I am sitting by the fire, with Cocoa (the Yorkie from hell) resting on my legs while I type on my Mac.  Outside, the weather has hit the single negative digits.  We have definitely left cold and descended into the frigid zone.  The holiday chaos is over and now I am mired in the gray frigid days of January.  I really am thinking that next year I need to go someplace warm and sunny for about three weeks. 

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So what am I up to right now?  January is often a good time to contemplate the year ahead:

Saying No:  I have gotten very good at saying no thank you.  December I fell off the wagon and said yes to way too much.  This year I am going to go with the Hell Yeah barometer.  It is not happening unless I feel like "wow...hell yeah!"  Check out this blog post:  bit.ly/4AYjY4

Travel: Lots of it this year.  March I am attending South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive (a technology conference) in Austin, TX.  I am very excited to actually attend a conference for something I truly enjoy.  April is the Boston Marathon.  May is a terrific trip that I will write about in another post.  June is family adventure time.  This year, Coach and I gave our daughter Willa and our nephews an adventure in the Caymans.  All three kids will get certified in scuba diving!  They think we are trying to kill them by water (2008 was surf camp, 2009 white river rafting).  September is Ironman Wisconsin.

Business:  I have made a commitment to expand the BBC's main store/production area.  This will be my first foray into some serious financing.  I hate debt but with the addition of our third store we are physically bursting at the seams and desperately need more space.  I am hoping to add some luxury apartments overlooking campus and a roof top garden.  The architect's feasability study is due later this month.  I am going to remember to breathe!

Training:  Gordo is shaking up my world a bit with some of his camps.  Thanksgiving was swim camp.  This month I am engaged in run camp.  The minimum goal is 30 days of 30 minute runs.  I have done this before so I decided to up the ante.  I get an extra point for camp if I add an extra 30 minute run during the day.  Some days this is impractical with parenting etc. (three showers a day after all my training can be a bit much).  On the impractical days I will just go for one point and run 60 minutes.  February has an advanced swim camp coming up.  I am already scared.

Personal;  I told Coach after Christmas that I wanted to focus on making our relationship great.  It has been a tough year for Coach.  Her father died and that has pretty much rocked her world.  She has done an amazing job of being loving and caring for her Mom despite the geographical distance.  I am looking forward to more "us" time in 2010.

Parenting:  Our daughter is growing into an amazing young woman.  There is only 2.5 years left until she is off to college.  Now is the time for me to focus on continuing her development as an independent adult.  Her driver's license is next and after that she will really cut the cord in many ways.  I am excited about all the opportunities awaiting her and I need to focus on the skills that can help her; financial management, balance, knowing when to say Hell Yeah!

Race Schedule:
April 17th Boston Marathon
July 10th Muncie Endurathon or Dumpathon (thanks Sarah)
Sept 12th Ironman Wisconsin

Training Goals:
Finish Wisconsin in under 12 hours.  To do this I need to continue my progress especially in the swim and bike.  My run development continues to be strong and I believe I can do an IM marathon in 4 hours or less.  A year ago, I went in search of a coach for one reason; I needed to improve my steady state endurance.  Gordo absolutely helped me to achieve a solid steady state performance and a great PR at Longhorn.  I am not going to give away his magic but I can say that his motto, "There is no easy way" is a terrific summation of his methods.  My goals remain long term with my biggest test in two years when I age up to the 45-49 group.   

So, I am looking forward to all the adventures ahead of me this year.  Hell Yeah!

  

 

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