Goal Update

In my last post, December 15, 2011, I detailed a few of my goals for the year. Although the progress was not exactly how I envisioned, there was forward movement. And I firmly believe if your goals aren't adaptable to real life, they aren't realistic goals. They should be a stretch for you, but when life throws a challenge at you, you have to weave and bob to get around or through it and still keep your eyes on the prize.

Here are the four goals and the updates:

#1 - Get the weight down to 198 by April 14. I'll be 50 years old and - if I succeed - I will be 90 pounds lighter than I was in April 2010. (I have 29.5 pounds to go by then - I CAN do it!)

The interesting thing about endurance running - it's easy to pack on extra pounds in the pursuit of longer miles. And sadly, by the time my birthday 50K challenge ended, I was actually up 4 pounds. And this was after more than 5 months of being stuck in the 229-231 pound range. Happily, in the last 5 weeks I have shaved off 10 pounds and am now down to my lowest weight in at least 12 years. More importantly, I "feel" the success happening, success at changing the mindset and taking the body(fat) with it.

#2 - Run a 50K "combo" (see my earlier post regarding the April Challenge) in the week before and including the day of my birthday. And then P A R T Y like a 35-year-old*!!

About day 3 of the 50K Challenge.

Two things happened with this goal: Minda and I ran fifty-THREE kilometers, starting and ending the challenge with a 10K run around Minnehaha Parkway and Lake Nokomis. We also, sadly, decided to postpone the party till later in the summer.

#3 - Run a Marathon. Not sure when or where yet, but this will be the goal behind the mini-goals of the Get Lucky 7K, the St. Paul Running Opener 10K, the Apple Blossom 10K, the Minneapolis Half Marathon, the Minneapolis Duathlon, and the Monster Dash Half-Marathon. (See all those measurable steps I can check off as I approach the Marathon goal?)

This was more of a planning goal rather than a running goal, and as such, it was a great success, thanks to my wife/life-partner/running-inspiration/all-around-life-muse, Minda! Together we are planning to run the Duluth, MN Grandma's Marathon in 2014 to celebrate her 50th birthday. As far as the smaller goals listed above: we ran the Get Lucky 7K in March (with good friend Mark), and I (and Minda tentatively) plan to run the Monster Dash in October, either the Half-Marathon or the 10-Mile run.

#4 - Most importantly, continue - and in fact expand - my role as a model to my son, who will be 12 next year and growing ever closer to the "tough years of teenage".

Marching for Babies in April.

The 12-year-old has arrived in all his glory - part angel/part demon, spending part of his day spitting mad at me, and yet holding my hand most any time he and I walk somewhere, whether across a parking lot or a 5K March for Babies. This year, as I encourage him to try running for fitness (he's declined so far) and he encourages me to parkour (I actually impressed him at one point with my "Nice precision jump"), I see we are moving away from being "Lego-masters". Where we end up, God only knows. But I think he knows I love him, and that I'm hard on him because I expect more from him than he expects from himself. I hope to see this become a mutual interest as the year progresses.

Damien - my first hawk.

One of my other goals is to get back into falconry and I hope to do that before he's 14, when he can take the exam and qualify for his apprentice level permit. I know that falconry had a big part in my straightening up and flying right. My hope is if he leaps into hawking at a young age, he might be inclined to bypass the troubles I leapt into before I put on the hawking glove. I know I have met many young falconers who impressed me with their maturity and level-headedness. I would love to see that happen with Andrew.