Mentally checked out? Yes. Ready to move on? Yes. Cool with a vaccine? Shoot me up.
2020 has been one hell of a year for everyone. Mine has looked a little like this:
Safe to say like everyone else, 2020 has not quite been my year. However, even with all the bad I still think 2020 has given some good, and rather than share my goals or new year resolutions for 2021 (because honestly, I'm not sure my hopes are super high for a change in the new year just yet) I'm sharing the things from 2020 I'm taking with me into 2021. None of these habits are crazy accomplishments by any means, but they're the ones I think I'm most proud of this past year.
Catch some ZzZ with a routine
Sleep is the backbone of my recovery routine and it should be yours too. While I'd never had issues with sleeping before, this summer was a real challenge in getting in my 8-10 hours. Blame it on the discomfort from my injections or the constant low-grade stress or the fact that I was never really that tired after doing pretty much nothing most days, but whatever it was it made sleeping at night a challenge.
I started keeping to a strict(ish) bedtime routine including turning my phone off by 8:30, creating a skincare routine that I actually kept to, popping some magnesium 20 minutes or so before hitting the hay, using an eye mask to block out all the light. My sleep is still hit or miss some nights, but keeping in the routine has helped me unwind at the end of the day better than before.
Keep a space for working out
If you ask Max one of my "bad" habits is that I am constantly moving furniture. Every few months or so I get the itch to move things around and switch up the layout of primarily our living room. Change is good, right? One thing I haven't changed though is keeping a small dedicated space in our apartment for working out. It's where I roll, stretch, and do my physical therapy. Pre-pandemic I liked to pop down to our gym to roll and stretch, but with spaces limited and time restraints that just hasn't happened.
Contrary to popular belief it's pretty easy to be lazy and skip the little things even when it's part of your job to do them (working out is not always fun). Not having that dedicated space to go to was making it even easier to not do things. It's harder to ignore or forget when you have a dedicated space to do things.
Collagen. Every damn day.
In July I began taking collagen religiously after being recommended it by my physical therapist and orthopedic to supplement my return to running. After trying a lot of them I stuck with the Vital Proteins Original Collagen Peptides. Now my daily routine includes a morning cocktail of two scoops of vital proteins, a few drops of Thorne Vitamin D/ K2, and a tab of Nunn shaken, not stirred, in a bottle and sipped before I go workout.
More sunscreen
Skincare has been a big one for me this year. I've made a BIG effort to start caring for it and part of that's meant being more intentional about wearing sunscreen every day. These are the ones that have been keeping me sun burn and sun damage free:
For working out:
EltaMD UV Clear Face hands down the best, stays put with a mineral-based formula
For day to day wear:
Coola Classic Face Organic smooths on easy and smells great
Supergoop! Sun-Defying Oil I keep this one in my bag to spritz on before coaching, blends super easily and stays in place
juice Beauty clearing collection it's a daily moisturizer and sunscreen in one
Gratitude
This year if any has been an easy one to feel ungrateful for. It's easy to complain and it's easy to feel sad for yourself, it's hard to find the good and be grateful for what you do have. In February while at the Run Summit UA put on for us in Portland one of the topics discussed was mental health in relation to performance. One speaker touched on being present as well as practicing gratitude, something that as an athlete always looking for the next big thing is easy to let slip.
She suggested waking up each morning and thinking about three things you're grateful for. It might sound a little silly to do, but I started it back in February and soon found myself subconsciously doing it each day. It helped a lot in coming back from the injections when things felt uncertain and honestly a little bleak.
It's easy to think that like the switch of a light 2021 will be better, but as I've already been reminded via twitter of all places the changes we want in 2021 don't just happen willy nilly and while the year hasn't been great we still have plenty to be grateful for. Here's hoping we all see and accomplish the changes we seek in the new year.
See you in 2021!
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