2016 - What does it mean for me?

I've been absent for the past few months.  There's a legit reason for this - I recently transitioned from the Q-400 to the Embraer 170 at my airline.  This meant another training event which was pretty consuming.  You'll be happy to know I passed my training with flying colors and am now just waiting on my company to get my schedule so I can finish up my actual on-line experience.

In the meantime, we're two weeks into January.  What has traditionally been a slow month for us, a lazy month, has been anything but.  We dove right into training, building up a base and getting ready for what will be an eventful, race-filled season.

To help us with this, we hired our friend Corie as our coach.

Corie is an excellent triathlete, finished many Ironmans, a Boston Marathon qualifier, and someone who has a zest for life.  Recently relocated to Bend, she is exploring the outdoors on a daily basis with her kids and husband, and is someone who both T and I fully trust with our season.

We hired her because in addition to trusting Corie, she believes in us.  She knows there's so much potential in these bodies.  She came to IMAZ to cheer us on in 2013 and has been a supporter from afar.  Long story short, I know that in 2016 we're going to need guidance and help to get to where we want to be, and Corie is going to be that crutch.

So anyway, what do I want out of this year?  

Back to Basics
Triathlon and training has to be fun for me.  Plain and simple.  If the sport isn't fun, I won't do it.  Why would you, right?  So I'm breaking the sport down to basics.  Taking it one day at a time.  I'm armed with a couple new tools in my arsenal - a motivational playlist and a mantra that will keep me going.  

Do it Quietly
I mentioned in a post last year that I've become the pilot who is an Ironman.  And over the past couple years, I've been talking the talk without walking the walk.  This year, I don't plan on tooting my horn when I'm at work.  I don't need to.  No one at work cares at the end of the day.  It's up to me to do the training.

Discipline
I feel better when I eat better.  I feel great when I hit training goals and race goals.  To do this stuff, it will take discipline.  

Most importantly, I need to do the one thing that I love to do in this sport - RACE!  I love to race.  Over the past couple years, I've made excuses to not race.  Work mostly.  This year, I will not let the job get in my way.  While I still want to pursue my dream airline, and will attend job fairs to do so, I will be racing a lot.