New Year Resolutions

This photo is my motivation for 2016. A lot of you might be asking why a photo taken by Delly Carr of Annabel Luxford winning Ballarat Ironman 70.3 is motivation for me but when you take a closer look at the photo you see a lot more. Blurred in the background of obviously a very happy Annabel is a very disappointed me coming to cross the line.

This photo will for me be a constant reminder that you have to be on your A game at all times in this sport and that there is no better feeling than crossing that line and being satisfied. The feeling of satisfaction far outweighs the feeling of disappointment and whenever there is a session that I think is too hard or a day where I don't feel like training this is the photo I'm going to be thinking of.

I've never been a fan of New Year's Resolutions but I am a big believer in settling goals and coming off a break in training it is the perfect time to sit down and look at what 2016 could bring. My racing plans are still a work in progress and I have no doubt will continually change throughout the year depending on training, results and what is available. One thing that is for sure is that I want to build on 2015 and go on to bigger and better things. I focused on the half-ironman distance all year and will continue to do that this year. While there will still be a few standard and sprint distance events they will all be in preparation for the longer events.

I had a lot of top 10 results in 2015 but didn't take that next step and come away with a standout performance to put me on the podium or take the win. This is obviously a goal for this year. I put myself in a position to win in plenty of races but just didn't land that killer blow to my competitors. What athlete doesn't enjoy winning!

And of course a goal that is no doubt high on a lot of Australian athletes lists this year is to race at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Mooloolaba. A lot of things need to happen before I can tick this goal off the list but it is a goal that I think I can achieve if I do all the little things correctly in day to day training.

For now it is all about doing the little things on a daily basis as I've now entered my first week back of structured training and boy is it a shock to the system! Doing everything from training, recovery, nutrition and the business side of things as professionally as I can is no easy feet but a challenge I thrive on every single day.