Tag: newyeargoals

Patient Aggression: Reflection on the Year of the Plow Horse

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Little did I know a year ago, when I dubbed 2014 the “Year of the Plow Horse,” how much I would come to depend on the characteristics of the reliable ol’ plow horse to make it through some of the more challenging races I’ve done. The plow horse is a strong, sturdy animal. She has a lot of work to do, but she can’t rush through it and burn out. No! The plow horse must be patient as she pursues the goals for the day, the week, the month, the year. The plow horse has been uniquely bred with the intention to balance both speed and muscle, …

Fight the Voices in your Head

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I pulled into the packed gym parking lot. It was January 2.  New Years Resolutions, I thought to myself. As I walked into the gym, and prepared myself for my swim, I looked at the newcomers and smiled, hoping to be encouraging. I know that many of these people will not be here in a month or so, and that saddens me. I know that each of these well-intentioned people will reach a point where the going gets tough – maybe the time commitment becomes overwhelming, maybe it becomes just too easy to hit snooze instead of getting up to …

Becoming the athlete I have to be

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“Be the kind of person who does the types of things to have the results you want.” Ever since I heard triathlon & running coach Bobby McGee say these words, they’ve stuck with me. I’ve repeated them in my mind, turning over the meaning, and finding much value for the place I find myself in my endurance sport life. I realize how much I have already changed to become the kind of person I want to be. (For a great post on the progression of limiters in triathlon, see this blog post from Endurance Corner.) I’ve changed my diet, my …