Look Out! It's Almost The Future

In a few short weeks some of us will be getting over the first wave of holiday gluttony (also known as Christmas), perhaps by loosening our belts, or deciding to sport jogging pants for a solid week because they are just so “comfy” and not because our other pants have mysteriously shrunk. We’ll also be prepping for the second wave of overindulgence. I am of course speaking of New Year‘s celebrations. While I haven’t figured out what I’m doing yet (as I might be spontaneously jumping on a plane with a friend to go see Stevie Wonder in concert in Las Vegas), I do know that the new year will bring new and exciting challenges.

Given that, I figured I’d take a bit of time to reflect on various things from this year in order to set some new goals for the next. I’ll be doing this over the course of several posts, as I’m sure things will pop into my head that I haven’t thought to write here. Mainly this is so that I have something to measure my success and failures against. I’ll also be covering several recaps, because it just seems like the thing to do. Make sure you pay attention though, as there’ll be a test at the end.

Anyway, the first thing on my review list: fitness goals for 2011. This year I wanted to walk 1800km, run 500km, and bike 2000km. I also aimed to hit 20000 minutes of yoga. The only goal of these I actually managed to achieve was running. In fact, I’m likely going to end up about 11% higher than I initially suspected. My total mileage (erm, kilometre-age) in 2010 was 2553.9km (which includes biking, running, walking, and hiking). In 2011 I’ve managed to put in 2689.1km so far, and expect to put in 2794.1km. That’s roughly a 9% improvement. Sweet.

Overall, I’m absolutely stoked with my results. I somehow have managed to run more than 500km, topped last years total mileage, all while being somewhat sidelined due to hernia surgery (which essentially destroyed my attempt to be athletic in August, September, and October). Awesome!

Total Distance by Category & Goal (2011 to Date), and Expected Yearly Total

Item	Goal	Mid Year	Almost End Of Year	Expected End Of Year
Walking	1800 km	801.8 km	1384.9 km	1450.0 km
Running	500 km	373.8 km	510.1 km	555.1 km
Biking	2000 km	373.9 km	794.1 km	794.1 km
Yoga	20,000 min	6275.0 min	10685.0 min	11135 min

So where do I go from here? Well, of course next year I hope not to be sidelined by any silly surgery. I also fully plan on running 3 marathons (I may have just thrown up in my mouth a little bit), and finally, finally, finally completing a 100km bike ride (if not 160km bike ride). So without further ado, here are my lofty goals for the coming year:

• Walking: 1800km. Given that I lost a significant portion of walking due to my surgery, I’m sure I can hit this target. It works out to less than 5km per day. I typically walk about 5.8 per work day, so really I think this is completely within the realm of possibility.
• Running: 750km. I figure with 3 marathons on the horizon in 2012 that this might actually be an underestimate of what I could end up achieving. It does, however, represent a 50% jump from this years goal so perhaps it’s a bit high. Who knows. Ultimately it translates to just over 2.0km per day.
• Biking: 2000km. I’m guessing that surgery also majorly derailed this particular goal, so 2000km should be possible for 2012. It translates to about 5.5km per day.
• Yoga: 20000 minutes. Yes, I’m aiming high again despite the abysmal showing this year. And why not? This really works out to less than 55 minutes of yoga per day, and given all the other stuff I’m supposed to do daily, I’m going to need the time to stretch.

So there you have it folks; the first of my New Year’s goals. Assuming I spend 55 minutes walking per day (my typical slow-ass commute), run for 10 minutes, bike for 20 minutes, and then follow this up with 55 minutes of yoga, all of these goals are completely possible. Of course, this means I have to exercise for about 2hrs and 20 minutes each and every day, but stranger things have happened.

And now, to celebrate my setting of goals for 2012, I’m going to go have some chocolate. And maybe a scotch. Because everybody knows that scotch isn’t just for mountain tops and classy bitches; it’s also for Calorie deprived aspiring athletes.

---

Some other tables, for those interested:

Number of Activities by Month and Year (Excluding Yoga), Plus % Change Year Over Year.

Month	2010	2011	% Change
January	0	19
February	0	23
March	15	30	100
April	12	32	167
May	21	43	105
June	38	46	21
July	35	59	69
August	48	13	-73
September	39	21	-46
October	38	20	-47
November	17	30	76
December	6	12	100
Total	269	348	29

Total Distance by Month and Year (Excluding Yoga), Plus % Change Year Over Year.

Month	2010	2011	% Change
January	0	179.0
February	0	173.4
March	50.4	209.8	316
April	132.1	226.5	71
May	198.0	324.6	64
June	316.1	369.9	17
July	507.0	547.5	8
August	448.4	117.3	-74
September	307.5	160.9	-48
October	404.4	105.8	-74
November	139.6	196.2	41
December	50.4	78.2	55
Total	2554.0	2689.1	5

---

Related articles

• Embracing Exhaustion (consumedbywanderlust.wordpress.com)
• shut up and bike (doctortisms.wordpress.com)
• What Follows 42.2? (consumedbywanderlust.wordpress.com)
• This Run Has 22 Minutes (consumedbywanderlust.wordpress.com)
• The Idea Of Running Another Marathon Still Makes Me Feel Slightly Throw-Uppy (consumedbywanderlust.wordpress.com)
• Graph of the Day: Proof that Bike Lanes Attract Bike Riders (treehugger.com)
• How Yoga Can Help You Lose Weight (fitsugar.com)