Goals for July 2016
Good morning and welcome to JULY! I had an awesome weekend in Kingston, doing a bit of exploring and a lot of tapering for the IRONMAN 70.3 NEXT WEEKEND!
I can hardly believe we are this far into the summer already, but it just means that it is time to take a look at some of my goals for the month and investigate how I did on my goals I set for last month.
Master some technical pieces at a triathlon training camp. A++
You can see the entire recap here but it was a fantastic opportunity to learn details on climbing hills correctly on the bike and learn some open water swim techniques.
Do a practice triathlon test – F
I ended up not doing the Welland triathlon, but I have snuck in quite a few solid training weekends and am feeling fully confident for the race!
Sleep 8 hours a night – B
Guys – I tried SO HARD for this one. It is sometimes really hard to get all the training, work day and socialising in and still get the minimum amount of recovery sleep hours that I should have. I chose not to do a few things in the evening and I tried to limit my cell phone use as it got closer to my bedtime. Baby steps, but I probably averaged closer to 7.5 hours a night. What do you do to get the proper number of hours of sleep a night?
Wear sunblock when I am training outside – A
Although I don’t know why I even try. I miss areas and end up with the most bizarre tan lines, including my most recent lower back burn on my lower back from my cycling jersey riding up on a hot afternoon ride.
I am fairly pleased with June and I have some big goals on the horizon for July:
Successfully complete my first 70.3 Ironman.
It is so hard to believe that I will be lining up to race this coming weekend. Because it is my first one, my only goal is to do my best and finish strong! I want to execute a smart race and prime for my next big race – the Lululemon half marathon in Vancouver!
Drink a cup of water in the morning before anything else.
My love of coffee is getting a little out of hand and my water consumption is taking a back seat. Instead of setting a daily glass limit, I will just try and have it be the first thing I drink in the morning, no matter how great my fresh pot of coffee is smelling.
Add some speed training and half marathon specific work.
I’ve loved the half ironman training cycle but I am excited to get back to the track and run a couple speedy road races and time trials leading up to Seawheeze in August.
Try a completely new-to-me race.
More details soon…
Work on my orienteering and paddling.
The week after the half ironman, I am joining some local friends for an adventure racing training camp weekend put on by Hammer Nutrition. We will be paddling, orienteering, mountain biking, trail running and ending the day with some BBQ ribs and home brews. Basically all of the best things of summer rolled up into one day.
What is on your list of goals for July?
OMG I can’t believe it’s next week!!! I was actually just talking to a friend on the weekend about how you’re doing your first half and that I figured it must be coming soon – like really soon! I’ll be thinking of ya and sending you all the good luck vibes, although I know you don’t need it because you’re SO ready for this! For me, July is about doing all sorts of different fitness activities – lots of hiking, some new classes, and strength training. Oh and sleep – that’s always a goal!
Thanks. At this point, I have put in so much training that I am just ready to be DONE.
Sleeping 8 hours is an ongoing goal for me too! And I have also partly failed! Haha. I wake up at 5 am to workout so I have to go bed by 9 pm… which is especially hard in the summer, when there’s so much to do and it is so light out!
I’ve been trying to not schedule something every night of the week, which definitely helps, or hanging out with people after work that also go to bed super early! Now that I’ve been getting 8 hours more often, I just feel so, so much better so that’s generally the best motivation to keep doing it.
July goals: keep on with marathon training, getting more sleep, and exploring 🙂
Getting enough sleep in the summer is the HARDEST. Best of luck on that marathon training!