It’s cold now in Chicago. We actually got a few snow flurries this week, along with actual ice on the roads. Winter’s here.
Along with it come the dark mornings when it’s tough to crawl out of bed for a swim workout. When you have to get in the routine of running outside in the wind chill, which for me takes a few runs. I’m still riding outside for the longer base stuff until the weather gets too nasty, but time on the trainer is becoming a necessity.
All this is to say, it’s back to structured training and settling back into a routine. This has also meant thinking about next year and The Big Picture. Next season is simpler, while figuring out what I want from and for myself in the longer term requires more introspection.
Since the beginning of November I’ve been off of Facebook, mainly because it was becoming too much mental noise — more than I wanted to deal with. It’s been a while now and though I still spend time goofing around on Twitter with most of the people I follow being news, triathlon, cycling, NBA and sports-related folks, along with a mix of friends and others who are just entertaining. But I’ve found that it is less of a distraction than Facebook was for whatever reason, possibly because it involved more frequent interaction with actual friends vs. more reading updates on Twitter.
In any case, it’s been a refreshing change and has helped to clear out some of the clutter. Given more clarity, it’s been easier to reflect on my training and racing experiences the past year (and more) as well as how triathlon has fit into my life as a whole. There are some changes I’ve been trying to implement which have been positive so far, yet with more time I look forward to seeing results not just in terms of training, but also shifting how I’ve approached work, friends and more of life in general.
Two of my closest friends are now getting married in the span of a few months of 2013; I’m the best man in one wedding and standing up in the other. Both new beginnings for my friends and their future wives remind me of what’s most important. That being to keep growing and working on the best and happiest version of ourselves, whoever that may be and wherever it may lead.
