Weekly Advice

Since I am finally not feeling sick (don't tell that to the 30 minute run I did this morning though, blech) I am allowed to feel mildly inspired, so bear with me.

I have some over-arching thoughts on what the winter means for triathletes and some of the realizations that you should come to sooner rather than later if you're interested in long term success (note that "success" can be defined however you want it. A simple notion but one that is oft-forgot).

• Don't get too caught up in what you eat or drink or do between Thanksgiving and the start of the New Year. If you don't vent a little, you'll explode. Just go watch the episodes of Mythbusters where they blow up hot water heaters to see how that looks. 
• Just remember: everything in moderation
• But it's ok to be excessive 
• on occasion
• Find some friends
• This cannot be overstated. Humans need interaction. Most do anyway. Even if it's virtual. But in reality (haha, get it) we all need some face to face. Training is best done with buddies. You'll be far happier in the long term and you'll push yourself harder, generally.
• That last bit can be a double edged sword. Be smart, don't get into too many d***-measuring contests. 
• That isn't just a guy thing, either.
• Get into some group stuff
• And I don't mean the 3 way at the house down the street, I mean the swim group that some of your friends talked about last month, or the ''Vegetarian Potluck Friend Dinners" that sounds like a lot of work but actually isn't. Go bowling. Play TopGolf. Take dancing lessons.
• Generally, don't be a dick.
• This one seems easy and straightforward, but we all forget here and there. I generally forget when I'm online somewhere like Slowtwitch. Or I get an itchy clicker finger while reading some politically-infused social media post. But usually if I just write that email, or write that post, and then refrain from publishing and erase it, I feel way better AND I wasn't a dick! 
• This one's tougher in winter because we're all generally in closer proximity with each other (especially you people in a place with a real winter; it's 75 here today FYI) and we tend to wear on each other a little more when we haven't seen sunlight in a while or our toes have been little blocks of ice cubes for the work week. 
• Wave to people on your f***ing bike ride is a good start.
• Experiment
• Do different stuff. The "routine" and "consistency" are great when it comes to life and training, but we can really only burn so many "consistency" matches throughout the year. Take some time to store up some of those matches by doing something that is NOT routine, and is NOT about consistency. 

That's enough for this post. What are some fun things you tried this fall/winter??