New Year, New Me?

Ringing in the New Year!

Happy 2013!  I know this posting comes five days after the start of the new year but I think there is a window for still wishing folks well in the new year and for finalizing resolutions (some might say goals).  And if there isn't a window, then I am declaring the entire month of January as open to well wishing and yearly goals.

I don't normally make goals.  I just take one comes at me and look for opportunities to get better or take new challenges.  However, seeing how a lot of the bloggers I follow set goals for the year and then review them at the end of the year and I find those posts to be interesting.  And, given the fact that, according to the thought, you don't know where you are going without goals to see if you get there, I will set some goals for the year. So, here goes, in no particular order:

Goal #1: Improve my brain.  Now that I am done with school for the time being, I want to continue to challenge my brain and learn.  My first step towards this goal is to sign up for lumosity with the the objective of regular training and improvement.

Goal #2: I want to read at least 1 book a month.  I read often from a variety of sources (websites, books, magazines) which distracts me from finishing the books I start.  This goal will encourage me to finish the job.

Goal #3:  Lose weight.  I want to get down to my "playing" weight of 180 this year.  I am considering joining healthywage as a way to put my money where my mouth is and make the goal real.  After changeing my diet in 2011 and losing a bunch of weight, I was pretty stagnet in 2012.  I had no real motivation to lose any more weight and towards the end of the year my diet really went in the toilet.  I need to get back on track.  In order to reach this goal, I will need to focus and do things different.

Goal #4: I need to improve my strength.  In order to take the next step in my running (and just to stay healthier), I need to improve my overall strength.  I am mulling over options (trainer, crossfit, or something else) and recognize I need to do it consitantly to see the results I want.

Dawn of New Day!

Goal #5: Racing.  I start the year with my biggest callenge to date, the Walt Disney World Marathon.  The only other race currently scheduled in the fall Market to Market relay.  In between I would like to run a couple more races of some distance (marathon, half, 10K, 5K?).  This goal depends on schedule and marathon recovery.

That's it!  Too many?  Maybe, although I have already started making concrete plans to move each of these from goals to reality.  2013 will be a great year and will set me up for more success in 2014. 

What are your goals for 2013?

Another Week Nearly in the Books

This week flew by like so many before it.  I accomplished many of the goals I set out at the beginning of the week and added a few along the way.

I worked out six of the seven days, with four days running, one crossfit weights, and one biking.  This while working all week which included travel to Atlanta and the normal dad, husband, family-type tasks.  All-in-all a successful week.  Oh, and I signed up for a marathon.

Since last fall, I have been toying with the idea of completing another marathon (my first and last being the 2002 San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon).  I have a friend who has tried to convince me for a couple of years to join him in doing the Walt Disney World Marathon and after seeing that 2013 was the 20th year for the marathon, I began to have illusions of running it.  I did pause after hurting my ankle last fall, but the feelings returned again in the past few months.

I mentioned this race a couple of times to my wife, who was not keen on my daughter missing school for the trip.  Last week, after mentioning it for the umpteenth time, I must have finally worn her down as she reconsidered and responded affirmatively.

After getting the go ahead, I didn't immediately sign up.  I thought about it some more and talked to a few trusted running friends to see if I was crazy.  Conclusion?  Yes, I am crazy -- just crazy enough to run and complete the race!

So, I signed up today and decided I wanted the extra training support (and VIP experience) that comes with the Runners World Challenge.  The registration is confirmed and now the training fun begins.

See you on the road to Orlando!