August Goal Update

Hi kids!

We're back from 6 days at the cottage where we swam in the lake, ran down cottage country roads, watched hummingbirds, listened to loons and ate surprisingly healthy meals. It's always nice to be home but I do miss the peace, quiet and absolute stillness of a cottage night.

I'm a few days late on my monthly goal update but we were without wifi so it couldn't be helped. Because I'm a stickler for rules I will update as of August 31st even though I already have a run in the books for September and it would make my running goal total so much prettier.

Here are the goals I set back in January as well as a few more I've added along the way.

- complete the Tel Aviv half marathon
- stay injury free (no longer a goal as I managed to develop a stress fracture in my foot)
- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Aktiv Swim Series this summer
- play 10 round of golf
- play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61.

Here are where things stand as of August 31st. 

Complete the Tel Aviv half marathon - done! Ran it back in March which feels like a lifetime ago now. I do have the medal and t-shirt to prove it, as well as a few horror stories of the heat wave that threw a pretty big wrench in the whole event. 

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance - done and more. I managed to complete four tris this summer. Welland, Gravenhurst (Olympic distance), Belwood and Toronto Island. I'm pretty proud of having finished four and even prouder that I got better and better with each one. Tris are definitely a favourite of mine and I'm already planning my 2014 season. The 2013 season is finished for me now and I'm going to spend the off-season working on my running, swimming and cycling skills. Oh, and a hint at one of my 2014 goals: buy (and actually use) a damn wetsuit!

Pay down debt - this goal is a lot like cha cha. Two steps forward, one step back. I have good months. I have bad ones. In August, I increased my debt by a measly $42.00 but it didn't go down which is frustrating. I did look back to January 1st however and I'm happy to say that my debt since the beginning of the year is down by $4,300. So it's getting there but slowly. We're entering the birthday and Christmas season soon and there will be curling fees and new tires needed for my car so it's going to be a tight few months.

Log 1000k of running this year - I managed to run 86k in August which is the most I've run since the height of my half marathon training back in February. My foot is holding up well to the increased mileage and didn't even whimper when I ran 14k on it at the cottage...on a road that had more rolling hills than flats. My year to date running total is 494k which is so close to half that I was tempted to round up. I have four months left and, if all goes well, September will be a mileage heavy month as I train for the Niagara Falls half. I don't know if I'll actually make the 1000k but I'll be closer than I thought I would be back in April when I was limping around on a stress-fractured foot. 

Complete two events in the Aktiv Swim Series - done! In fact, I would have loved to do a few more but only two out of the six actually fell on days I was in town and able to race. I can report that I competed in two open water races, both 1.9k in length. The first one I finished in 36:53. Three weeks later, I did my second one in 35:56 (1:53 per 100m). They are a great way to train for open water swimming and triathlons but they're different because I can push hard the whole way knowing I don't have to hope out of the water and onto my bike. I will definitely do more next summer. Plus, there is another open water race weekend in Welland that I may look at in 2014. They have a 1k, 3k, 5k and 10k race. Three kilometres is totally doable so I'm thinking maybe the five? No point in reaching for the low-hanging fruit right? 

Play ten rounds of golf - golf, my latest athletic pursuit, is not on a set schedule the way running, swimming and cycling are. Some weeks I play two games. Then I play nothing for three weeks. It's up and down but I love it and want to play more. To date I've played 8 games and I have one booked in September already so I'm guessing I will meet my goal of ten. Ten games felt like a lot when I first set my target but I'm actually wishing I had more time to play and more games under my belt. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze in 4 more before I trade my golf clubs for my curling shoes? 

Play the baby steps golf course in 50 rather than 61 - the baby steps golf course is the first course I played with Doug. It's a 9-hole par 3 course. I've played it three times now. The first in 61. The second in 50 and the third in 49. (Insert polite golf clap here).

There are still four months left in 2013 and I still have things to work on. Like make it through Christmas and birthday season with less debt, not more. For the most part though, I'm on track and happy with everything I've been able to do to this point. 

And my list for 2014 is already forming in my head...