New Year's Resolutions Revisited

 

Every year since we started Irongirl and Ultrarunning Boy, Amber and I have used the last blog of the year to hopefully inspire people to live healthier, richer and full lives.

In 2009, Amber decided to leave the year by encouraging me to get off my butt and start training for races.
Key Point:

• She encouraged everyone to refer to me as "88.6" motivating me to train enough to finish Leadville 100.

                                                      

In 2010, I encouraged everyone to vote for Amber as the fittest real athlete.
Key Point:

•  You can work a full-time job and still be incredibly fit.

In 2011 I wrote about all the elements of health and wellness needed for a well-rounded lifestyle.
Key Points:

• Prevent illness and injuries
• Perform 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week and 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week
• Brush and floss your teeth
• Sleep 7-9 hours
• Strengthen your core and joint stabilizers 3-4 days per week
• Challenge your balance
• Challenge your mind

 

In 2012 I wrote about living in the moment and the need for us to stay present in the moment.
Key Point:

• We are always so driven by the future that we very rarely just get to appreciate the moments of our lives. So for this new year join those people that you love doing the things that you love and try to think of nothing but how much you are glad for where you are at this very moment and stop worrying about the future.

In 2013 I went back and wrote again about healthy lifestyles adding the need for:

• Stress relief
• Good hygiene
• Well-balanced diet
• Finding things everyday that make us happy.

This year, I'm leaving it up to you. Find what works for you. Carve out time for yourself each and every day to do what you truly love. Maybe make this year's resolution to not have to make any more resolutions because you are living your life to the fittest and you have no regrets. Wouldn't that be great?

A Fun Run While Getting My Oil Changed.

After several weeks of procrastinating, I finally got my oil changed. I hate getting my oil changed because it takes just long enough to be annoying but not long enough to drop it off and go do something else. I usually end up just sitting and reading some car magazine or something. However, this past Saturday, I decided to try sneaking in a run during it. I go to the VIP on Manchester St in Concord which is a pretty horrendous area to try running with no sidewalks or shoulder. I thought that I was in for an awful run.

I was pleasantly mistaken. I took an immediate right out of the lot and down Integra Dr which is a dead end but at the end of it, it turned into a fireroad and then some pretty great double track trails. It had nice sweeping banked turns, a couple steep climbs(which you could avoid if you wanted) and a few areas where the trail tapered to fun single track. I, by no means, had time to explore the entire are. I could have followed the trails for hours but as I was only scheduled for an oil change, when I met up with the Suncook River I traced it back to the road.

It was certainly a better way to spent my time than sitting reading an automotive magazine. As I reached VIP, it occurred to me that Jeremy's bootcamp was almost directly across the street. He is always offering classes which you can drop in on so I probably could have arranged to get my workout there too. I guess I no longer have any excuse for not getting my oil changed on time.

 

Housekeeping Around the Holidays

Neither Amber and I have had any races recently, so not much to report on. Just a few house keeping things:)


If you haven't heard yet, Amber is a free agent! This allows her to support local companies that have helped her over the years as well as design a race schedule that makes sense for her to be competitive throughout the year and reduce risk of overuse injury. She is still definitely looking to solidify her sponsors for next year so contact her if you think you or your company would be a good match.


Her 50 Tweets Til Christmas is winding down and she's had some pretty good gems in there. If you haven't seen it yet, check out her Twitter page here.


Amber has started back up with tri swim club Saturday mornings at the Concord YMCA. If you haven't been, it really is the best way to make swimming somewhat tolerable.


Also, while Amber isn't taking on any more athletes to coach, she is doing training and fitness consultations. This is a great way to make sure you're doing all you need to meet your fitness goals.


Amber should be finalizing her race schedule in the next few weeks, and in addition to a few snowshoe races, she should have an exciting triathlon season next year including an international Ironman(since WTC eliminated several US qualifiers-including Lake Placid!- to be competitive she needs to do AT LEAST one race overseas). She or I will keep you all posted!


Oh yeah, we wish you a merry christmas, happy holidays, and/or a very happy new year!

Amber Ferreira is a Free Agent!

Amber and Maverick Multisport parted ways on amicable terms at the end of the 2014 season. The Louisville, Kentucky based team and the New Hampshire-based Amber found that they had too many conflicts with staying true to their local sponsors. While Amber says it was great to be on the team and appreciates all their support in this past race season, it makes more sense for her to strike out on her own.


She will try to retain a few key sponsors that she has worked with in the past but is currently trying to engage New England based companies in developing partnership that better represent her passions and locale.

Personally, I am looking forward to follow Amber in her 2015 race season, which looks like it will involve snowshoe championships, a 50K trail race and triathlon events of course.

Make sure to stay tuned, and contact Amber if you think you know of a company that may be a good fit.