The weather’s been rough lately, and on top of that, finding time to exercise has been a challenge. But all is good because my quote unquote training plan hasn’t started yet, and if there’s ever been a moment to get my life in order before it kicks off, it’s now.

In these videos, I often find myself reminding me to keep going, to stay consistent, and to push through even when things get tough. But today, I want to highlight something that’s crucial and often overlooked: not beating myself up.

I have a tendency to be hard on myself in many areas of life. I expect a lot, and I think that’s tied to some of the childhood trauma I’m still trying to work through. Whether it’s work, family, or especially my writing, I can be my harshest critic. When I played hockey as a goalie, I would get furious with myself for every save I missed. But I’ve gotten much better at giving myself grace, especially when it comes to triathlon training.

I think the reason for that is that I always approach it with the mindset of “I’m still learning, I’m still improving,” and it’s something I genuinely enjoy. As an adult, when you start labeling yourself as a professional, expert, or specialist, there’s often this expectation that you should have all the answers, solutions, and the ability to fix or improve everything. But the reality is, even with skills and experience, not everything is within your control. The world is constantly changing, and we need to adapt.

That brings me to where I am right now: building out my 12-week training plan for the sprint triathlon in May. The race will be a 444-meter swim, a 17.6 km bike ride, and a 4.9 km run.

The plan won’t be anything too strict or complicated. My goal is to do two runs a week: one hard interval session and one easy run. I’ll also swim twice a week using the Form goggle workouts, which I’m really enjoying. For biking, I aim for two rides a week—one intense and one more relaxed. Ideally, I’d like to get outside twice a week for the bike rides, and I might even throw in an extra fun ride over the weekend. Lastly, I plan to do a weekly bodyweight strength workout.

Last year, I finished the race in 1:20:55, with the following splits:

A Swim in 11 minutes and 32 seconds. 

A bike in 45 minutes and 40 seconds, including both transitions.

And a run in 23 minutes and 44 seconds. 

I think it’s definitely possible to cut a minute from each discipline—at least that’s the goal. But if I don’t hit it, I’m not going to beat myself up about it. I won’t stress over missing a workout when life gets in the way, or if a workout doesn’t go as planned. My focus will be on having fun and improving where I can.

With that said, I’ll do my best! I’ll give my best effort to improve and hit my goals. I’ll do my best in each workout, and most importantly, I’ll do my best to share this journey with you. 

Today, I’m running a little East Van route from Van Tech High School to Emily Carr University of Art and Design. This route follows the SkyTrain and takes you through the Central Valley Greenway junction across Commercial Drive. Enjoy!

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