First Quarter Goal Progress

This year's goals primarily focus on cultivating healthy habits rather than setting outcomes-based resolutions.

The first quarter of the year has been largely successful for creating and maintaining various wellness habits and has also brought to light a few areas where I would like to improve. I set up a spreadsheet to track various activities and divided it by week. January 1 to March 31 makes 13 full weeks.

My first goal was to hit 70,000 steps each week, barring injury or illness, based on the Fitbit 10k/day recommendation. I'd been wearing the Fitbit since July and hitting my goals most days, but I didn't think 10k every day was an achievable goal compared to 70k/week. I didn't hit my 70k goal as often as I wanted to these three months, but I only missed it during bad migraine weeks and a few race taper and recovery weeks when I was deliberately working to keep my mileage low. Overall, my 13-week step totals average to 72,714, so that's fine by me.

I also had a goal of logging 1,000 miles walking and running in 2016. I'm at 405 miles with 9 months to go.

I'll have to reassess and reset some goals for the following months.

I got back into the swing of regular blogging with a goal of 50 posts for the whole year and am already halfway there. I like writing but typically lost steam and stop for weeks (or months) at a time. I posted 46 times in 2015 and 48 in 2014. I usually have a half dozen posts in the works and just need to finish and schedule them for the times when I have nothing new to write about. I got a head start in 2016 with finishing up 3 drafts and scheduling 5 posts in the first week.

My goal for the year was to lift 75 percent of my body weight on the assisted pull-up machine, and I hit that just after two months, so maybe I'll go for a real pull-up this year. I want to see how I progress from here before I make that an official goal.

Daily meditation and biweekly stretching/yoga just aren't happening. The step goals were easy to continue because I'd already begun the habit and was nearly hitting my new goals to begin with. Not the case for meditation and yoga. I've been trying to start a daily practice for at least 6 months and not getting more than about 3 days in a row. I guess I'll keep trying.

On track:
I'm a little over one-quarter of the way to my goal for writing gratitude lists 200 times this year and on-track to finish my feminist and racism reading lists. I've taken 4 new fitness classes already with a goal of 10 new classes for the year. My rec center has LOTS of offerings; I just need to figure out how to get a few into my training schedule.

I'm going to add a new column to specifically track the miles per week that I log running so I can keep an eye on my volume of running, whereas running and walking are combined on my Fitbit and yearly mileage goals.

Happy Mew Year

I don't really do New Year's Resolutions because it seems like nothing more than setting yourself up for failure. That said, I've signed up for some races and have a few hopes for the year.

I'll be running my first Tough Mudder, a 12-mile, multi-obstacle, team event (untimed, so not a race) in May with some coworkers. I hear it's a piece of cake compared to Spartan Races, so I may sign up for the Heels and Hills Half Marathon the day before. I completed a HandH half in 2011, but volunteers frequently stopped us along the course due to incoming hail, and the route was shortened by a half mile before I finished, so it feels hollow to say that I've completed a half marathon when I only kind of sort of have.

I'd like to get 200 participants in the Choice 5k, and this can include virtual participants. I need to pick a date and begin the permit process pretty soon here. Last spring I participated in a grassroots charity 5k event that a high-schooler organized to raise awareness for an American POW in Afghanistan. Over 150 people participated in the Plano event, which was one of 80+ across the nation and was only promoted by word of mouth. That's why I chose 200.

I had had my heart set on starting the Four Seasons Challenge with the February 2 Texas Half Marathon in Irving, but I've had to accept that my training is very slow-going, that I seem to be injury-prone, and that I need to give myself more time than the common beginner training programs, even though I'm not a beginner runner. The Challenge includes four specific race events to be completed in succession in one year and allows participants to run 4 halfs, 3 halfs and a full, or 2 and 2, the last being my goal. So I'm pushing the start back 6 months to run the Hottest Half in August, which will be easier on my wallet and knock out the worst event first. That leaves the Tyler Rose Marathon on Oct. 5 and the next two events in 2015.

A week after the Hottest Half, assuming I don't succumb to heat stroke, I'll be running the Disneyland Half Marathon in California with my bff. We have our hotel and flights booked and are just waiting for race registration to open at the end of January. We talked about visiting the wine country while we're there but learned that's on the opposite end of the state, whereas Tijuana is only a 2-hour drive. Partay.

I registered for a Virtual Decathlon Challenge through the Fit Fatties Forum and completed the first leg, a stair climb, yesterday. I'll choose my other events from the following list: 

• 1 mile walk/run/roll
• 5k walk/run/roll
• 10k walk/run/roll
• Half Marathon walk/run/roll
• Marathon walk/run/roll
• Swim – quarter mile (8 x 50m)
• Swim – half mile (16 x 50m)
• Get in the Flow - 60 of work with flow toy, such as poi, staff, juggling, dance/fire fans, rola bola, balance ball, aerial silks or hoop, meteor
• Shimmy it Out (30 minute shimmy–can switch shimmy location through event)
• Squat it Out (Do 100 squats in one day.)
• Take a Hike (Enjoy at least a mile of the great outdoors.)
• Take a Tread (Enjoy at least a mile of the great indoors.  Walk on the treadmill, elliptical or other machine, or just walk around inside.)

I had a nice full-body selfie but had to crop it for boob sweat. You know how it is.

I saw that a couple of my friends on Facebook are undertaking daily photo challenges, so I decided to start a(nother) 365 project myself and snap a photo daily to share. I've begun and failed in the past and don't expect to do better this time, but I have a new camera and will benefit from the effort and improve my photography skills either way.

Jan. 1: Day 1

After practicing a full year of intuitive eating, I feel like I might be ready to begin to eat more deliberately to support my running and maximize my fitness potential. We'll see.

I didn't get the sub-30 5k that I'd hoped for last year, so I'll try again this year. I did it once in 2010 and need to cut 5 or 6 minutes to do it again.

I'm really looking forward to participating again in the Rugged and Raaw 10k/20k trail race and seeing how much I can improve over my 1:47 finish last year.

One clear resolution is to quit wasting my time and money on gimmicky for-profit, un-timed 5k events. I had fun at a few last year and really hated others.The Black Light Run on Feb. 1 is the last one I'm signed up for, and I'll think twice before registering for any others this year, though I think I would like to run Plano's Splash Dash again.

Beyond that, I plan to work to become harder, better, faster, stronger.