Goals for September 2017

I don’t know about you, but I always find that September is a month of hustle. You may remember I took a more relaxed approach to goals in August and but it was full of vacations, family things and big new endeavours. September is hitting like a load of bricks with busy weeks and either racing or travelling every weekend. Every year for me, September is a buckle-up-and-hold-on-tight kind of month which is why I like to keep August and October fairly chill.

Before I look at what I am wanting to accomplish in September, this is how I did for August.

Have a vacation in BC and compete in the Duathlon World Championships

Being in the mountains was the best vacation. The race was a fun kick off but the mountains were the real event. I can honestly say I couldn’t have played harder out there and I already can’t wait to go back.

Enroll in a course

I am doing a course this fall for work from the University of Toronto. It has been 5 years since I have been in university and although I was grateful for the break to grow my career, I am now in a place where I want to keep building on what I know professionally. I have enrolled in a program that specializes in public relations which is the field I am in. I spent the first half of the year focusing on athletics and the second half more of my professional life. I like the rhythm and balance that this provides and I think I will continue this formula going forward.

Read more books

Yes yes! I spent a lot of time reading last month. I am blessed with the ability to read while someone else is driving so I let Mark deal with the mountain roads and when I wasn’t oogling mountain ranges, I had my head in a book. I read 3 books cover to cover last month which is a significant improvement over the half of one that I normally am dealing with.

September, I have a few more goals in mind.

Take up a new cycling sport

Earlier this year, I purchased the Liv Brava cross bike and I have been loving it. I have been primarily using it for gravel grinding and commuting rides but I wanted to try something new. I will be trying to learn the ins and outs of cross racing which will be a challenge given my current sense of timing and coordination but I am excited to be a beginner again. It is always a humbling experience at first but NOTHING beats that feeling of finally mastering something you have been working hard at.

Compete in a brand new race style

I am a bit at a loss for this one. This weekend, I will be headed to Sheenboro, Quebec to compete in the Amphibious Challenge as a team and it is a bit outside my comfort zone. I will be racing with my friend and incredible swimmer Ignacio Castillo. We have done a few practice workouts together where we swim together and work on the quick transition from water to land but the swimming as a team thing is the greatest challenge for me.

We have practised with me swimming at his side but I couldn’t quite nail the breathing rhythm so we have settled on the less streamlined, but more effective for me option of drafting off his feet. He will know the speed to swim by my hands hitting his feet (I am going to have to be aggressive with it because we are swimming wearing our shoes.)

No matter how it goes, I am looking forward to the adventure of trying something new and I can guarantee that it will strengthen my swimming for triathlon which I love.

Complete the USARA National Championships

This may be the first 24 hour + adventure race that I am ONLY excited for. The USARA National Championships are held in Pennsylvania, USA and it is a 30-hour course. Not only have I raced in PA before and know the pain I am getting myself into, but I have raced with Brad and Ed before and trust them entirely. It will be an interesting race for sure as it is held the same weekend as the biggest work event of the fall for me. I am racing on the Friday to Saturday, leaving Saturday night and arriving at work to kick start a whirlwind three-day event. I have done wiser things in my life but this was an important race for me and I am chalking it up to making memories.

I have been doing lots of strength, I am riding out the endurance I gained from my ironman training and I am stronger in my mountain biking than I have ever been. I am feeling ready and completely excited to compete against the best teams in the USA.

Get all of the details sorted around the new property

So I bought a property last month and there are a ton of details involved in being both a landlord and a new property owner. I have two months to get my life sorted in this area and I am giving myself mainly September to do it so October is reserved for any emergencies. It’s a great new challenge – I love learning new things and getting outside of my comfort zone and this certainly gives me a whole lot of both.

Focus on family time

Our family didn’t take a big vacation this year so we have three mini-vacations split up between now and November. This month, there are two of them and I am looking forward to spending some time with my little crew, especially that my sister is back from treatment in Miami. We are going exploring in Tobermory, ON and doing some wine tours in Niagara, ON and spending a week at a cottage near Blue Mountain, ON. 

I have jumped back to 5 goals for this month and I am looking forward to each of them.

What are your goals for September?

Reading while driving: love or hate? 

If you have competed in cross racing or a swim-run race, any tips for a newbie?