New fitness goals...

Tuesday June 14, 2011

Well, the results are in! Friday I completed this two week goal by riding 41km, bringing my total to 322km! Having started with a goal of 250km, I must admit I felt awfully good about where I ended up. It is an amazing feeling to look back and realize that though it was a push just to get the 25km at first, I was able to persist and actually exceed my goal by the end. So now comes the next leg of this little journey!

I am a very "result-oriented" type of person...goals are extremely motivating to me. So I realize that I need a new one in order to continue pushing myself forward so that I don't get too comfortable right here. Now, he doesn't know it yet, but I will be counting on a partner-in-crime to assist me with the last leg of this little portion of my journey, because it entails a rather steep hill climb...one that I intend to be able to do by the end of the summer without killing myself or falling over from muscle cramps! Having seen the beginning of that particular climb, and knowing that it is roughly 2.5 miles in length, I believe that two month's time is sufficient to get myself ready to do it.

Meanwhile, how to get there.  New riding and walking goals! Drumroll please...and here we go!
28 days beginning tomorrow, June 15, 2011 and ending July 13, 2011

Biking:

Right now I can hit about 42 km, or slightly over 25 miles in 2 hours. Definitely not breaking any land speed records, but I'm okay with that since I do see pretty steady increases in the distance I can cover in that same period of time. Now, my new goal is going to be to hit the 35 mile mark  by the end of the next 4 weeks. That adds about 2.5 miles per week onto my current ride, and I definitely think that's an attainable goal. I will track each day how many miles I add up. I plan to ride five days each week, so even at the outset I should log no less than 125 miles per week...we'll see how many I can squeeze in.

Walking: 

My ordinary routine is to bike in the morning and then walk in the evening, which is a good pattern for me so I don't plan to change it. I typically walk either 4 or 5 miles, so I think I'll try to press that toward 5 most days and try to get in 25 miles per week. Walking more hills will help me with that trail climb I have my eye on. There are a few steep ones around here, so I'll map the distance and hit those whenever I can instead of walking only on flatter terrain.

Throwing in some pushups at this point because I think it will help my abs to not ache so much from the bike riding, and will also give me the added morale boost of seeing some change in muscle tone. It's time. Yup. No hard pressed goals for those at this point, as I have no intention of re-injuring my left shoulder by pushing too hard too fast.

Meanwhile, green tea with apple cider vinegar added is my dear friend, sweets and potato chips are anathema to my existence, and my path lies clearly before me. Thanks for sharing this little piece of life with me! Here's to all the good things coming!

"Failure is not an option."