I don't tend to make "resolutions" as such, but I do want to set a few goals for 2011. Sticking them out here for all to see will keep me honest (and help me remember what they are!).
Goal 1: Weight into the 160's (pounds)
I went back home over Christmas, and people who haven't seen me in a couple of years kept calling me "skinny". That was lovely, but really I was just skinny compared to the fat guy I used to be!
My BMI is in the "normal" category right now (24.5 @ 6 feet) so this isn't really about health, but rather about performance. As I wrote a year back, "healthy runners will race about two seconds per mile faster for every pound they lose" (per Runner's World).
15 pounds = 30 seconds per mile = almost 7 minutes off a 1/2 marathon, 14 off a full.
That's worth it!
It will also help on the bike, especially with the sharp steep hills you encounter in cyclocross (my latest addiction).
Goal 2: Sub-20 5k
This is one I have been putting off as I've been focusing more on long stuff, but even without focusing on it I've inched closer and closer to it. It's also one that gets harder with age, so best to do it now!
Last year I managed a 20:34. I figure between the weight loss and an increased focus on speed work I should be able to find the 7 seconds per kilometer it will take.
Goal 3: Not suck at Cyclocross
I love cyclocross: I love the bike, I enjoy ripping through off-road trail on it, I like watching races. It's just cool.
But I suck.
I tried it once last year just to check it out, and I was way behind the other race participants. Some of that is technique, some of it is specific conditioning for that kind of riding. Long story short: there's work to be done.
It's not like running where I can set some kind of specific goal... maybe "not get lapped at the Durham cyclocross race"? But who knows who will show up and hand me my ass. In any case, I will try my best to get better for Paris to Ancaster (not really a cyclocross race) and carry that through to the cyclocross season, and hopefully not suck.
To 2011!
Good luck in meeting your goals too. :)
4 comments:
i love the one about not sucking at cyclo-cross.
for me,sphals i've long ago realised that wanting to do many things largely increases the suckage factor. so i run, bike, ski, snowboard, showshoe, rockclimb .. and i'm mediocre at all of them and loving every minute of it.
Awesome. :) And I'm sure you'll agree that loving every minute of it is more important than being awesome at it! I know a few people who were great runners in high school who don't do it now because they don't enjoy it.
Any plans for triathlons? I am planning on doing the Muskoka 70.3, wanna come?
Cool! I haven't decided yet what I'll be doing in August/September, something. Maybe Muskoka, we'll see.
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