It’s 2013 and I’m ready to get back into “it.” My first priority is to determine what “it” is. I feel like I really filled up my plate in 2012, and my highest priority for 2013 is to prioritize so that I can focus on what is important to me.

I wish winter in Southern Ontario could stay like this for longer than a few days!

I plan to really focus on my family as my top priority. I realize how fast my kids are growing up and I want to make the most of the time I spend with them. I also recognize more every day how important my wife and kids are to me, and why they deserve to be at the top of my list. Related to this priority is my full time work which is a necessity to help support us all. It goes without saying that this has to be at the top of my list as well.

Further down the list comes all of the other stuff on my plate – training, running, riding, blogging, social media, volunteer work, etc, etc.

Racing
I have yet to come up with a racing schedule for 2013 but am planning on doing some smaller local races, and then focusing on a couple of bigger ultra races. I had hoped to race the Salomon 5Peaks Series in Southern Ontario, but looking at the recently released schedule I already have 2 conflicts with the first 3 races. I will share my racing plans in another post once I figure out a tentative schedule.

Winter scene on one of my favourite training trails

Training
Obviously my training schedule will be dependant on my racing schedule so this is also yet to be determined. One thing I want to focus on is maximizing the value of the training time I schedule for myself. I want to take the time to come up with a training plan that is focused enough to allow me to meet my goals, but still be enjoyable because it has to be fun. I also plan to build in some more strength conditioning and cross training (cycling) to balance the running.

Another picture I took on a Saturday morning run before the crowds came out to see Niagara Falls.

Blogging/Social Media
I started my blog last year without any real direction or plan, and allowed it to evolve “naturally”. I used it to document my training leading up my goal of running a 50K race. I enjoyed the reflective process of documenting this, and was happy that a few readers were following along. I also stumbled into a role as a gear tester thanks to some great contacts I have made in the running and outdoor industry. Looking back at 2012, these gear reviews make up the vast majority of the views on my blog. Testing gear is something I like doing and I feel fortunate that both the companies and readers trust me to share my opinions. I plan to continue with this part of the blog as long the companies and readers keep coming to me. I would like to develop more structure around runbikerace.com in terms of scheduled posts and topic areas but this requires more thought before I can nail it down. I am open to suggestions from anyone who has read this far – what do you like? What don’t you like?

I have “met” lots of great people through my @runbikeraceblog twitter handle in 2012 and really like that platform for keeping up to date on news, races, athletes, and participating in some of the twitter chats. I am struggling with my facebook page and am not sure whether to work harder at this, or just leave it as is. Again, it’s all about making the best use of my limited time.

Volunteering
I was lucky enough to join up with an incredible group of people at impossible2Possible in 2012 and I am looking forward to continuing to help where I can with them. This group provides amazing opportunities for young adults and is full of amazing, inspirational people.

I am looking forward to continuing to open up parts of my life here on runbikerace.com and I hope you will continue reading. I would love it you shared my posts, followed my blog, and joined me on twitter and facebook.

Thanks so much for reading, keep it up!