2013 Goals

Hello? Is this thing on? Wow, it seems like I can't keep a regular schedule on this blog. Life gets in the way, and sometimes it is pretty mundane, so I run out of : 1-time and 2- topics. I am trying to do better this year.

A little update on the past 7 months?
I became an Ironman again. Arizona: I love you. I will be back. I can run SO much better than I did. I know it. I feel it. Still debating WHEN.
Kids: they are now 8 and 2 respectively. I love them to pieces, but parenthood is HARD. Lots of great feelings with a dash of frustration for good measure.
Work: same old, same old. Honestly, this is the part that drains me the most and interferes with everything else.
Training: I am slowly getting my fitness back after I took my off season a little too seriously.

2013 came around, and it luckily started off better than 2012 did. Last year we started the year in the ER with the little man having breathing issues. Not the best omen for what was to come. 2013 hasn't been perfect so far, but definitely an improvement over 2012.

Looking to this year as a clean slate I have a number of goals I'd like to achieve. Some of them are racing related, but most of them are life related. Little stepping stones to bettering myself.

- Cook more. I have re-arranged my kitchen, got new appliances and cookbooks. I am ready to make 2013 the year I become good in the kitchen. I have a few "staples" that the family likes, but they become kind of boring. Eating the same foods week in and week out is tiring. And I like trying new things. We had become a little too accustomed to eating out; and I am trying to avoid that as much as possible. Especially during week nights.

-Reduce work stress. This can be done either by moving around in my current company, or finding something new altogether. This might be the hardest of my 2013 goals, but the one I need to accomplish the most.

- Yell less. :-) This is related to the item above. When work stress is high, I lose my temper quickly. Especially around my daughter (this is a hard one to admit and put out in the world). Frustrations run high at homework time.

- Be a better mom & wife, related to the item above as well.

- Make up my mind about further education. Do I want to invest the time and money or not?

- Visit my family in Argentina. I NEED this one to happen, for my emotional sanity. I have been missing them a little too much. I need some momma and daddy love (yes, I am >35 and I miss my mom and dad)

- Get stronger. I want to build muscle and shed fat this year. I want to be lean and mean.

- Step out of my comfort zone. I have already taken the first step and will be doing the Goruck challenge this coming March.

- Make significant improvements to my swimming. This is still my weak "link" in triathlon.

- Get my power to weight ratio above 3. For those of you that train/race with power this will sound familiar. I consider myself a good cyclist. It is my "thing" during tris. I can push and hurt on the bike much more than I can while I swim and run.

- Re-learn to hurt on the run. When things get hard I chicken out. I want to push through that barrier and own each running race.

- Share more. I have become very introverted and closed in. It is time to step out & open up.

Pretty comprehensive list, huh? It will be good to get back to this post regularly and do a status check.

To say that I am scared is an understatement. When I think about everything that went on in 2012 and how I felt like I struggled the whole way through it, I am not sure I can take another year like that. I am ready for a little break. But aren't we all?

A view from the outside in: Goruck Challenge

A few of class 192's members and their flag

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege to "shadow" class 192 for the Goruck Challenge in Charlotte. Since most of you might not have heard about this (after all this IS a multisport related blog) I will give you a quick summary. Imagine this: rucksack (or backpack for us mortals), loaded with bricks weighting at least 20 lbs, add a full water bladder (camelback), other "provisions" and you have yourself what you need to participate in the challenge as an individual.
What does the challenge entail? Getting a group of people to bond together as a team, operate as one; all while carrying these individual rucksacks, an American flag and other "coupons" (added items that are, most likely, very heavy). This bonding happens in the span of 8-10 hours, while covering ON FOOT 12-15 miles (and yes, all while carrying all that weight; which by the way, can not touch the ground at all) and completing missions assigned by the class cadre. The event is put together by former special ops personnel and it puts "normal" folks through a small part of what special ops training involves.
Now, you might be asking how I got myself involved in this. Well, besides golf, I think the husband has finally found the one "thing" he is really passionate about: testing his limits while doing things I would never dream of doing. After completing a few mud runs, and finding them not challenging enough; he decided to go for the "big bite". He had been preparing for this event for months, and I knew how important it was for him. So, I tagged along to take pictures and to try to document the experience as best as I could. He has been the sherpa extraordinaire and extreme supporter of my triathlon endeavors; and it was only fitting I do the same.

I arrived at the meeting point (which remained a secret until the week of the event), coffee in hand, about 20 minutes before the scheduled start time: 9 PM. Yes, you read that right, 9 PM. What I found when I arrived was a sight to behold. About 60 people were gathered there; all of them taking part of the challenge. Definitely a lot more than I expected. Right away you could tell there was a definite "divide" among them. On one hand you had the "let's pretend we are military" group; and on the other hand you had class 192. 

Classes are capped at 30 people and upon arrival of the cadre, the divide became effective. After everybody took care of the mandatory paperwork, the classes assumed formation. And the "fun" began. After a brief introduction by the cadre to lead the classes, the participants were encouraged to start "gelling" as a team. How was this accomplished? Inchworm pushups, elephant walks; things otherwise called "PT"  ( I am still not sure of the meaning of this, but I will go with Physical torture since that is what it seemed like from my spectating).

This is what an inchworm pushup looks like

It took a while for everyone to mesh together, and honestly I had to contain myself from yelling at them to get their act together (and at some point had to stop watching because it hurt to just see it). But I can imagine how difficult it must be to get 30 different people, of all different shapes and sizes to work in unison, especially when not everybody has the same strength. It was a difficult task, but they got it done. After the initial session of PT; the missions began. Each mission had a new team leader and assistant team leader; and those were the people in charge of "carrying" the group to successfully completing the mission. It is not until the challenge is actually taking place that the participants know what they will have to do or how they will have to do it. And I think that is a part of the challenge's "mystique" and why people are drawn to it. So, I am not going to recap all the stuff class 192 had to do during the course of the night. I will say, however, that I saw them become a unit. I saw them form a bond, through suffering together and getting from point A to point B as a team.

Class 192 after one of the longest, most grueling missions they went through.

They did all of this while cracking jokes (when they were allowed to talk that is), and taking jabs at each other. You see; most of class 192 had known each other for months. They had been working on their connection for a while. No, they had never met face to face until a few days before the challenge; but rather they had connected and talked smack through a closed facebook group. They were already friends and I saw them become a family.

When the morning rolled along and we arrived back at our start location the cadre congratulated them on becoming Goruck tough. All the members of class 192 started and finished the challenge. 100% pass rate. You can see their smiling faces below.

Congrats class 192! You are GORUCK tough!

Their bodies had taken a serious tall (heck! my legs were destroyed from walking all night and I did not even carry any weight); but their spirits soared to unimaginable heights. It is incredible what the body can do if you set your mind to it. And it is even more incredible to see the things people can accomplish when they work together as a team (even moving an ~800 lbs log). 

I cannot imagine a better group for the husband to have done this challenge with. He has formed an incredible bond with these folks. A bond I have the privilege to witness and participate in. Class 192 has embraced me as a part of their family and I am grateful for that. 

So.. CLASS 192, here's to you (raises beer to toast). Thank you for opening my mind to new things, for making me part of your family and for agreeing to do a challenge with me (you know who you are).  I cannot imagine becoming GRT with anyone else! 2013 here I come!

Challenges

To say that the past couple of week have been hard would be the understatement of the year. Life, more particularly work, has thrown me a couple of wicked wrenches and I am having a hard time coping.
I used to believe I was the queen of adaptation, heck, I even left everything that was known to me to take a wild shot a new life when coming to the US; and I succeeded. So, I thought change didn't phase me as much. I guess I just got too comfortable in my own situation; work was going great, family was balanced (not that we didn't have any challenges), the year of Ironman was off to a good training start.
Enter, mid April and the biggest wrench of them all. I am not going to go into too many details, in case someone that should not be reading this blog, reads it; but work got changed 100%. All those people that had said they had our backs, let us down and my entire team got put in one of the most difficult situations we have ever had to encounter. Little by little, career hopes are being squashed, management styles are clashing, and the team is slowly but surely getting decimated. We had one of the best teams, many people told us so; and now we are struggling to keep our spirits high and to keep ourselves positive.
With all that has been going on training has been suffering. When life situations are super stressful, I find I cannot make everything happen the way I like to. Something's got to give to make sure I am able to preserve my sanity and some resemblance of good health.
I am still fully committed to my Ironman goals, but sometimes I question how the heck I am going to get through the big weeks of training. I know I have pulled it off before and experience would say I should be able to do it again; but the wondering is there. One thing is for sure, I will not know until I am in the midst of it.
All I can do is take it one day at a time and do the best I can each and every day.