Well, Hello there Everyone!
Greetings from DC!
It’s that time of year, where I come back to the forum to put on my coaching hat for the next month and change. As always, I’m here to offer up my personal anecdotes to help those of you on the fence to participate to opt in, and to also air my grievances up front (hey isn’t there another challenge here that does that…?).
I did the math, and 2024 will mark a decade of Dry Januarys for me. They’ve all looked slightly different over the years, but there’s one way this one will be far different than the others. I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to do it with enthusiasm for so long, and the years definitely got easier as time went by. Some of that was muscle memory, some of that was easy January goings-on and recently a LOT of that had to do with all of YOU who helped keep me accountable. So, thank you!
If you’ve been following along on the forum you know that one of my biggest challenges during this month has been being married to a person who absolutely did not participate in this month. It always caused a lot of stress, seeing things from a cleaned lens from the outside looking in for this period. And no amount of pleading, encouraging, etc could move that needle with either him or his family. Alcohol-fueled and alcohol-involved episodes escalated to the point where I found my threshold. Actually my threshold pressed hard into my ribs, squeezing the air out of me. So, I left.
It’s been an interesting year. I’ve lived mostly by my standards of drinking which I’ve established here over the years- never drinking alone, choosing which days to partake based on rest days, quality over quantity, etc. So, it was an adventure for me. I discovered amazing wines before symphonies, had beer than never tasted so good after the Wednesday Night Hammerfest, and achieved a state of zen-like calm and buzzed-like joy that I hadn’t experienced in a long time without feeling any "need" to drink. Therapy probably also helped tremendously with that last part. But, here I am, ready to blow the whistle at midnight on Monday morning and start this challenge for us again.
This time, I’ve got behind the scenes reinforcements. Shock of shocks, I’ve met someone who also not only does Dry January, but also Dry February, and Dry March. It’ll be interesting having someone be the angel on my shoulder for a change! I don’t plan to make it through March, but I will attempt to go until at least my birthday at the beginning of that month (which will also be a combined “Jubilation Day” party).
So, who’s in?
Let's start the year off on the right foot, in control of one of our controllables and investing in ourselves early on.
One of the main success points that we have every year is the teamwork and camaraderie. We all cheer each other on, either publicly in this thread or privately through our DMs. I'm grateful that it's the one time of year that we can all put our differences aside (Blumie vs Sam Long, Cervelo vs Specialized, etc) and do something good for ourselves.
If you're playing along for the first time, or are just now coming out of your post-holiday fog and need a refresher, here's how this goes:
1. I'll be posting a check-in here every day throughout January. Feel free to read along, nod silently in agreement, or check in yourself for accountability. If you don't feel comfortable checking in publicly, I offer you my personal pompoms and private message inbox every day you need it.
2. Take this extra time to tune into your body. We all love data- keep track of your resting HR and HRV, hours slept, quality of sleep, how many chocolate chips you snarfed because you're missing your after dinner ritual, and how well you're otherwise staying hydrated. There are lots more metrics too, so share with the class what you're experiencing!
3. The goal of this month is to evaluate your relationship with alcohol. Some people will come into this thread to tell us that drinking is wrong and gross and we're awful humans for enjoying a nice single barrel bourbon every so often (come on, this IS the ST forum after all), but many others will share inspiring stories about their sobriety and encourage us to fulfill our promise to ourselves this month and potentially beyond. And, several of us will also discuss our favorite beverage of choice- the one that gets us through this month, and the one we're looking forward to after this period ends. Quality over quantity is a common theme here.
4. If you manage to succeed in staying dry for 31 days, that's 8.5% of your year spent sober. Woohoo! And if you follow my trajectory, it'll be 62 days dry to kick off the year!
Are you ready? Let's goooooo!
Level II USAT Coach | Level 3 USAC Coach | NASM-CPT
Team Zoot | Tailwind Trailblazer
I can tell you why you're sick, I just can't write you an Rx
Greetings from DC!
It’s that time of year, where I come back to the forum to put on my coaching hat for the next month and change. As always, I’m here to offer up my personal anecdotes to help those of you on the fence to participate to opt in, and to also air my grievances up front (hey isn’t there another challenge here that does that…?).
I did the math, and 2024 will mark a decade of Dry Januarys for me. They’ve all looked slightly different over the years, but there’s one way this one will be far different than the others. I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to do it with enthusiasm for so long, and the years definitely got easier as time went by. Some of that was muscle memory, some of that was easy January goings-on and recently a LOT of that had to do with all of YOU who helped keep me accountable. So, thank you!
If you’ve been following along on the forum you know that one of my biggest challenges during this month has been being married to a person who absolutely did not participate in this month. It always caused a lot of stress, seeing things from a cleaned lens from the outside looking in for this period. And no amount of pleading, encouraging, etc could move that needle with either him or his family. Alcohol-fueled and alcohol-involved episodes escalated to the point where I found my threshold. Actually my threshold pressed hard into my ribs, squeezing the air out of me. So, I left.
It’s been an interesting year. I’ve lived mostly by my standards of drinking which I’ve established here over the years- never drinking alone, choosing which days to partake based on rest days, quality over quantity, etc. So, it was an adventure for me. I discovered amazing wines before symphonies, had beer than never tasted so good after the Wednesday Night Hammerfest, and achieved a state of zen-like calm and buzzed-like joy that I hadn’t experienced in a long time without feeling any "need" to drink. Therapy probably also helped tremendously with that last part. But, here I am, ready to blow the whistle at midnight on Monday morning and start this challenge for us again.
This time, I’ve got behind the scenes reinforcements. Shock of shocks, I’ve met someone who also not only does Dry January, but also Dry February, and Dry March. It’ll be interesting having someone be the angel on my shoulder for a change! I don’t plan to make it through March, but I will attempt to go until at least my birthday at the beginning of that month (which will also be a combined “Jubilation Day” party).
So, who’s in?
Let's start the year off on the right foot, in control of one of our controllables and investing in ourselves early on.
One of the main success points that we have every year is the teamwork and camaraderie. We all cheer each other on, either publicly in this thread or privately through our DMs. I'm grateful that it's the one time of year that we can all put our differences aside (Blumie vs Sam Long, Cervelo vs Specialized, etc) and do something good for ourselves.
If you're playing along for the first time, or are just now coming out of your post-holiday fog and need a refresher, here's how this goes:
1. I'll be posting a check-in here every day throughout January. Feel free to read along, nod silently in agreement, or check in yourself for accountability. If you don't feel comfortable checking in publicly, I offer you my personal pompoms and private message inbox every day you need it.
2. Take this extra time to tune into your body. We all love data- keep track of your resting HR and HRV, hours slept, quality of sleep, how many chocolate chips you snarfed because you're missing your after dinner ritual, and how well you're otherwise staying hydrated. There are lots more metrics too, so share with the class what you're experiencing!
3. The goal of this month is to evaluate your relationship with alcohol. Some people will come into this thread to tell us that drinking is wrong and gross and we're awful humans for enjoying a nice single barrel bourbon every so often (come on, this IS the ST forum after all), but many others will share inspiring stories about their sobriety and encourage us to fulfill our promise to ourselves this month and potentially beyond. And, several of us will also discuss our favorite beverage of choice- the one that gets us through this month, and the one we're looking forward to after this period ends. Quality over quantity is a common theme here.
4. If you manage to succeed in staying dry for 31 days, that's 8.5% of your year spent sober. Woohoo! And if you follow my trajectory, it'll be 62 days dry to kick off the year!
Are you ready? Let's goooooo!
Level II USAT Coach | Level 3 USAC Coach | NASM-CPT
Team Zoot | Tailwind Trailblazer
I can tell you why you're sick, I just can't write you an Rx
