Greetings from Honduras! I’m on holiday but I’m thinking of all of you and getting this going again for all of us. I am not just the “coach†as RandMart puts it, I’m also definitely a participant this year. 2022 was, under no uncertain terms, a total shitshow for me. Death, trauma, family ish, working myself ragged with my new (and own!) tri team, the list goes on. One of my saving graces has been to head out socially with friends. And by socially I mean having a couple of drinks and let the stress melt away. So, allow me to rack my bike next to yours in this transition!
We are keeping this streak alive, with the annual SlowTwitch Dry January “challenge”! 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 (Clash vs Ironman, 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:
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.
Take this extra time to tune into your body. We all love data- keep track of your resting HR, 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!
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.
If you manage to succeed in staying dry for 31 days, that’s 8.5% of your year spent sober. Woohoo!
I’ve been a member for a long time (I remember when the forum was just one message-threaded HTML page), but drifted away from tris and the forum over the years. Somehow I stumbled across this thread last year and enjoyed reading it, and I’m glad to see it’s back this year. I’ve had a Dryuary streak going for a few-to-several-years now and am planning on keeping it going. My own personal version this year also includes cutting down on carbs and ramping up swim training, so I’m probably going to be a wreck by the middle of the month.
Over the past 6 months I have re-evaluated my alcohol consumption and significantly decreased it. I went from having 2 or 3 beers, at least, a night almost every night or some bourbon. Recently I have basically completely cut out alcohol during the week and also do not drink as much on the weekend either. I am going to partake in dry January for the first time in 2023 and look forward to following this thread for support and hearing about everyone else’s journey.
I’m all the way in for dry January and even considering a full 90 days sober to start the year. Hopefully the sobriety will help me hit the pool early each morning which is another goal of mine.
Thanks for making this an annual ST event. I did it last year, much to my surprise! In again this year - but starting on the 3rd because the 2nd is a holiday. I have Mrs. glorgitd committed this year, too. I’ll be measuring the liquid level in her bourbon bottle! Happy New Year, everyone!
2022 was also a garbage year for me (death, illness, injury, etc) exacerbated by trying to drink that all away. I tried and failed the no alcohol January last year, but I’m currently 12 weeks alcohol free and have never felt better. Now I’m just plugging away at getting some fitness back.
After the new years countdown last night (live I. Ireland) I went to the garden and poured my remaining few beers down the sink. I knew I’d drink them if they were there. This itself felt like a minor victory. I love beer and especially craft beer and this will be hugely challenging for me.
After the new years countdown last night (live I. Ireland) I went to the garden and poured my remaining few beers down the sink. I knew I’d drink them if they were there. This itself felt like a minor victory. I love beer and especially craft beer and this will be hugely challenging for me.
Proud of you! Also excellent fertilizer for the garden.
We’re all on this together. I have a weekly potluck at a local brewery so you’re not alone with this specific challenge.
After the new years countdown last night (live I. Ireland) I went to the garden and poured my remaining few beers down the sink.
In Ireland? They’ll throw your ass in jail for shit like that!!! LOL
You people and my wife are the only ones that know about this. I don’t know what the consensus is on the matter, but in my opinion, staying off the beer for a month is harder than an Ironman.