Goal Setting and Meeting

So, twice in the past week, I have run across goal setting in my daily life and feel like it has come about as a reminder that in order to succeed at your goals in life, whether they be short or long term, big or small.

So, I have decided that in order to get back on my feet, literally, that I need to set some fitness goals, mostly with running.

They say that one of the main precursors to success when it comes to goal setting is to write them down, that way you can measure your progress. Another thing that I find to be incredibly helpful is to make your goals known to your friends, family, and really anyone that will listen, because then you have a support group that will try to keep you on track.

So, support group, here are some of my goals for 2013 as far as running and fitness are concerned and some of the steps I am currently taking to make them become reality:

I would like to complete two marathons this calendar year. It's only January so I have plenty of time seeing as it took me 16 weeks to train for the last one. First things first, I feel that I need to select a race and make it a realistic goal. That is my long term goal.

Now, in order to achieve a long term goal, I've been told it's best to set up short term, measurable and intermediate goals to help achieve long term goal status. So, this week I have challenged myself to log 12 miles on the road as well as cutting needless calories from my diet so I am also attempting a week, to start, of no soft drinks or fast food. As many of you may know, in the restaurant profession, with hours being somewhat ridiculous, that fast food sometimes presents itself as the easiest option. But, starting this week, I am holding off, at least until I build my fitness level back to where it needs to be.

Also, this week, I will be selecting my first race of the year. I am probably aiming for late May/June for a viable race that I will have time to train for and this is where you guys will come into play. I am going to narrow the field down to a few races and have you guys weigh in on what you think will be my best option. I WILL have a race chosen by Friday.

I am not setting any weight loss goals even though I could stand to lose a few pounds because if I do my training properly enough and couple it with a good diet, an actual weight loss goal will not be necessary.

So, you may ask, have I started chipping the miles away this week? It is Monday AND a holiday AND inauguration day, although I don't understand the purpose of shutting the capitol of our nation down to hold a seemingly unfree party to tell me that we have the same president, but I digress. Today would have been an easy day to chalk up excuses, but I am not going to. I knocked out 3 miles around the 40 acres and it was okay.

I forget what an arduous process this is and get frustrated sometimes, but the feeling of the earth pounding beneath my feet is amazing.

Thank you all for reading and for your continued support. As always, feedback is appreciated. I want to make this as fun for y'all as it is for me and can't wait to share this journey with you all again.

I will leave you with two things today:

In honor of MLK day, there's this. I tried to find a video, but there were none to be found of just this:

And this:

Will be back with progress updates later this week.