That's why it's called a vacation.

(The answer to the question, "Why does it suck so much to come back from vacation?")

So yeah, I'm back. Ho hum. I just wanted it to last a LITTLE LONGER, PLEASE!!!! Hopefully later this year.

The California Coast is amazing...at least until you look out on a clear day and see the offshore oil drills...and walk on the beach and look at the bottom of your feet and see oil spots. But other than that...BRILLIANT!
No, it really is brilliant - as showcased here in this photo.

So anyway, I had lots of time to think and chill and think some more. About 2009. About what I want from it. What I want to change. What new adventures to embark on and what adventures to leave behind. That sort of thing.

This isn't a firm list, but my rough ideas (part of coming up with the winter game plan of 08-09 is knowing what I want from 09, right?):

What I want more of:

-Yoga

-Swimming (like, pool meets, open water swims, and really just doing it because I love it and I still have this desire to be a faster swimmer)

-Running (short distances, like doing lots of 10k speed stuff in the first half of the year and perhaps training to do a 1/2 marathon in the fall in like, 1:42 or 1:43)

-Cycling (racing, centuries, double centuries, you name it, I'm so in it. I LOVE cycling.)

Wait. I realized something as I began this list...I already want those things. I already do all of those with the intention that I will throw 110% of myself into each of these sports individually, not with triathlon as the target. That I will commit more of myself to each of these things, on top of all the other things in my life OUTSIDE of triathlon that I intend to do. Hm.

So then I thought some more. What does this mean? How can I balance it all?

It means I have to let go on some of those ideas and focus even more.

Maybe I should start with my Things I Want Less of in 2009:

-No 1/2 ironmans. Okay, MAYBE I would still consider it LATE in the year, but that's a BIG maybe. I want to focus on speed, not distance. I like the pain of speed. I sound like a masochist, but I just do. It hurts so bad but you know you can push because before you know it, it will be OVER!

-Less corporate races, more local races. I'm sick of the corporateness that is taking over triathlon. Therefore, I pledge to support more locally-run races that support local charities directly. Like the last race I did - the race was done entirely by the Ukiah Rotary Club and the monies went to support their community service projects.

-Less pressure. My last two races were AWESOME because I gave up on pressuring myself for a certain time and said "just do what you can do." So I did, and I had FUN and I came out proud. That was way better than being a stress case about it.

-Less overtraining. I hate being ruled by a schedule, but it works.

Okay, that's better. I still haven't solved the problem of the issue with the list of "More-Ofs", but I think it maybe happen something like this:

-I want to cycle more. I want to be a better cyclist because I know I can. Because I LOVE it. Because I think I can be stronger, not in races or anything else but for ME.

-However, I want to keep running as something I use for cross training. I want to continue to do sprint tris and Olympic tris and I know that they can serve as a reason to keep up the running.

-Still, cycling will remain key.

-What about swimming? I am still going to try to swim 3x/week. Maybe 2 mornings with masters and once on the weekends...some WAY!!! I don't know I'll ever go back to swimming 6x/week like I used to (and sometimes pine for...). We'll see, though.

As for yoga, I've found that the people at the Airport Club are AWESOME and if I can't make it to Living Tree then I have another place I can go. I also got a DVD called Power Yoga that got good reviews that I'm going to try so I can get yoga in 3x/week.

On top of all that, there are things I want to do for work and the community. January will mark being in Santa Rosa for one year and I would like to get involved with community service. Of course, I'd also like to keep up teaching spinning and maybe throw in a winery gig on an occasional weekend? Never enough time...EVER.

I think these goals will take some refining as I head into winter and come up with the winter game plan, but it's a start. In any case, it's nice to come back with a clear mind and ready to go!