I ran! All by myself!

It was a beautiful 5 degrees outside when I got home from work around 5:00 p.m. today, AND it was still daylight outside! So, the first thing I did once I got inside was to steer clear of the sofa, and change into my running clothes, right away.

I got out for a nice, steady half hour run around my neighborhood, and it felt great. First run of 2012, and first run in a month, but it's a start! I'm proud of myself for exercising alone for once. And it even made me feel a lot better about the fact that I was told today that my car needs $1800 in repairs and maintenance. :(

Running is better than drugs or alcohol as a mood enhancer, that's for sure!

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Triathlon training has finally begun!

So I have made progress...I went to my first spin class of 2012! This means that my triathlon training has truly begun!

I went to World Health Club with my friend Shauna yesterday, and the hour long spin class was a clear reminder that 4 weeks off running will really reduce a person's cardio levels! The class was good, although I wanted to shoot the overly cheerful instructor every time she "Woohoo"-ed, rather incessantly. By the time I left WHC, I had signed up for a month-to-month membership. Now I'm financially motivated to get my butt to at least one, if not two spin classes each week, with the added bonus of having Shauna to work out with (again!), and I'll also have a warm and not icy place to run as well.

My friend Jinhee commented on Facebook today how triathlon training is hard, and was lamenting that she is "only" running 2x a week, swimming 2x a week and getting to one spin class. My goal is to be just like Jinhee, and hopefully do 2x spin as well, plus get in some occasional Friday night hot yoga classes, like I was doing during my half-marathon training this fall. Hot yoga is both an excellent way to stretch and a fabulous wind-down from the week that lets me start the weekend all relaxed and content.

I came across this quote yesterday on Pinterest, and I think if I reworded it with "finish each month," then I would say it's a great mantra for me for the time being!

Finish each day & be done with it. You have done what you could. Learn from it; tomorrow is a new day. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The running shoe isn't tired yet...

So my January started without a schedule...and the result has been a complete lack of any regularly scheduled running, swimming or cycling. In fact, the only exercise my body saw this month was 7 days of snowboarding and skiing, and a couple hours of basketball!

Now before I beat myself up too much, even if I haven't become a powerhouse triathlete (YET!), I am still proud of myself for some accomplishments this month. I've been skiing since I was a little girl, but for the past several years, I had become an avid snowboarder, to the point that my skis were starting to gather dust. I splurged and bought a new pair of skis at the end of November, and they've already seen 4 mountain days of skiing! The snowboard isn't completely neglected though, and got out for 3 mountain days.

My new skis ready to go on their maiden voyage at Blackcomb...

along with my purple poles from 1988!

I went to Sunshine and Kicking Horse over the New Year's weekend with a big crew of my friends, and we rang in 2012 together in Canmore, Alberta. Then I was off to Whistler/Blackcomb the next week, and got to ski with my best friend Michelle! The next weekend I was one of three teacher supervisors who took a busload of teenagers (49 this time!) to ski in Fernie, B.C. Last weekend I went to Jasper in January, and skied Marmot Basin with two of my favourite run buddies.

Snowboarding at Kicking Horse

Basketball has also come back into my life for the first time in quite some time! I played basketball in high school, and I coached junior high girls' and boys' basketball for years, but this is the first time I'm playing basketball with a team in a very long time. I played in my first game last night, and it was a lot of fun! I got in one nice layup, and our team won. And I got to feel the runner's high for the first time in weeks - I was SO happy to feel those endorphins again.

My brand spankin' new high-top basketball shoes

- my first pair in over 20 years!

So even though I haven't maintained my running from 2011, or really even begun training for my triathlon yet, I really enjoyed my January of cross-training in the mountains, and that's what I'm going to call it!

I think what I've clearly reaffirmed this month are two things: 1) I need a schedule or else I won't get out the door to exercise, and 2) I need my workout buddies to keep me on track too.

I'm planning to head to my first spin class tomorrow night, and then, big surprise, I'm heading back to the mountains for more skiing this weekend in Banff! At least the friends that I'm going skiing with are also my workout buddies, and we can sit down and draft a schedule while we're together this weekend.

If at first you don't succeed, don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. I love my friends, and I love skiing and snowboarding with them, so all things considered, I am thankful for a very fun month, and find myself very eager to get back into running and training! Really, that can only be a good thing!