Relishing the Two-Oh-Eleven

Ludicrous Resolutions

Many of us lose sight of our New Year Resolutions by the time March or April comes around as we get lost in our normal daily activities. Only until November or December is when we realize the resolutions we've once declared our commitment to failed. And another cycle comes when we create more and new resolutions every year. That's why the "Ludicrous New Year Resolutions" has such a nice ring to it. It's ridiculous, like we're playing mind games with ourselves thinking we're doing good for ourselves until it becomes worthless when we don't act. It's only better to make mini resolutions or rather, goals each month and success will be likely.

I'm just going to go ahead and jot down my resolutions... just for funs, so I can go back to it and see if I've met them by December 2012. I'm going to stick with realistic goals as I feel I'll accomplish most of them because they're my dream requirements, obviously. They won't be ludicrous and I am not going to associate any of them with food, the most common resolutions people make. I'm not going to lie--food is certainly my weakness and a year is just too damn long to be depriving myself of anything or set a strict eating regimen. I just stick to eating healthy 90% of the time. I have a life and those 10% of the time, I'll eat whatever my mind, cravings, and tummy please, thank you.

Resolution #1: Take the GRE.  (I'd also mention 'scoring high on the mathematical and quantitative reasoning part' but unfortunately, I'm a sucker at math.)

Resolution #2: Crush the PF Chang's Rock n Roll Half Marathon with a time of sub-2:00.

Resolution #3: Submit graduate school applications. Fingers crossed for SDSU, at least out of GWU and ASU.

Resolution #4: Start studying for ACSM Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification

Resolution #5: Continue and strive to be the best athlete I can be with patience, determination and focus.

Resolution #6: Read inspirational books for future preparations.

Resolution #7: Get involved in cardiology (i.e., internship)

Resolution #8: Get USAT-certified in coaching.

Resolution #9: Be grateful. Every. Day.

Resolution #10: Blog, blog, blog.... Finally a reason to practice creative thinking and writing skills!

2012 Tentative Races

Trisports.com Desert Classic Duathlon
Road Duathlon, March 10 2012

Duathlon National Championship
Sprint, April 28 2012

Iron Gear Sports Rio Salado Triathlon
Sprint, May 5 2012

TriRock San Diego
Sprint, Sept 9 2012

More to come...

Your Best Foot Forward

Found this article last night from one of my favorite websites, Competitor.com, and had to post so it'll remind me that little changes go a long way in training and racing. An interesting method of getting your feet amped up for a run!  

An effort to strengthen your feet can make the difference in your speed, form and resistance to injury.

Poor coordination of the feet is often the root cause of lower-leg running injuries. There are two main reasons for this: The neuromuscular pathway from the brain to the feet is the longest in the body, making for slow and inefficient coordination, and the small amount of muscle in the feet makes it difficult for the brain to coordinate proprioception and balance.

“There are 26 bones that make up the foot and ankle, dozens of joints and tendons that separate and move each bone,” says Dr. Kathy Coutinho, an applied kinesiologist, a certified chiropractic sports physician and an Active Release Technique (A.R.T.) provider. “A weakened structure in one area of the foot or ankle means all other tissues in the immediate area have to make up for that imbalance. Then begins the slow downward cycle of compensation and wear and tear that can lead to all sorts of nightmare injuries like the dreaded plantar fasciitis.”

By challenging the feet, you can create clearer neuromuscular pathways to the brain and therefore help prevent future injuries. The following drills will only take three minutes at the end of your warmup before every run. They should be completed in bare feet.

Six Every-Run Drills (do each for 30 seconds on a soft surface)

1. Invert: Walk on the outside of your foot.
2. Evert: Walk on the inside of your foot.
3. Adduct: Walk pigeon-toed, or with your toes pointing in.
4. Charlie Chaplin: Walk with your toes pointing out.
5. High heels: Walk backward on your toes.
6.Heels: Walk on your heels—do this one with shoes to prevent bone bruising.