it all up, I guess it would be to remember to approach the new year with an openness of attitude, that will let me learn and grow in confidence and joy.