A look at my goals for 2013 and the progress made after six months.
Back in January, I was pretty inspired when I posted my Awesome Bucket v2013, listing out my goals for the coming year.
My passion bucket overflowed with aspirations of becoming an Ironman, feeding my writing tree, and setting a course toward travel, development and above all, excitement.
I posted my goals to hold myself accountable for the rest of the year and help keep them top of mind.
And now that we’re about halfway through the year, it’s time to check in and report on how things are going.
Did my passion bucket drain when the rubber met the road?
Was my plate too full with all these goals?
Have I lost focus and forgotten about my one thing?
Keep reading to find out.
Fitness
Goal: Finish the 2013 Ironman Arizona triathlon in 12 hours or less.
Progress Report: A
When setting goals and New Year’s resolutions, it’s important to establish priorities and not cram too much into the ‘ol Awesome Bucket.
This Ironman goal is my “one thing” and takes the highest priority on the list. As such, I wake up before dawn most mornings, head back to the gym right after work for evening strength training, carve out a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays for long bike rides and runs, and spend most other free time cooking, prepping, planning and studying my way toward that finish line.
At the end of the day, I usually go to bed around 9:30pm – sore from working out, ready for a nice long rest, excited about the coming day, driven, not drained.
Aside from a setback in February due to a foot injury – all systems are go and it’s full steam ahead for race day in November.
My road map charted an Olympic-distance triathlon in March, a Half-Ironman triathlon in the summer and another Olympic-distance race in the fall. I had to skip the March race as I rehabbed my foot back to strength, but I’m registered for the Boulder Half Ironman in August and the Nathan Olympic Triathlon in September.
I’m still taking it pretty easy on my foot, and slowly working back into running (mostly light jogs of around 20-25 minutes at this point). If things keep progressing I should be able to complete the 13-mile run at the Boulder race. However, I’ll approach that race cautiously and won’t hesitate to skip the run if it’s just not ready for that distance.
Back burner: Take a Krav Maga class
Progress Report: B
As I ramped up training for Ironman (and everything else that goes into it), I made the choice to push this back to the second half of the year, after I’d established my routines and figured out where this can fit in my schedule.
So far, I’ve researched local gyms and come up with three class options to pick from. I plan to pick a winner in July and incorporate a weekly class for a few months from August to November. Most likely, the class will take the place of an evening strength workout during the week.
Writing
Goal: Blog once a week on Tri for Les or Fuller Creative
Progress Report: B
To date, I’ve posted 17 articles this year (including cross posts) and the blogs are each developing some nice momentum, engagement and content.
Considering my crazy-full schedule, this goal gave me the most amount of worry, as writing is usually a casualty when life gets busy. But I’m pleased with the frequency and quality of production thus far. The key to maintaining this momentum is to keep the foot on the pedal, always strive for content that teaches and/or offers value to the reader, and continue to reserve mandatory writing time slots in my schedule every week.
Back burner: Research long-term writing projects
Progress report: B
This goal evolved into a larger process of mapping out a long term plan for the next five years or so. And as that plan takes shape, these fluid long-term writing projects (like writing a book) probably won’t see much light in 2013, but they are in place, warming up on the back burner.
Travel
Goal: Hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim
Progress report: Fail
Had to eliminate this one from Awesome Bucket v2013 due to Ironman conflicts. For one, I didn’t want to take on something so strenuous and risk injury before the race in November. Also, I had planned on going with a group of friends in September, however that date was the same as the Nathan Olympic Triathlon, and the race took priority. Perhaps next year.
Back burner: Research long-term travel opportunities; save up for an international trip
Progress report: A
I’ve set up an automatic monthly savings plan for travel expenses, highlighted about ten cities I’d like to visit in the next few years, and incorporated travel in my grand master plan.
Awesome
Goal: Play guitar 30 minutes a day, every day
Progress report: D
Originally, I set out to play guitar within five minutes of getting home from work. That didn’t last long, since I usually get home late from the gym and need to cook, eat, prep for the next day and get to bed – not much time to jam during the week.
Sadly, this one is another casualty of Ironman. However, I’ve revised it to try and work in at least a quick song before going to bed and a longer jam session sometime on the weekends.
Back burner: CPR certification
Progress report: A
Haven’t completed this yet, but it’s on my calendar to research CPR class options in July, to complete the certification in August. Seems attainable.
Back burner: Fundraising event for an animal shelter or the AZ Humane Society
Progress report: C
I’d like to incorporate a fundraising component for Tri for Les, but haven’t done any research or planning thus far. I know we have support from great friends and family, but we’ll need to carve out some time to make this happen and do it right.
For those keeping score at home, my report card at the halfway point is:
Main goals: A – B – F – D
Back burners: B – B – A – A – C
All in all, a pretty encouraging first-half performance – especially with that “A” in the Ironman category.
I’ll look to post another progress report in September.
Until then, thanks for following, and best of luck on your own Awesome Bucket.
Photo credit: sheeprus