Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Slowing Down in 2012

I'm still recovering from a whirlwind of a 2011.  Like a hangover, but without the drinking.  In my usual fashion, I bit off a big ol' chunk of "too much" last year.  Thankfully I have a fortress of awesomeness surrounding me, made up of friends and family, who protect me and keep me strong and upright and moving forward.  Compiling a recap of the entire year would be far too exhausting, but I am so grateful for the memories spilling over.  It doesn't seem possible, but each year keeps on topping the one prior.  If that holds true, 2012 is going to be mind blowing.

2011 Totals:
Swim = 183,240 meters.  Or about 114 miles for the non-metric folk.
Bike = 3336 miles.
Run = 620 miles.
Plus all of those hours of practicing transitions, strength training (okay okay, there weren't many of those), hiking, etc.

This includes finishing a handful of shorter races, a half marathon, a half ironman, and TWO full ironmans.  If you ignore the "extras", that is 4070 miles of moving my body last year.  Honestly, I expected that number to be higher.  But given all of the other responsibilities (60+ hour work weeks anyone?), I would be proud with even half of that.  I finished what I had set out to do, and that was the main goal last year.  Mission complete.

But 2012 is going to have a very different theme.  I'm going to reclaim some balance that was lost a few years ago.  The proverbial stopping to smell the roses.  Shorter work hours, more attention for my loved ones, being present in what I'm doing now instead of thinking about what I need to be doing next.  Less multi-tasking.  More workouts because I want to do them, not because they are on a schedule.  Not be so hard on myself.  Get stronger, both inside and out.  Focus on proper nutrition.  Yes, finally.  Basically, I'm taking a well-rounded holistic approach to taking care of myself.  It's going to be fabulous.