New Year = New Goals & Resolutions

As I sit at my desk at the end of a long day/partial week of teaching Spanish, I realize that I am - at heart - a procrastinator.  I have contemplated this blog post for a few weeks....I mean, how often should I write and publish on this blog?  Does it matter?  Do I have anything new to write about? And does anyone really read this anyway?  But I realize that the person who probably will get the most out of this blog is me.  It will keep me honest - even when I don't like the way my training is progressing. When I have been slacking off on my running and I tell myself that it's just too cold to run outside. When I skip the pool because I only have 35 minutes free today. When I stop at Casey's on the way home from work and buy a large bag of Lay's Barbeque potato chips and eat half the bag because today sucked and I deserve comfort food. The honest truth isn't very pretty sometimes, but.....it is what it is.

So, putting my goals & resolutions for 2015 out here, for everyone to see (in no particular order of importance):

1. Complete a Sprint Triathlon with my son, Steven: Iowa Games (July)
2. Compete in/complete an Ultra....if I get chosen for the Leadville 100 (put my hat in the lottery for that one) that will be my focus.  If I don't get in with the lottery, possibly Post Oak Challenge (3/7 & 3/8)
3. Run 3 marathons: P.F. Chang's/Phoenix (1/18) Grandma's/Duluth (6/20) & Bank of America/Chicago (10/11); goal is under 3:55 for Boston Qualifying
4. Set aside 15 minutes each evening to track my workouts and nutrition
5. Start eating breakfast every day (I rarely have anything except coffee before 10am) and focus on improving my nutrition
6. Volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin (9/13)
7. One blog post per month
8. Swim at least three hours each week in the pool
9. Schedule my running, biking, and swimming workouts a month at a time, rather than week to week.

About that swimming.....it's progressing.  Slower than I want, but I know that I haven't devoted the time to it that I need to in order to improve the way I intended. But, slow progress is still progress. Below are two videos: the first from my very first lesson with Scott, practicing kicking and turning front to back, and back to front...awkward, to say the least.

Second video below is from my most recent lesson - notice the hesitation and drag on my left arm :(  ...and all the fun equipment I'm using...snorkle, the "clicker" belt (my name for it), in addition to goggles, swim cap, and sometimes fins.  

After watching these videos, I know that I've got a lot of work to do. I'm way further ahead than I was a couple of months ago, but I need to be ready for open water swimming in a few short months. So I'll practice, practice, and practice some more :)

A quote from a fellow teacher's room:

"Be In Love With Your Life, Every Single Minute"