This month for next year

Off season is a time when you see plenty of people taking it easy and enjoying themselves a bit while they aren’t in the thick of training. While I’m more likely to blow past my heartrate cap to try and keep up with friends during a ride, I don’t look at this time as a time to get it super easy. I’m trying to take advantage of this slightly slower time to make small but important changes. That started with food which is what all my November goals revolved around. And although I did pretty well I know there’s still plenty more work to do. November goals…

-          Focus on healthy carbs aka fruits and veggies. – I’ve made some great progress with this. The amount of fruits hasn’t gone up a ton because I was already decent about this. I think I’ve had more veggies this month than ever before. That’s both great and kind of sad.

-          Experiment with fall veggies before they all disappear. I know butternut squash is good, move on and try something else. – Check! I’ve had lots and lots of brussel sprouts and spaghetti squash which are both surprisingly good.

-          Increase protein and focus on getting protein in every meal and in more forms than just protein powder, Greek yogurt or peanut butter. – Also an improvement. Been giving into my non vegetarian ways more by eating more chicken.

-          Don’t overeat during Thanksgiving week (see first goal – don’t go crazy on rolls and pasta!). I know the holidays seem like it’s all about food but it’s not…shocker family, I know! It’s about being with family. – Ok this one was a fail. I did OK most of the week until Thanksgiving dinner and the next day with leftovers. I did try to load my plate up with the veggies first but unfortunately they all had lot of butter and/or sugar.

-          Eat all the veggies I buy. If I’m going to insist on continuing to buy from Costco, actually commit to eating it all and stop being wasteful! – Check as well! This proves I’m eating more veggies especially since everything I’m buying I pretty much have to eat by myself.

Katie said something that got me thinking. The athlete that I choose to be today will be the one toeing the line on race day. Obviously not physically because I have a ton of training to do between now and then. This means the decisions I make day in and day out. Do I choose to stumble through training or bring focus to each session? Do I choose to eat melted peanut butter and chocolate chips every day or do I stuff my face with veggies? Do I choose to stay out late drinking with friends or do I drink water and leave early for a good night sleep? I realized there’s a different between making smart decisions and being crazy-over-the-top-no-life-strict but I also know what I want at the end of the day. This is about finding the right balance. “Off season” is a good time to take a hard look at myself and figure out what I do well, what works, and what I need to change. This month’s goals…

-          Figure out my strengths and weaknesses

-          Figure out how to turn my weaknesses into strengths