The Fete Blog

a study in texture, no. 1

February has come and gone; we’re on the cusp of spring, I can feel it! And with a new month comes a new set of goals. I don’t know how you like to set your goals, but I’m loving this month-by-month goal-setting. Keeping my focus small, on mini-tasks and improvements and habits, helps me stay refreshed and excited about the task at hand and every time I get to look back at a month’s goals and look forward to a new set of tasks, I feel much more accomplished.

no. 2

March is going to be an exciting month for Team Jefferson– we’re going to train for the entire month at altitude, in Flagstaff, Arizona! I’ve never trained at altitude before, so it’s a brand new adventure that will really test me physically and mentally. We’re going to stay at a house with the group of guys we train with every day; being in close proximity will definitely have its ups and downs. Training at altitude is extremely demanding physically; there’s less oxygen up there, so avoiding burnout and breakdown is going to be crucial. I’ve never had a chance to really, really get away from it all and FOCUS on training in such a physical way and I know it will test me mentally.

So, with that in mind, my goals for March are all about introspection and outreach. Big things are on the horizon, for this blog, for my “brand,” for my life goals– so I really want to use this time away to break down the big picture into tiny, digestible bits.

no. 3

1. Make connections. Remember when I talked about giving each month a theme? February was all about gathering inspiration. I want March to be about reaching out– to photographers I want to collaborate with or work for, to people I admire, to publications I want to contribute to. There are so many things on my to-do list that require the help and contribution of other fabulous people– now is the time to start putting myself out there! Writing letters, sending texts, having those long phone calls with people I love and miss is another big to-do– it’s so frustrating when you make a mental note to call an old friend and never seem to get around to it.

2. Do a brand audit. My version will probably not be as scientific and official as real designers or creatives go about it, but this month, I really want to articulate to myself what I’m all about, what the goals of this blog are, and how I’m going to put it all together. I’m embarking on a big redesign process with a designer I totally love, so digging through all the inspiration and examples I have, figuring out what I want to contribute to the world, and what I want that all to look like is the first order of business! I’m excited to really take a chance, be vulnerable, and take a long look at what I’m doing and how I can improve.

no. 4

3. Be ultra feminine. Remember when I said I was going to be living with a group of guys all month? Sharing a kitchen and bathrooms and training ALL THE TIME could definitely lead to me dressing down and being super jock-y while I’m in Arizona. It’s so tempting to just spend all day in sweatpants, no makeup, comfortable shoes. But I’m a girl– and a girly girl at that. Since getting married and dedicating more of myself to training, I seem to have misplaced all my dresses, heels, and makeup. Time to get back to my roots! If you have any easy beauty tips for me, please share…

4. Work harder than ever. This is it– this is a huge opportunity for me to become the best athlete I can be. I hit a wall last year, emotionally and mentally, when it came to my running and it affected me negatively. I didn’t accomplish my dreams. I’m doing better, mentally, but something like this is an opportunity that I can’t waste. I need to really want it and I need to really get to work. But there are other things as well– the blog and the brand, like I mentioned above, need work. My wife skills need work. My friendship skills, my time management skills, my creativity. I need to get to work! And that’s not scary– it’s exciting.

March, here you are– let’s get to work! What are your goals for the month? I’ll be cheering you on!