A Tale of Two Races

So I’m a goal-based guy. I love goals, LOVE THEM. I love having them; I DEFINITELY love achieving them. As I was thinking about my goals for 2021, I wanted to have my physical fitness take a serious role. The obvious goal was to sign up for a race and challenge myself; I was planning on signing up for two. I thought that I would be able to do a 5K race in April and then a 10K race in October. For my longer-term readers, you will know that I’ve done a couple of races before. Indeed I’ve even reported on one of them. The problem is that because COVID-19 is (as of this post) still a serious issue that needs to be dealt with. Most of the races typically in my city are either cancelled or moved to virtual events. There is something to the energy you get when you are racing along with other competitors that would be missed in a virtual event. TO BE CLEAR, I’m IN NO WAY advising that people get together in groups and go running. We have got to get this pandemic sorted before we can do that again.

That being said, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. If I don’t have the thought of running with other competitors and the crowds to motivate me, I’ll have to motivate myself! I can still do the walking and running around the streets, and I’ve got a great circuit that I can use. I’ve got a great couple of playlists to get me moving and a decent pair of sneakers to keep me there.

1) Peloton as my trainer – I like the Peloton program. I’ll be honest, Last year, I slacked off a lot of my Peloton usage, But I”m getting back on it now. Partially because I want to do the work that I was willing to do to go on the races, and the Peloton Tred (their Treadmill system) is coming to Canada in February, and I’m SUPER stoked about that. I’ve always wanted to have a treadmill, and having one with the Peloton program would be just awesome.

2) Keeping myself accountable – The point of having the actual races was to have an endpoint that I could work towards. Now that I’m doing this myself, I’ve had to figure out how I can measure my progress and track my journey. My inner nerd (and spreadsheets) to the rescue. I’ve got a sheet set up that will track my exercises this year and, hopefully, will show my progress throughout the year. I’ve also got my amazing wife, who’s going on this journey with me and a great motivator. She encourages me exactly how I need it, and she’s a great coach and cheerleader.

3) Keeping with the Apps – There are loads of useful apps out there for run tracking and motivation, and I’m probably going to dabble with most of them. Certainly, the ones I find most useful I’ll be reporting back on. I like the apps because there are data integration and the ability to make everything available in one spot. I’m certain I will be talking later this year in more detail about app integration and making sure that everything works together.

The fact of the matter is the plans change. Something like a global pandemic is something that I didn’t plan for. It just means that I have to change my plans. Changing plans is fine; the trick is to adapt. To that end, I’ve been working with the Peloton App (and others) to get my fitness into gear. I’m going to continue to train like I am going to have a race in my future, and I’m hopeful that one day soon, I will have the ability to participate in one with all the other runners around me.

What are your fitness goals this year?

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