It took a long time just to start typing this … as I realized that I’m not sure what I want to talk about. Why am I talking at all? Who are these words for? One clear beneficiary is my future self. My older self. Will you find me naive or prescient? How many other things will you wish I had talked about? My children. They certainly don’t look at this now, but perhaps someday they’ll have questions about me that this could answer?

I briefly described the shock of realizing that Zack was moving to California. Two years later, and … he’s back! It’s not quite the same, as they will be living in Woodenville and not three blocks away - but it’s still thrilling to have the opportunity to see each other more than 2-3 times a year. Get the kids together Attend the recitals and the big games Celebrate moments together Sneak out for a few nights on the town Meet up for a rainy, muddy run Family camping The list is endless.

That was hard. My body wasn’t quite prepared for the descents. I was in good spirits and all else was a go. I look forward to training up to this being easier, and pushing past.

Happy New Year! Another trip around the sun. I had fun explaining to my niece this morning our system of time tracking tied to celestial bodies. It all started with: “I have a question. How many Christmases in a year?” This was the first full year of triathlon training, and there were many ups and downs. I entered the year having completed my first 70.3 tri and nervous for my second (in March).

Most weeks are heavily driven by my calendar - and at the moment, a lot of external calendars as well. On Sunday, after I get my weekly plan from my coach, I align my fitness goals with my family and fortune (i.e. work.) Between Teresa using Training Peaks to prescribe my workouts, reserved gym classes I attend at SSP, the pool schedules at QA / Ballard, Taekwondo with the family, and finally, work - not to mention the ad-hoc - this takes some juggling.

Over eight years later - starting out with only six habits to focus on, then 12, and now up to 18 - I’m still a daily Streaks user and determined to keep improving. My sister Katrina often asks me about my habits, so this is dedicated to her. If it does someone else good, that’s awesome, otherwise I’m happy with the time capsule to myself. This blog entry satisifies Journal and Finish, as I consider my blog to be a public journal entry, and I have a recurring monthly todo I can check off.