2013 goal check in

2013 is more than halfway over, where does the time go? i thought it would be a good time to revisit my goals for the year... making some realistic adjustments and maybe even adding some new things. 

i feel like it's a constant battle for me to keep some sort of balance in my life. sometimes i kick butt at work but my home is a wreck. or my house is clean and i haven't exercised in 4 days. or i'm killing it in the gym but i haven't had any quiet time with my Bible in a week. 

i also overextend myself and set my goals higher than what might be realistic. i think this is another place to strive for balance... i want to set them high so i keep myself working and striving for better. but i don't want to set them so unrealistically high that i finish the year and don't feel like i accomplished anything. 

.: running :.

• finish a 30k to celebrate turning the dirty thirty [completed 1.13.13]
• run a sub 2 hour half marathon
• run a sub hour 10k 
• finish a full marathon [completed 3.3.13]
• maintain my mileage around 15-20 miles per week after the full. 

when i made my running goals, i didn't feel like i was being unrealistic. HOWEVER, i totally underestimated the effect the full marathon would have on my body and mind. mentally, i wanted to run, but my body didn't want any part of it. i was physically exhausted and injured [spartan race]. when my body started to come back around, my mind wasn't there. i didn't even want to run the trails as the weather got better, big red mental burnout flag. 

sub 2 hour half is not happening this year. i know i've got a sub hour 10k in my (i ran a 1:00:00 in january as a part of of a training LR) but i'm not worried about it right now. my goal is to start running routinely. i want to find my running happy place again. kind of vague, yes, but that's my goal. 

.: weight training :.

• after the marathon, get back to a full out finess poynters plan [i've been doing a modified plan while my mileage has been increasing]. [back on track july]
• i don't really care about lifting PRs, i mostly want to get back to the consistent schedule that i was in before i started bumping up my mileage. 

i just finished week 6 of my plan. it's been so nice to get back to lifting, it's something i truly enjoy. but DANG i hate the gym. it's impossible to get in and get out without someone bothering me or brad. i hate to be a dick, but i am not at the gym to talk. i'm there to work and go home. we already wait around an hour or so to go (less people so less time waiting on the equipment you need) but that means we are up until midnight-1 am most nights. there's got to be another option. yesterday a business associate of brad's stopped him for almost 30 minutes! 

so anyways, back at it, glad to be. but i hate the gym. and by the end of the week i'm sleep deprived. so hoping to find some solution there. 

.: reading :.

• read at least 12 books from  the Modern Library's Top 100 Novels list.
• finish reading the Bible [in Lamentations now]
• read at least 10 non fiction books. 

this category should have been cake for me. i love to read. unfortunately i enjoy reading crap. why make myself read Ulysses when i can read The Hunger Games for the 18th time. [not that the Hunger Games is crap, but you know what I mean]. 

either way, i'm leaving this goal as it is. this is something i can still do, despite my dismal progress thus far. 

.: spiritual :.

• join a connect group at chuch [sunday school class] [we're connected!]
• finish beth moore's 'john:  90 days with the beloved disciple' 
• pay more attention to where God's leading me. 

i'm actually pretty good here. i failed to update it, but i finished the beth moore book in april. for the rest of the year, my biggest goal is to make time for the Lord in my day to day life. make time to read the Word. make it a priority. 

.: everything else :.

• limit computer time to 30 minutes a day on work days, an hour on any other days. [i'm doing pretty good on work days, but with blogging and other responsibilities, an hour just isn't cutting it when i'm off]
• lose the last 5 pounds... then MAINTAIN. 

the first goal was crap chute. the intention behind this goal was to reduce time i spend wasting on the internet. for whatever reason, that has decreased. 

weight loss maintenance merits a whole post on its own. my goal for the end of the year? get my butt back to where i was last december. 

rearview mirror:::: january 2013

running:::: 

i finished january with 137 miles. that's the most i've ever ran in a month! i ran my first 30k, my first 20 miler, and ran a new PR for the 10k. 

i've been very happy with my marathon training so far. i can't believe i only have a month left. i've missed a run here and there, but i've hit all my long runs, and even hit a little higher mileage earlier than what was on the plan [which allowed me to put in a second 20 miler, which i'm happy about]. 

weight training::::

i miss this... a lot. i made the decision to run this marathon back in the summer, before i started training with fitness poynters. it's really important to me and i want to see it through, but i do miss feeling strong  and toned. i know running burns calories, but for me and my body, i think lifting makes me feel better and gives me better results for my time. unfortunately i haven't figured out to manage my time enough that i can do both.

reading::::
i finished the matched series by ally condie. it was okay, passed the time and attaches you to the characters like most series do, but it wasn't a must read.

i started reading ulysses by james joyce, to get a start on one of my 2013 goals, and it might not have been the best choice, but i'm trying to get into it.

as far as Bible reading goes, i'm in isaiah now and i'm doing pretty well at studying beth moore's 'john.' the only problem is that i'm working in it when i'd normally been just reading the Bible, so my Bible progress has slowed.

2013 goals::::
i crossed off one thing here this month when i completed my 30k for my 30th birthday. i came thisclose to getting my sub hour 10k, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, right?

i'm doing terribly with the computer time goal, which may have been a 'bit' unrealistic. i did deactivate my FB profile halfway through the month to see if that helped, and while it did, it hasn't made as much of a difference as i'd hoped.

brad and i went to a new connect group at church last sunday and again today. we really like it so far and i hope we can continue to attend and make new friends!

life::::
january was a difficult month, for all the usual reasons plus some. i always fight the urge to get depressed in january, i think it's a combination of the holidays being over and the weather. the holidays are so busy, we're usually surrounded by family, have all the happy decorations up, then you have to take it all down and everyone goes back home... it can get depressing!