Looking Forward to 2024

There were a lot of positive things in 2023. However, now that the racing is over and I've had some time to reflect, I'm ready to start thinking about 2024. What do I really want to accomplish next year? How hard am I willing to work for it? Will my enthusiasm wane in the coming months like it did last year?

Check out the "Last 365 Days" graph, the low point was in the summer
before CIM training started, don't want to get there again

This past year, there were several events where I said "Oooh, I want to do that race!!" and then I didn't sign up. Generally, I didn't register because I was feeling out of shape and overweight and I didn't want to make the effort. The event would go by, I would feel bad I missed it, and then life would go on. 

I'm In!

In an effort to keep my focus, I've already signed up for a few races, including a couple that I skipped last year.

• Dirty Duathlon (Jan)
• Jed Smith Ultra (Feb)
• Ice Breaker Triathlon (April)
• Folsom Swim Run (July)
• IRONMAN California (Oct)
• California International Marathon (Dec)

Outfit ready for the dirty duathlon

Other Potential Races

• Parkway Half Marathon (April)
• Tri for Real (at least one this year) (June)
• Urban Cow (loved this race) (Oct)
• Run the Parkway - 20 Miles (Nov)

My Goals for the 2024 

• Drop 20 pounds by the next California International Marathon. I honestly think my weight is holding me back. I think I could run with the 3:55 group if I still wasn't struggling with this extra weight.
• This goal works out to about half a pound a week for the next year. I do have a couple of interim goals to reach in terms of my weight.
• Keep track. When things start to go sideways, I immediately stop tracking because I don't want to know. Good, bad or ugly, I need to keep track of what I am doing.
• Get to 150 pounds by Jed Smith. Based on my weight this morning, that is a little less than 8 pounds or one pound a week from today (you do the math). 
• January 2024: Following Tony Horton's elimination diet from his book "Bring It!". I've done this in the past and it wasn't too bad. 
• I will also be participating in "Dry January" since it works with the elimination diet. 
• Start incorporating strength training at least 1-2 times per week. 

• PR at IRONMAN California
• My 2022 IRONMAN California time was 13:53:57 and my best 140.6 (IRONMAN Vineman) was 12:26:39, so somewhere in between those two times would be great.
• Finish my book
• 15 minutes per day devoted to the book whether its reading or editing.
• What does working on my book have to do with training you might wonder...well, it's a fictional story about a triathlete, so I'm hoping the book and the training feed off of each other :-)
• Dust off the blog. Haven't been writing as much as I used to, probably because there hasn't been anything worth writing about.