“In life, the first thing you must do is decide what you really want. Weigh the costs and the results. Are the results worthy of the costs? Then make up your mind completely and go after your goal with all your might.” — Alfred A. Montapert
We all need goals to keep us focused and on a specific path. So, what are my goals for 2021?
Put simply: run more, run faster, have fun.
Specifically:
- Run 100 miles per month all year
- Run a sub 2:00 half marathon
- This one came late, but cross train at least 3 times per week.
Run Streak - running at least one mile everyday for an amount of time. I've tried run streaks before, and haven't done well. I didn't plan to streak, but for 2021 day 3 I’m on a streak. I've ran everyday this year! We'll see how long I can keep it going. I have a friend in KC that has been on a streak for over 6 years. Yes, I said 6 YEARS of running at least 1 mile per day.
Also, on day 3 I added the aforementioned goal #3. Cross train at least 3 times per week. This is the workout that I plan to do on those training sessions. I decided to lock in the workout so I could measure my progress. It was definitely a challenging workout. This will be the totals for the workout.
100 pushups
100 sit-ups
100 squats
200 jump ropes
1 mile run
The exercises are the important part. I run a lot of miles. So the run portion may or may not stay in there. It's a work in progress. The main goal right now is to do more than the one day per week that I did last year. If I’m getting tired I’ll rest. The last thing I want to do is burn out.
MONDAY
Continuing the streak, the plan calls for 3 easy miles. Then I'll add the XT workout. That will be a different experience. Running & then doing a full workout afterward.
I started out to run one of my old standard out & back courses. About a half mile in I encountered some traffic on the trail. I was coming up behind a guy with a dog & there was another guy coming our way. So I just ducked off into the next side street. I still planned to out & back. I looped around the neighborhood elementary school & headed down some streets that I had not been down before.
At one point I came up on 3 or 4 kids playing on the sidewalk. A small one, maybe 1 or 2 years old saw me & started wobbling toward me with his arms out. I think he even said dada. It didn't take but a few steps before he realized I wasn't dada. Then he turned around like that baby in the gif.
Have a look > Baby GIF
Anyway, while in that section of the neighborhood I made a wrong turn & ended up on a dead end street. Our neighborhood is pretty big. About 6,800 residents. So I headed back, looped around the opposite side of the school, & back to the house. Next I went straight to the garage for the XT. Less than 15mins & I was done.
If you think that you don't have time to exercise. You'd be surprised at what you can do in a short amount of time. I used no equipment; just a jump rope. If you don't have a rope, you can hop in place like you do. If you think the workout is too much, cut it in half. I did that many times when I started cross training last year. They say that the hardest part is starting. 100% true.
TUESDAY
Another easy 3 scheduled for today. I did a reverse loop of one of my favorite loops for the first time. Another wrong turn... geez! Luckily this one isn't a dead end. I followed it one block and was back on track. This is the loop that takes me by Rowdy's house. You know the Cowboys mascot... Just about a mile in I pass his house & the van is parked in the drive. I didn't take a picture this time, but here's one from last year. I had a little less facial hair as well.
I kept going around the neighborhood. I always run by this playground & dog park on this route. So I decided this would be a good place for my run photo. I'm sure you're are getting tired of seeing me in front of my house. A quick pic, a police drive-by and I'm off again. I jump back on Magnolia & zigzag back to the house. Now for some more conference calls & then the daily XT after work.
WEDNESDAY
Here we are back for another Hump Day. I don't know if you're as happy as I, but we don't seem to get a lot of Wednesdays with less than 10 miles. This week were looking at 2E, 2T, 2E = 6 miles. Man that barely seems worth getting out of bed for... Just kidding. In typical Mother Nature fashion, she decided to up the difficulty level with wind again. 15-20 mph.
We carefully planned out route hoping to minimize having a headwind. As I usually do I started us out too fast. The first 2 were 9:30ish. That told Don that the next 2 should be 8:45. Off he went like a rocket. About 2.5 we turned into the wind & it was literally like I had a parachute on. We pressed on fighting for every step. We tried to make some East/West zigzags. Nonetheless, we held on pretty good. The second 2 miles were around 9:10. Then thankfully the last 2 were actually easier at about 9:50. It was a short, mostly uneventful run today. When all was said & done we averaged 9:30 per mile. I'll take that all day at 6 miles.
SATURDAY
Okay. So the run streak didn't last. It's just not my thing. Some people enjoy the challenge of how long they can go. It makes me feel pressured & then I'm not having fun (part 3 of my goals). Nonetheless, I'm still gonna kick ass this year! Looking ahead in the schedule & noticed that we had 16 miles scheduled for today. So I took a couple of rest days.
29 degrees is a little chilly for Texas, but that’s not stopping our long run. Leaving from the store we made our way to The Star. Winding through some neighborhoods & back onto Legacy hit the hill from hell between miles 3 and 4. I will say it was a little easier than mile 6 and 7 when we ran this section this summer. It wasn’t 90 degrees either. We make it to The Star at 5.5 miles & take a moment to snap some pics. One of our club coaches had recently put out a challenge for more group pics to use on our Facebook cover. We were happy to oblige.
After our photo session we continue on. This run will take us farther South than I have been on a run from the store. I won’t pretend to know the route. I’m just following along so I don’t get lost. Eventually we’re basically running parallel to Hwy 121 in The Colony. We make it to the southern most point of our trip at Mile 10, Hawaiian Falls water park. Leo did a good job planning the route. From here we’ll jump on a trail that’s nearly a straight shot back to Frisco.
I felt pretty good most of the run. Around mile 13 I looked down and we were at 2:06. Nice! Another solid half marathon time! Shortly after that we made a wrong turn. After another incline somewhere around mile 14 I started getting pretty tired. At the top of that hill is where we realized that we were off course & we were going to go over 16 miles. We keep pressing on. I ran out of fuel & water. I’ve mentioned before that water is a crutch for me. So that made the last little bit more difficult for me mentally. We finally make it back to the store and ended up with 17.44 miles (17.43 on Strava). My longest run of all time!
So I’m nailing my 2021 goals. Run more, run faster, & have fun!
Now I’m asking you. Whatcha gonna do?!?
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