Top ten triathlon resolutions

Ok, ok, so you’re supposed to make your New Year’s resolution on January 1^st – I get that I’m a little late with all this but, as the old saying goes, better tardy than not at all… or something like that?

Anyway, here are my slightly delayed resolutions for 2013:

1.       Laugh, smile and always have fun –even in light of all the tough and painful moments, that’s what we do this for.

2.       Do something new. It’s important to keep things fresh so, this year, I’ll be doing more run races than before, my first ever 70.3s (yeah, I’m one of those guys who went straight from sprints and Olys to full Ironmans… sorry!), as well as an epic obstacle course race. Excited!

3.       Work on my weaknesses. As I’m now living in Holland and, therefore, can’t really do much to improve my laughably terrible hill climbing, 2013 has become all about strength training (something I’ve neglected these past couple of years) and doing more running than Forrest Gump.

4.       Remember – it’s just a sport. I’m going to try to make sure I never take triathlon, or myself, too seriously.

5.       Say ‘thank you’ more. That means to swim and run coaches, the trainer at the gym, all volunteers at races, as well as my supportive friends and family.

6.       Volunteer. The beginning and middle of the season are pretty busy but there are quite a few big run races here in Holland towards the end of the year, so I’m going to make sure I give something back and volunteer to marshal or whatever’s required at one of those.

7.       Take a non-triathlon/sport related holiday. This means leaving the bike at home and not even hiring one there. It probably even means not taking run trainers. Apparently, the earth will continue to spin…

8.       Goals = gear. It’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking that we’re not a little faster, or making the top 10/podium because we haven’t got the right bike, or wheels, or trainers, or bottle holder, or saddle, or (deep breath…) helmet, or bike jersey, or Garmin, or bike computer, or goggles, or wetsuit, or tri suit, or… well, you get how this goes. In reality, there are very few gadgets that can make as much difference as a block of good, consistent training or, in fact, losing a few unnecessary kilos. So, this year, the theory is that I’ll buy some minor tri-related additions – when and only when, I’ve achieved certain pre-set goals.

9.       Be less selfish. Triathlon is, by definition, a selfish sport. But I’m determined to find a balance this year. For every weekend of big training or racing, there’s a day at the beach, in the park or at a music festival. For every early morning race start, there’s a night out. Every time I have to tell the other half I can’t do something because or triathlon, I’ll make it up with something else or better.

1.   For those of us who’ll never top podiums, it’s important to remember that PBs and kicking your friends’ arses are also magnificent victories in their own right. I’m hoping to bask in plenty of PBs and dole out several ass-kickings this year!