Golden Voices and Living By The 80/20 Rule

Sports
It looks like Ted Williams, the homeless man with the voice of gold, has several offers coming his way. The Cleveland Cavaliers confirmed that they’ve offered him a job, and it also seems the NFL is looking to do the same. I thought the best part of that video was how he described his fascination with radio, and his candidness about why he is where he is today. Even though it’s only a 90-second clip, this seems like a guy who deserves a second chance. I’ll keep you updated on him as we get news about what opportunity he snaps up.

Life
This year I made a New Year’s Resolution. I don’t normally do that. usually I’m smack in the middle of training for one race or another, so I don’t feel like I need to make any major changes. This year, I’ve just finished one race, and am trying hard to get motivated for what’s on the horizon. While I’m relatively healthy, I can see the patterns that have brought my parents to an unhealthy lifestyle manifested in myself. Having kids, more than one job, and a foundation of unhealthy snacking has them trying to re-learn healthy habits as they near 60 years old.

I don’t want that for myself, and decided that this year I’d make some healthy, but not drastic, changes. My biggest weakness is motivation. With food, I don’t ‘binge and purge’ , but when there is something on a menu that I want (namely french fries, or anything covered in cheese), I order it. For the last couple years I have been frustrated with my lack of willpower over those foods. With working out, I can usually force myself to do what’s necessary to train for a race, but the minute it’s over, my motivation goes out the window and I fight a daily battle trying to get myself to do any kind of exercise.

So this year, I am using the new year as motivation, but also switching a few things up. My goal is to adhere to the 80/20 rule… make the right decision 80% of the time. I figure if on most days I eat healthy, watching my fat intake and calories, then 1) I don’t need to give up my one soda a day (I don’t drink coffee) and 2) I can eat french fries guilt-free from time to time. Making this kind of eating a habit is my goal, so that I don’t go through weeks where I eat nothing but fast food, then feel guilty about it for another month. I am blessed to be in reasonably good shape for a 35-year old, and I want to keep that going.

With respect to working out, I’m going to start mixing it up. Even though I have Ragnar Del Sol coming up at the end of February, and hopefully the Las Palomas triathlon at the end of April, I want to mix things up a bit more. Instead of just swimming, biking and running, I’m going to mix in a boot camp three times a week with my co-workers and hope to start hiking once a week. This will keep exercising fun and keep me from getting in a rut where I’ll start dreading it. I love the views from the mountains in Phoenix and we all know that working out with a group helps keep everyone accountable. My co-workers have gone on a massive shopping trip so that there are healthy snacks and lunches here, instead of the pizza, cookies and pies we lived on for the month of December.

What are your resolutions for the New Year? Do you think setting them is a pointless exercise (pardon the pun)?

Other
Two more work days until an 11-day vacation. I’m anxious about our ski trip to Winter Park, Colorado. While I’m excited, I’m far from being an expert, or even ‘comfortable’ on skis, so it should be interesting. That picture to the right is of me and my friend Mat in Flagstaff, AZ in January of 2009, the first time I’d been on snow skis since 1993. Beyond the skiing aspect, the highs are in the mid-teens, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be freezing my butt off!

I’m definitely looking forward to spending a relaxing week with Jess, though, and then heading to Rochester for a belated Kirchhoff Christmas party. I’ll try to check in tomorrow, but if I don’t, have a great couple weeks!