2016 Goals

This may be the last 2016 goal post out there, but hey I'm behind on a lot of things right now.

2015 goal results:

Mantra: Eat clean and train mean in 2015 - partial success

Well I kind of did this. I ate pretty clean for most of the year. And I really did get in some mean training. Those annual totals don't lie. But there was a lot of chocolate this year. And my training for the Beer Mile race back in May quickly turned into a 1-3 beer a night drinking habit. And drinking habitually and consistently (with a Guinness as I'm typing this) will lead to weight gain. Turning 40 certainly didn't help the beer weight from sticking around.

Short term goals:

• Marathon Swim (10k or longer) - Success! I did the Swim Around Charleston and it was brutal and fun. I really loved getting in the pool 6 days a week during the summer. Regular swim practice was the best part, the race was really tough for the last 2 hours.
• Distance PR (run over 40 miles) - Fail. The closest I think I came was 38 miles in the pacer pool at the Umstead 100. I was supposed to do 50 that night, and DNF'd another 50 mile race. So I tried :(
• Single 70 mile running week: Success? I did get in a 70 mile running week, but it finished on Jan 3 of this year. It was still awesome.

2 out of 3 is not bad. Long term goals:

• 2 more states off of the 50 state list: Success! I got Minnesota and Maryland taken care of in 2015.
• Run 180 miles in one month: Fail. So close! I ran 170.2 miles in December. I actually forgot about this one until later in the year, then remembered it as 170 miles so I thought I had made this goal by getting 43 miles in the last 4 days of the year. dang.
• 6-10 marathon or longer races in 2015: Success!  I got 6 marathon or longer races done. There's a "The Long Stuff" list on the left side of the web blog, and it got 6 new entries in 2015. That does include the marathon swim though. I also DNF'd a 50k in February and deferred a marathon in December so there could have been 2 more.

again 2 out of 3 but I thought I had them all done. So close!

2016 Goals:

I've had a tough time coming up with goals for this year. I'm nowhere close to finding a mantra. So I'm going to try and keep this simple.

Mantra: Consistency

Ok that's a total cop out. Something happened on Jan 2. I stepped on the scale to get my starting weight for the year. It came in at 190.4 lbs and 23.6% bodyfat. This is the first time since Dec of 2010 that I have topped the scale over 190. When I finally broke under 190 and knew it was there to stay, I got the tree tattoo as a reward to remind me of my strength and resolve. Still have the tat, but the fat is back. And this time it's not going away very easily. This has been very depressing.

Consistency in this regard is about drinking less and losing weight. My Maximum Allowable Offseason Weight (MAOW) has been 189 lbs since Jan 2011 when I was prepping for my first ironman. Since then, every time I get over 185 in the offseason I can hit the panic button a bit, implement some kind of tracker and get the weight off. Most of the summer I was hanging around my normal training weight of 175 and 18% bf. Since the marathon swim I haven't been swimming as much and the weight has been steadily increasing. Now I'm in the middle of Umstead 100 training and have to eat a very specific volume.

This is completely unfamiliar territory for me. Over 40 the weight doesn't just fall off like it did 6 months ago. Less beer - I get it. But I have no idea how to fuel for 100 mile ultramarathon training and lose bodyfat. Suggestions welcome.

Short term goals:

• Finish a 50 mile race - Got the next attempt coming up Jan 17. 
• Finish a 100 mile race - Umstead 100 on April 2 may be my only shot at this one

Long term goals:

• 2 more states - California and Alabama are up for 2016
• 200 mile month (running)
• Take photographic evidence of me driving the convertible with the top down every month 
• Try something else

I really couldn't come up with any decent goals for this year. 2 more states and the 100 mile race is really the focal point, but that's all going to be done by April 2nd. I have to figure out what I want to do with the rest of the year. I'm signed up for a 70.3 (Lake Logan again) in August, and I'm sure there will be a few more fall marathons. Surely I can come up with something else short term to chase.

The car thing - I drove home from church this Sunday with the top down. I took a picture of it, because I didn't expect to be able to do that comfortably in January. So I'm taking a bet that here in the deep south in an El Nino winter I bet it's going to be warm enough one day every month for me to drive topless. it's more of a challenge than a goal.

Something else? After the 100 I predict I'm going to get burned out on running for a bit. I may try some kind of weightlifting challenge. Crossfit never has seemed too appealing to me, but maybe that will creep in. I need to open my mind up to fun activities that us old people can enjoy. So after April 2nd we'll just see what kind of trouble I can get into.

So cheers to a bright and fun 2016! Let's hope it doesn't suck.