I’ve been reading a lot of blogs I follow recently and a lot have posted reviews of their year and goals for the next. It’s great to look back on the year that has been and to realign what you want out of the next year. So here’s mine:
2013 – the year this blog was ‘Road to Ironman’
I achieved my Ironman status, but not without a cost. I had the most amazing time and it was certainly an experience to remember but this was back in August, there is still 5 months that happened after that.
For those who didn’t see my Ironman journey, here is a video encapsulating the training and the day itself.
The costs, well my running suffered. I had to stop running in order to cycle. It was a tough decision as running is my first love. I also lost a lot of time with my other half as we didn’t seem to do any hill walking, days out, adventures, holidays that we usually can do. This was all sacrificed for my training. This only really hit me once the summer was over and I suddenly thought about all the things we should have done.
The 5 months after Ironman were to get properly recovered and to be honest I’m still getting there. I’ve been running in the latter months of the year and only up to 7kms. My right knee is still a bit niggly when running longer than 4 kms and the ITB has a deep pain that only seems to present itself after a run. I also developed plantar fasciitis on the Ironman run and it is still present.
However, starting to run any distance has rekindled that light and love I have for running, the sheer joy of getting out there and exploring. This moves me onto..
Next Year 2014
I have no races signed up yet. I need to feel confident and comfortable that I can run pain free before I enter any races. I don’t want the pressure I had last year that caused me to rush my recovery again. So for now I’m happy just running short.
I do want to build on my strength and conditioning as a focus on my recovery. This may see me hit a gym, although I would like to do this away from a gym as much as possible.
Since Ironman I have gained 4kgs, mainly as I kept on eating the same but reduced my exercise. This was meant as I always said that I would enjoy my post ironman days, but maybe not for 4 months! Anyway, I aim to lose this through running and other exercise which I don’t see as a hardship, and as my recent Men’s Running feature showed, that I’ve done it once, and I can continue to manage my weight through exercise.
I also want to focus on nutrition. I don’t really eat too badly, I eat home cooked meals through the week, I will eat out at restaurants and pig out on junk but usually this is in moderation and also after exercise. What I want to do is eat more lean, reduce my carbs as this is about 70% of what I eat which is crazy. I want to focus on the good foods. This should not be read as ‘Glenn is going on a diet’ but merely eating less bad and eating more good.
My real aim is to lose some body fat and increase muscle mass and I think by not doing endurance cardio, I can be a bit more focused on building the muscle. As with muscle gains, hopefully I will be a stronger runner.
So that’s my goals as it were. They’re not SMART, as in they’re not really measurable and I mean this, as I really want to just see my progression but not be worried about not hitting a goal.
I do aim to PLAN though. I will publish my plan and will attempt to stick to it. Having a plan is a good idea, as it allows you to focus, so maybe the goal is to stick to a plan and see where that takes me.
