2013 Goals

I don't necessarily believe in "New Years Resolutions."  How often do you hear about people keeping their NY Resolutions vs. those that inevitably forget or give up on them?  Instead, I prefer to make goals.  How are goals different?  My opinion is that a resolution is a behavioral change whereas a goal is something that is measurable...something that you can look back on and answer the question, "Did I achieve this: Yes/No?"  Goals can certainly require behavioral changes to achieve, but a resolution is just a goal without the accountability at the end.  And if you read my first post, I'm big on accountability.

So here it is:
- Run 30 miles per week: This was the goal for last year, and I didn't hit it.
- No deep fried foods: Diet is something that can always be improved.  French fries are my #2 favorite food, so this is going to be very difficult.
- Bike to work half of the days per year: Last year's goal was to bike half of the "working" days per year.  I didn't hit it, but now that I live very close to work, there's no reason to up the ante.
- Do a handstand: No real reason for this one other than I think it would be cool to be able to do this.
- Become a cyclist: This one will be difficult.

With the exception of the last one, the question "Yes/No?" can be applied.  Becoming a cyclist is the only difficult goal, so I will state the criteria I will use to judge whether or not I've accomplished this goal:

- Get a bike fit: A well-fitting bike that fits your body and allows you to produce the highest possible power output is key to becoming a cyclist.
- Bike at least once (ideally twice) during the week in addition to a long ride on the weekends.  With my long hours at work and intense desire to sleep in, this will be the biggest challenge.
- Train with power: Power is a key component to cycling.  Being able to accurately measure where you are in your training is very important, and power allows you to do this.  It's also very important for racing since even pacing provides the most longevity during ironman racing.
- Monitor fitness using a performance management chart: In addition to training with power, it is critical to interpret and track the data using a visual chart.  This will give an idea of where I'm at over the course of the year to allow reasonable expectations and further help with pacing strategies.


So there it is - my goals for 2013.  Notice that except for running, there are no time or distance goals.  The reason for this is because I don't think I've reached a point of maturity with the other sports to set reasonable expectations.  I am hoping to be able to look back on this post in a year and check each of these off my list.

In future years, I am hoping to have an hours per year goal and hopefully some FTP goals as well.  In time...