Goals

Happy New Year's everyone! Ellie and I have been traveling since the middle of December, and I haven't had a chance to get on here much. I've been working out quite a bit when I can get it in. I went for some beautiful runs in Leesburg, VA and South Windsor, CT. My final run in South Windsor (my dad's house) was one of the best runs I can ever remember. There were far too many hills, and I left the biggest, longest hill until the very end of my run, and was hurtin when I crested it. Much to my surprise though, I had a lot left in the tank, and probably held right at a 6:10 pace for the final mile of the run. It felt good to have some left, especially since I thought I was dead in the water. I just got off the bike (it was nearly 70 degrees in Denver today!), and I'm glad I rode today as it's supposed to snow tonight, which will force me into the pool tomorrow. Such is life.

Anyway, I wanted to use this as a place to put up a few goals for myself for 2009. Some are training related, some are not, but I think it's important for me to get them down. So, here we are:

1. Finish first in my age group - I met a goal from last year by placing in the Oktoberfest Triathlon in September, and want to push myself to win one this year. I think the new bike will work wonders, and I'm going to really work a lot this spring and early summer on running off the bike. Hopefully, that'll get me there.
2. Fine tune my diet - This is kind of subjective, but I really need to hone in on my eating. This means stocking my desk at work with good options, and taking more time each day to plan for tomorrow's meals. I'm really at the point where the changes are minor, but they are still going to be tough. Off the top of my head, reducing caffeine intake, eating more organic meats and veggies, and having at least one cup of tea per day.
2a. Cut back on the drinking - this goes with the diet, but I need to put it separately. I've been drinking too much, usually around 2 drinks per night (beer or wine). I don't usually go nuts on the weekends, as I view these as my prime training time and I HATE being hungover. But, my goal is to not have a drink more than 4 nights per week, eventually by the end of the year getting it down to 3 nights per week. I want to enjoy my wine, rather than just mindlessly going for it after I get home. So if I can look forward to having it, I think I'll savor it much more.
3. Work on paying off my car - I freaking hate car payments. Last year, I wanted to get all of my credit card debt paid off (DONE!!!!), and now I really want to get a little ahead on my car. Money is a bit tight, but I think if I tweak a few things (and spend less on booze), this will be a very attainable goal.
4. Stop saying no - I need to just start saying yes and trying things. Even if I don't feel like going out, if I say yes, I'll probably enjoy myself. Typically, when I say no, it's because it's something that isn't familiar to me. I need to expand my horizons a bit and just start doing new things, or just re-doing old things that were fun.

I don't want to set too many goals, because I really want to focus on these ones. The year is off to a good start. Since Ellie and I got back from our trip, we have really focused on eating much better, and we both feel a lot better. I didn't drink much in our trip to Aspen for New Year's, and I still had a GREAT trip. And to make it even better, I don't want to die today!

I hope everyone has at least a goal or 2 in mind that they can use the new year as an excuse to start. Good luck, and happy 2009.

E