Goals from 2011 / Goals for 2012

At the beginning of 2011, I posted my goals for the year. I had 4. This is what I wrote:

- Train up for Liberty Oly as my "A" race. Sub 2:15!! Around 2:13 would be a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

- Use the word "lollygag" more often. It's highly underused, and it reminds me of my Dad.

- Chocolate. That's all: chocolate. Eat more... eat less... whatever. We'll see where this one goes.

- Run more. This is the big one. In the past, I would ALWAYS say "Oh, I need to 'let my running go' a bit and focus on making my biking stronger." Well SCREW THAT this year. I enjoy running! I'm going to do what I like and run!! I still LOVE doing multisport events, and I'll still race them as much as I can. But if my biking slides a bit, so be it.

Well, here's my "1-year-later" response to those 4:

- I missed Liberty because my wife was giving birth. I still wrote a "race report" though! :)

- Shoot, I don't remember saying I should use "lollygag" more often. I have to stop blogging when I'm drunk.

- Regarding chocolate: I've been eating more. I blame my wife (as most husbands do).

- My running mileage was a little less, but I spent about 2 months injured. It's always kind of a "jerk" thing to say, but I'll still say it: if I DIDN'T get injured, I would have had my highest running mileage year ever. If. Oh, and that part about letting my biking slide?... Yeah, I did that. In my "Year in Review" post, I noted that it was my lowest mileage year ever on the bike, and it was the 2nd year in a row where I ran more miles than I biked.


Here are my FIVE goals for this year:

- Run more. Henry likes this. I like this. It's the easiest to do with a little one around who likes stroller rides. So this one is a no-brainer.

- Stay as injury-free as possible. Again, a no-brainer. I need to keep up my PT leg exercises. This might mean less speed-work and more endurance work. I think I'm OK with that.

- Run as many of the "MDRA Grand Prix" races as possible. I'd love to see how I could do in a series that spans distances from 1 mile to 26.2 miles. (Here's a little more about the Grand Prix from a post earlier this week.) One side-note: I might end up cutting back some mileage if I AM able to race a lot - I find out that since I got old (about 2 years ago), my body / joints / tendons really need a few days of rest after an "all out" short race. So if I do more of these races, I think I'll end up putting in a little less mileage. So be it.

- Just "be fit." I started saying this at the start of the winter, and I'll be saying it for about another year. With Henry around, I'm not about to always be saying "Honey, you've got to watch Hank because I NEED to get in this 90 minute run that consists of a 20 min WU, then 6 descending miles starting at 6:20 pace dropping down to...." Nope. Not doing that. Training hard / running road races / doing triathlons is just a fun hobby of mine - I can't let "training" get in the way of important things like family. I still need to find a way to be healthy and "stay fit," but I'm just saying I might be doing more longish / easyish runs with Henry in the stroller vs short, hard, explosive workouts for speed.

- What should my 5th goal be? I'm taking ideas from you guys. In 2010, I finally stopped being annoyed at finish-line shot of me hitting my watch that I made it a yearly goal to get as many photos like that as possible. Here's what I came up with for 2010:

In 2011, I didn't really make it a "goal," but I ended up wearing my "Tutti Frutti" shorts for EVERY multisport race of the year:

2011 Duathlons: Apple, Gear West, Oakdale, and Cannon Falls


2011 Triathlons: Life Time Fitness, Waseca, and Lake Marion

So I've done watch shots and porta-potty shots (and even unofficial "tutti frutti wearing") as "yearly goals" - where do I go from here? What should my final goal be for 2012? I'm open to suggestions...