Monday, January 1, 2007
Not surprisingly, the theme for today's entry in The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration (Kevin Nelson, 1999) is to set goals for the year. I had planned to do that anyway, but I found some enjoyment in the synchronicity.
So, without further ado, my active goals for 2007 are:
- Continue long distance running
I definitely want to complete some marathons this year - my plan is to shoot for the Nipmuck Trail Marathon in June and then the Adirondack and Mount Desert Island marathons in the fall. I'm also considering the Grand Island Marathon in Michigan during the summer, but that may not work out. I also want to move on to ultra distances - ideally at least a 50k sometime this year. That could be as early as the Finger Lakes Fifties in early July or as late as the Mendon Trail Runs 50k in November... my training goal is to run three times a week. - Resume longer distance cycling
Probaby the biggest challenge to this will be finding the time. Long runs take me a long time... last year, riding ended up losing out. I don't know that I'll do any better this year, but I'd like to try. My riding goal is to get out on my bike twice a week. - Complete a race in New York, each state in New England, and as many other places as I can
One of the fun things about doing races is going to cool places. In 2005 I raced in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This year my goal is more ambitious - New York, all of New England, maybe Pennsylvania and New Jersey... and perhaps Michigan! - Regular flexibility training
There is no question in my mind that I would benefit from regular stretching and flexibility work... unfortunately, I also find that incredibly boring. But this year I'm going to try to discipline myself to do a couple of sessions each week. - Regular strength training
Again, this is something that I would definitely benefit from, but I find strength training even more boring than flexibility training. But I've noticed I definitely lost upper body strength while recovering from The Crash, so I'm going to try to discipline myself to do a couple of sessions a week. - Lose weight
Before I moved to Albany I was putting a fair amount of time in on the trails and roads... of course, that was a bit easier to do when I could go for a 6-12 mile run in the country right from my front door! After I came up here my activity level dropped and my weight crept up. Being heavier is definitely not an advantage running and riding - especially on hills! So I'm going to try to drop some pounds through a combination of exercise (which I would be getting anyway, between running and riding!) and a better diet (reduced calories and overall better nutrition.) - Regular martial arts training
I've really been slack about this over the last couple of years... this year I'm going to try to get into training once a week (in addition to iaido classes and seminars.)
Time to get started!
JMH
