Goals 2010 - Fitness

This is the second year of contemplating, making, and following up on a set of goals for the year. In late 2008 Mattson convinced me to make three strategic year long goals, things that I could focus on and harness to stay focused throughout the year. Goals impacting areas of my life that are important to me, or areas where I sought out changes or improvements. The goals essentially spanned personal/relationships, personal/learning and professional/work. Over a year later I look back on 2009 and am happy with most of my choices.

It's maybe a little late to be writing about goals for 2010 - and I brainstormed a stockpile of them before and after the new year, but one area in particular has been and will continue to be a major focus of my energy. Fitness and Health - two things that I have thought about often since the high school really. In spite of the innumerable binges, bacon labs, and a mythically voracious appetite, I'm strongly aware and thoughtful about what I put into my body, what I try to get out of my body, and how I perceive my physical and mental health. Essentially - eating reasonably well, maintaining weight, and exercising frequently and being fit are the pillar of my physical health goals.

As the end of 2009 neared, I thought of a longer term running goal which would be apt in my post-competitive ultimate days, and give me something to focus on over a long stretch of time - years really - to keep me focused on exercising. The goal is, essentially, to shatter my PR's for the mile, 5k and 10k running distances. I suspect working towards this would also satisfy my inherent internal competitive drive. I would have to be committed to running long term, which would force me to take my running training seriously.

With that goal in place, I've been running more than ever, and forcing myself to go faster too. However, in parallel to this running, I maintain excitement for other activities. I anticipate doing a lot of hiking and trying some mountaineering this year. I've also been playing a ton of basketball. I'm also biking frequently - aiming to try road racing in the coming month or two. In some ways my post-ultimate self is more active than ever, less worried about being in the right shape for an ultimate season and more focused on getting out there and being extra active whenever the opportunity presents itself. And I'm loving it. The combination of these diverse activities, often being done at fairly high intensity, and often for 3 or 4 days in a row has frequently left me very fatigued, feeling like I can accomplish little more than a day on the couch watching the Wire. My legs sometimes feel like bricks. I should specialize a little in one of these activities, and I should make sure I get adequate rest if I'm going hard more days than not. But I'm also not willing to go 100% into any one activity at the expense of the others - which is the same predicament I had during ultimate seasons. Hopefully I can find a happy balance with these activities and still accell and enjoy them all.

At any rate, I'm going to be doing some periodization this summer, first cutting back on basketball, as our team is planning to take the warm months off. I will run my first 5k of the year this weekend - around Greenlake on Sunday, sponsored by Top Pot Donuts. Here I will get to see where I am on my progression towards achieving my goals. I will take stock, and then likely increase my focus on biking. Running less frequently, maybe doing a triathlon sometime this summer.