Hello 2014!

Happy New Year, everyone!  With the start of the new year comes new goals...I've thought off and on about this all year, even going as far as to keep a running list of ideas that would pop into my head on my iPhone.  Yep, I'm a bit of a geek like that.  Ha!  As I looked at my list this past week, I narrowed it down to a handful of goals that I've been thinking about for a long time.  I was going to whittle the list down to a very meaningful five, but at the last minute added one more item because...well, you'll see.

1.  Take Swimming Lessons
I've finally decided to take the dive (OK, I couldn't resist) and take swimming lessons!  I never learned as a child and have always regretted it because how the heck am I supposed to do a triathlon if I can't swim?!  Yep...I would love to do a triathlon one day...I can run and I know how to ride a bike even though I haven't done it in years...but swimming is the one discipline that eludes me.  I've signed up for adult lessons starting January 15th at the local rec centre not very far from me, which is awesome.  Am I scared?  You bet...but it's better to try than to not try at all, right?  If I can run 42.2 kilometres, I can definitely squeeze myself into a bathing suit in public.

2.  Take a CPR Course
This one was inspired by my step father in law, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year.  He had a heart attack one night while out for dinner...and for some reason it took ages for the ambulance to come.  While they were waiting, no one performed CPR on him because no one knew how.  Now it may have been that he couldn't have been saved even if CPR had been done but I would hate to be in a similar situation and stand by helplessly when I could have done something. 

3.  Volunteer for a Food Related Cause
The Year of Volunteering was a resounding success, but I was thinking that this year I'd like to expand on it and volunteer for a food related cause in addition to volunteering at races.  As someone who loves food, it truly breaks my heart to think of people who can't afford to have a nutritious, healthy meal.

4.  Improve Mobility and Posture
This past year I've been plagued by injury after injury, and it dawned on me that a lot of this was my own doing...I fully admit, I have very poor posture habits when sitting and standing which has resulted in muscle weaknesses or tightness that have contributed to all my niggling issues this year.  This year I vow to improve my alignment by doing the following things:

Foam roller the crap out of myself and stretch nightly

Work on head positioning (dang forward head)

Stand as much as possible at work and sit properly (no slouching!!!)

Work on areas of weakness to improve muscle imbalances (glutes, neck, upper back)

Work with my physio regularly

Go for regular massages

I’ve had all these bad habits for ages so it’s going to take a lot of work to fix what’s taken years to create, but half the battle is awareness and consistent application.  Game face mode:  ON.

5.  Floss Once a Day
I know...such a cliché, right?  But every time I go to the dentist, my hygienist Dave (who is awesome) always implores me to floss regularly...I've been blessed to have good teeth and he compliments me on how great my brushing is, but the flossing...not so much.  This last time I kind of realized...I take good care of my body and my health by eating well and exercising but then I slough off on flossing when it's no big deal and takes mere minutes.  I've been flossing like a rock star in the past three months and want to knock his socks off the next time I see him.

6.  Jars of Awesomeness

these jars are kinda big, but i'm planning on being pretty

darn awesome in 2014...hee hee!

What are these, you ask?  Well last year, my friend A started a gratitude jar where she wrote little notes of things she was grateful for throughout the year and then voila!  At the end of the year you have a Jar of Awesomeness.  I promptly forgot about this when planning my goals until I saw a Facebook post by Michele, the owner of my bootcamp, where she started a jar where she was going to put in one dollar for every workout she did.  Inspired by both these ideas, I'm starting my own Jars of Awesomeness this year.  It's so easy to forget all the small moments or things that happen throughout the year, so what better way to write little notes to yourself.  And what better way to have a little shopping spree fueled by your own hard work?  My bootcamp buddy D is also joining me in this endeavour...looking forward to seeing what the year brings.