September Goal Update

This may be my last official goal update of this year?

Why?

Wait and see..

Here is my goal list from wayyyy back in January.

- complete the Tel Aviv half marathon
- stay injury free
- 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.

And here are the updates: 

Tel Aviv half marathon - done! 

Stay injury free - that goal went flying out the window after I stress fractured my foot from, of all things, walking. 

Complete three triathlons - done! I completed four, including one Olympic distance. The season is over so that's it until next June. 

Pay down debt - done! Well, not done done but it's been a good month. Last week, after one year of waiting, appealing, waiting, and more waiting, I received the reassessment of my taxes based on the fact that I was approved for the Disability Tax Credit. A lovely sum of money made its way into my bank account. With that money I did the following: 

- I payed off all credit card debt

- I put money away for a trip that Doug and I are planning for next year

- I earmarked money to go into a Retired Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) (I just need to make an appointment at the bank to open it).

- I put money into savings for unexpected things like car repairs and new tires. 

I still have a car loan as well as another loan. The car loan is finished next June (hurray!) and the other loan still has three years on it but, once the car loan is paid off I will take the money I was putting on my car payments and apply it to my loan which should knock it down in half the time. So, while my debt is not yet paid off, I am in a much better place finally and that huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 

Log 1000k of running - I managed to run 105k in September. That ties my biggest month of the year (February). I'm pretty happy that my foot has withstood the increase with very little whining. My year to date total is now 599k. I don't imagine I will be able to run 400k in three months but I may get close to 300k. Not bad after two months off to recover from my broken foot (see above). 

Complete two Aktiv Swim Series events - done! I managed to complete two events (both 1.9k swims). There are no more this season so that number won't change now. 

Complete 10 rounds of golf - done! I was able to get out on the course a lot more in September than in August. I have now played 14 rounds of golf as well as one 'tournament'. It wasn't really a tournament - just a bunch of foursomes playing at the local Golf and Country Club. We did end up coming in second and we won - wait for it - four golf balls. 

Not four each. Four total. Doug gave me his though so I totally scored. Plus the golf balls had the Giant Tiger logo on them which makes they way more fun to play with. Neither have ended up in a water hazard yet. 

Play the baby steps golf course and get a score of 50 or less - I've played this course six times now. The first time I played, I got a 61. Since then, I've scored 50, 50, 49, 47, 45 and 43 (which I scored last night thank you very much!). So I consider this goal officially met - six times. 

There isn't much left to work on. 

I will obviously keep running and we'll see how close I get to 1000k by the end of the year.  

I will obviously keep paying down my fixed payment debts and I will certainly NOT be putting anything on my credit card other than things that I cannot pay in cash (like race entry fees) but I will no longer be carrying a balance. I have money in savings. My financial house is in much better order than it was in January. Whew!

Now do you see why I said this might be my last official goal update for the year? 

I'll keep you posted on the running totals and any other significant advancements in debt reduction. And I guess I'll have to start planning next year's list eh? 

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...

July Goal Update

This is the first year that I have done monthly updates on my goals. So far, seven months in, I have noticed two things:

1. knowing I have to be open and honest about how I'm doing keeps me focused and helps me make good choices...most of the time.

2. the year feels like it's flying by and it is always a bit of a shock when I discover that it is already that time again.

I'll assume that none of you have memorized my goals so here's the quick recap of the goal list (including updates that I've made along the way): 

- complete the Tel Aviv half marathon (done!)

- 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.

And here is where things stand: 

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance

Done! I completed the Welland sprint triathlon in June and then I did the Gravenhurst Olympic triathlon followed by the Belwood sprint triathlon in July. (psst! I also signed up for the Toronto Island sprint triathlon in August so I'm actually going to surpass my goal. This is particularly exciting considering I didn't even know if I'd be able to do any races this summer due to my stress fracture) 

Pay down debt

I have to be honest. Debt reduction didn't go well in July. We went away to Gravenhurst for five days. I signed up for two triathlons. We hosted friends for a weekend. All fun things to do. All pretty challenging on the pocketbook. So instead of paying down debt, I actually increased it by a rather horrifying $700.10. Not good. 

Log 1000km of running this year

This goal had a pretty major setback after my foot injury but I'm still holding out the hope that I'll at least get close. I logged 73 kilometres this month bringing my annual total to 409km. Considering I missed all of April and most of May, that's not awful. If I can log between 90-100km a month for the next five months I can do it. That sounds kinda crazy at this point but I'm taking it one day at a time and this goal is not worth my getting injured again for. (It does, however, encourage me to add that extra kilometre or two in the mornings when I want to pack it in early.) 

Complete two events in the Aktiv Openwater Swim series. 

I completed one 1.9k swim race in July and I have every intention of competing again on August 9th. So hopefully this goal is in the bag. 

Play ten rounds of golf this year.

Well, I managed to squeeze in three rounds of golf in July bringing my total for the summer to five. It seems that a friend and I may be meeting for a weekly game (we both play pretty miserably so we're actually pretty good company). Add a couple of games with Doug and I may yet reach ten before the snow flies. 

Play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 instead of 63. 

This goal is kinda up in the air at the moment. See, I had set it when I thought Doug and I would be playing the same 9-hole, par 3 course for most of the summer. Turns out that we play at different courses and my friend and I play at yet another course. So perhaps at the end of the summer I'll head back to the original course I set this goal for and see if I am up to the challenge. At this point I have nothing to report. 

And that, my friends, is the July goal update. 

June Goal Update

Twenty thirteen is half finished already. People keep warning me that time will fly by when I get old.

I must be getting old because my goodness it's flying by.

It's time to report on my goal progress for 2013. Just a reminder that things have changed a bit since January. I've crossed one goal off my list because I accomplished it (run the Tel Aviv half). I removed a goal from my list (stay injury free) because I broke my foot (oops!). And I added a few extra goals because I took up golf. 

The updated list is as follows:

- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Activ 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.

June Report; 

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance

I completed the Welland sprint triathlon in June. I'm booked for the Gravenhurst Olympic triathlon in July and I have two more looming on the horizon if all goes well. So I may meet and even exceed that goal by the end of the summer. 

Pay down debt

I was planning to report that I had made a bit more headway in the right direction and managed to pay down another $500 in June. But then I found out that I was deemed eligible for the Disability Tax Credit and I received my tax credit for 2011 and 2010. So, um, I didn't pay down my debt by $500. I paid it down by $3800. Woohoo! 

Log 1000k of running this year. 

I was on track for this goal in the first three months of the year. Then I broke my foot and didn't run a step in April. I started running again in May but we're talking minutes, not hours. I ran the entire month of June and built up my running by a few minutes each day. By the end of the month I managed to log exactly 60k of running which I'm pretty proud of. That brings my year to date to 336k. It's a far cry from 1000k but there are still six months left and I plan on running more every week so I might get close. 

Swim two events in the Activ Swim Series

The Activ Swim Series is new this year. There are six events and they all take place in the Welland Canal. Each event consists of a 1.9k swim and a 3.8k swim. I'm all set to swim my first open water 1.9k swim on July 5th. The second will either be July 16th or August 9th. Either way, I'm all set to go. 

Play ten rounds of golf

Well, I've played two so far. They were both fun but I'll be hard-pressed to squeeze 8 more games into the summer. We'll see how close I get. 

Play the baby steps golf course until I can get a 50 rather than a 61.

The baby steps golf course, as I call it, is a 9-hole par 3 course that I've played twice. The first time I played I counted every stroke and ended up playing a 61. Then Doug informed me that I should stop playing a hole if I takes me more than twice par to play it (6 strokes). So the second time I got a score of  54 but only because I stopped counting at 6 strokes. Six strokes times nine holes equals fifty-four. So my goal is still to score a 50. Ideally, it would be nice to actually earn the fifty rather than simply score it. Baby steps. 

Well, that's where things stand halfway through the year. 

Looks pretty good to me. 

May Goal Update

I'm liking this monthly goal update thing. It keeps me accountable and I get excited when I am able to report progress.

In January I announced my goals for the year:


- log 1000km of running this year
- run the Tel Aviv half marathon
- complete three triathlons, including one Olympic distance
- stay injury free
- pay down debt

Then, as winter turned into spring, I had to make a few adjustments to my goal list due to injury.

My new goal list, as of April, is as follows:

- complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance
- pay down debt
- log 1000k of running this year
- complete two events in the Activ 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.

Drum roll please...

Complete three triathlons, including an Olympic distance. Well, I'm in the early days of my return to running after my second stress fracture program so I don't want to get to far ahead of myself but I think it's still possible. If there are no setbacks, I should be running the 10k distance I need mere days before the Olympic triathlon in July. I'm a little worried that I won't have had a smaller distance tri first to get into the swing of things but c'est la vie. And, if I'm in good enough shape to do that race, I'll be signing up for two more sprint distance triathlons later in the summer. So this goal is still very much on the table.

Pay down debt. I continue to cut corners and limit spending as much as possible and I continue to see my debt slowly but surely decrease. I managed knock another $400 off the pile in May and not add a single penny to my credit card. That's pretty exciting. I need to make a large insulin pump supply order in June but I'm waiting for my quarterly cheque to come in so that I can charge the order to my credit card and immediately pay it off. My goal for June is $500 towards the debt and no credit card purchases other than pump supplies.

Log 1000k of running this year. I was on track in the first three months of the year but April was stress fracture month and I didn't run 100m let alone 100k. I started my return to running program last week and can proudly add 20k (does walk/run count?) to my total. I've gone from 258k to 278k. Not much but more than I could add a few weeks ago so I'll take it. The goal still stands because, if the healing goes well and I can plan for a fall half marathon, there might still be hope. I solemnly swear not to work on this goal if it puts me at risk of re-injury.

Complete two events in the Activ Swim Series this summer. I mentioned this series in April. It's new this year and put on by a local triathlon store. They are organizing weekly open water swims for half-ironman and ironman distances (1.9k and 3.8k respectively). I thought it might be fun to try the distances out and see how they go. The spring in Canada has been on the cool side so there is no open water swimming yet for me as I do not own a wetsuit. Another two weeks I hope and I can test my mettle in the Welland Canal. I'll start with the 1.9k and then, when I'm feeling braver, try the 3.8k.

Play ten rounds of golf. Well, one down and nine more to go. I have three golf lessons under my belt and about 8 (I forgot to keep count) trips to the driving range. I need to book golf games but I'm so focused on getting better that I prefer to spend my time on the range. I guess a balance of both is probably a good idea. By the end of June I'd like to have played two games at least. And a shout out to my friend Erin who said she wants to brave a golf game with me. Just waiting to book the date...


Play the baby steps golf course until I can do it in 50 rather than 61. My first golf game was at, what I nicknamed, the baby steps golf course. Only nine holes and all of them a par three. My first time there I played rather poorly for a golfer but not to shabbily for a newbie and scored a 61. My goal is to play it 9 more times this summer and get that score down to a 50. Since I've only played it once so far, I have nothing to report. Ask me at the end of June.

Speaking of which, come back in a month for the next goal update.

January Goal Update

I set myself a few goals for 2013. Nothing too crazy as I'm not one for New Year's resolutions but a few things that I thought would be fun (or a good idea) to work toward. I also thought it might be a good idea to actually report on them. That always helps keep me accountable.

I had a few athletic goals. My first goal was to run 1000 kilometres by the end of the year. Last year I ran 974.6km and, if I had realized I'd get that close to a four digit number, I would have added a few kilometres here and there.

I'm not sure why 1000 is that much more impressive than 975 but it is.

Well, January is over and I've logged 87km.

I've run three long runs: 13km, 15km and 16km. They were supposed to be 12km, 14km and 16km but it's so hard to find a perfect route at the perfect distance and I hate to run less than I'm supposed to. So there you have it.

I've done three hill sessions. All in the early-morning dark and all in the freezing cold. Each hill session was between 4-5km long depending on how many times I ran up. The number of times I ran up the hill depended entirely on what time I had to get to work that morning as every hill climb gets a little longer and the sprint up and easy run down take longer and longer.

I've had five Tuesday morning runs that are typically between 5km and 7km. That distance doesn't change during easy weeks. Only the long runs and the hill sessions change during an easy week.

If I were to run exactly 87km every month, I'd run 1044km in a year.

That, of course, is not going to happen. Some months will be over 100km. Others will be more like 60km.

I'll most likely run close to 100km in February as I'll be in the highest part of my half marathon training and will be running 18km, 20km and 22km long runs before I start to taper. That's an extra 16km just in long runs. The hills and Tuesday morning runs won't change much, if at all, in terms of distance so I'll probably have a nice high number at the end of this month.

My other running goals were to run the Tel Aviv half marathon on March 15th. I've signed up and am working my way through my training plan. So far, so good.

I also wanted to stay injury-free in 2013. So far everything feels fine. I have my monthly massage this afternoon and am happy to report that I'm going for maintenance rather than to fix a problem.

Finally, I want to complete three triathlons, one of them being an Olympic distance. I have chosen the three I'm going to do and have been working hard in the pool to hone my swimming skills. My next step is to make time to get my bike on the trainer so that I'm not starting from scratch in April once we hit the streets again.

As for my non-running goal of paying down debt - there's good news and bad news. My overall debt is down (yay!) but my credit card debit hardly budged. I paid down a fair amount but also racked up a fair amount with booking my flight to Israel, registering for the Tel Aviv half and paying for a few other things I just couldn't pay in cash. So I'm inching my way along but not at the rate I had planned for the month of January.

February will be tight as I try to save a bit for Israel while not adding an extra penny on the credit card. I won't make much headway but I refuse to add to my debt so February's goal is to simply maintain. March means income tax returns which will more than make up for the lack of headway in February.

And that, folks, is the January goal report.