What is UP?!

I last posted a month ago after my adventures in Chicago. Here's what happened in the meantime...

Chicago got colder and snowier. And someone made up the term "Polar Vortex" and now it is all everyone east of  California talks about.

California stayed warm and sunny. And the weather patterns forgot that it's supposed to rain in the winter, which means I have really really enjoyed riding my bike this winter.

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions because I always figure you don't need a new calendar year to make a life change. However, I actually made a few this year...

• Get off Facebook. Don't get me wrong - it's a great place to connect with old acquaintances or friends I've met at races. But it's easy to get sucked into thinking everyone has some picture perfect life. My life is messy and fun and has not taken me in a straight line at all, and I am ok with that. But I want to live life offline - in the great outdoors and connect with people in person.
• Help others more. Triathlon is a selfish sport - no way around it. And as a pro in order to race well, it's probably even more so. I've seen an amazing amount of kindness through the sport and when I travel. I'd like to pay some of that back. So when I'm not out training and racing this season I'm trying to find some ways to give back.
• Enjoy each moment for what it is, without fighting it. Good things come to an end and bad times will pass. I tend to want the pain to hurry up and the good things to never end. I've started to realize I am right where I am supposed to be, right now in time.

So what have I been up to in the past month? A lot of living life - training, making plans for the season, going on dates with my boyfriend, making mistakes, learning from mistakes, hanging out with girlfriends, making up for lost time where my Mom and I never got along, and enjoying the life that I have right now. My life is nothing like what I dreamed it would be 15 years ago. But once I let go of the "idea" of how I thought my life would end up, I've realized in many ways my life is much better than I ever imagined it might be.

Here's to an amazing 2014! I hope you learn a lot, chase your dreams and ride out the storms of life.