Welcome to Los Angeles!

I went out and did my own personal 5k walk this morning. This is my last long walk before doing the organized Surf City 5k race next Sunday. All of my walks this week will be pretty short distances & times.

My goal for January has been to walk/run at least 30 miles, so I’m right on track for that. With today’s walk, this brings my total walk/run mileage to 26.8 miles which means I’ve basically walked to Los Angeles this month.

My goal for February is going to be 35 miles. I really need to average 47 miles per month in order to meeting my 2008 Walk goal. I would set my goal for February for 40 miles, but since it’s a short month, I don’t want to set an unrealistic goal for myself. I plan to start bumping up my goal distances closer to the average I need to be meeting beginning in March. I figure I can make up my shortfalls these first couple of months this summer when the weather is nicer and I’ll be outside a lot more.

2008 Mileage Goal

I was talking last night with my friend Tracy who lives in Washington state. She has recently caught the fitness bug and we were discussing ways to help inspire one another in 2008. We’ve decided to start a 16-week couch to 5k plan on January 1.

As we kept talking, she mentioned she wanted to come up with a location to virtually walk toward during the year. She thought it would be motivating to see the progress of getting closer and closer to some virtual destination, much like my friend Darla who is tracking her mileage in Middle Earth (a la Lord of the Rings).

So, as she’s talking, I got this idea that I thought was pretty darn cool. I checked on Google Maps to see what the distance was between our homes — 1134 road miles (not “as the crow flies” miles) for those wondering. I immediately asked her if she would be interested in completing 567 miles for the year and we could “meet” in the middle. She thought it was a cool idea, too. The next challenge came to figure out where that middle would be located. Imagine our surprise when we found a city that was virtually EXACTLY in the middle — Redding, CA.

Tracy will be covering 568 miles and I’ll be covering 569 miles. In order to meet this goal, we’ll need to both average about 11 miles per week over the course of the year. The distances may be a bit shorter each week earlier in the year, but will most likely be more later in the year as we become more fit. Our mileage will include any time spent walking, running, mileage from the elliptical trainer, or mileage from cycling either on a real bike or stationary bike.

I’ve created a map showing the route I’ll be taking. I’ll create a new box over on the right-hand side of my blog to track my miles through the year. I’ll also plan to post an update at least once per month in a blog entry and/or whenever I reach a major milestone like 100 miles, 200 miles, etc. Here’s my map:

Total Distance From Anaheim to Redding: 569 miles

Total Distance Walked/Ran: 0 miles
Total Distance Remaining: 569 miles

This should definitely help make getting in the miles more fun throughout the year. The cool part is that we’ll actually be able to get in part of our mileage together since we will be vacationing together in New York in October.

Mot de l’année

English translation: Word of the Year

This afternoon, my friend Tracy told me about a blog that she stumbled across earlier today. The writer’s most recent blog entry described how each year she picks out her “word of the year” to help inspire and motivate herself throughout the year. I thought it was a wonderful idea and have decided to adopt it for myself. So, here goes …

My Word of the Year for 2008:

com·mit·ment (Pronunciation Key: kuh-mit-muhnt)

1. the act of committing.
2. the state of being committed.
3. the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself.
4. a pledge or promise; obligation:
5. engagement; involvement
6. confinement to a mental institution or hospital

Ok, so we’ll just move past and disregard definition #6. Definitions 1-5, especially definitions 3 and 4, are more what I’m talking about for my word of the year. The upcoming year is going to be ALL about commitment for me. This is the year I return in full earnestness to my journey to improve my health, lose the weight, and step up my exercise/training.

I’ve actually done pretty well overall the past couple of months, but there have been times that it’s gotten sketchy even then. It’s mostly been more of the same old yo-yo situation I’ve found myself in over the past 3 years or so. That will NOT be the case in 2008.

I’m not typically one who makes New Year’s Resolutions. I think, for the most part, people don’t take resolutions very seriously. However, I have made the decision to set some very distinct goals for 2008. The term “goal” has more of the distinction of being something one is actually working toward more than just a resolution, in my opinion. With my goals, I’ve tried to keep them realistic and attainable. I’ve also made sure each could be broken down into smaller short-term goals to help make it easier for me to measure my progress through out the year. And now, without further adieu …

My 2008 Goals:

1. Lose 60 pounds

a. Attend weekly Weight Watchers meetings
b. Lose an average of 5 pounds per month

2. Run a 5k race

a. Walk/run at least 3 times per week
b. Complete 16-week conservative Couch to 5k training plan

3. Complete a 25-mile bike ride (possibly the 2008 Solvang Prelude)

a. Learn to ride my new bike
b. Ride at least once per week either outside or using a trainer.

Well, that’s it. I’ve COMMITTED (nice work in of my Word of the Year, dontcha think? ) my goals here in my blog. I hope those of you who are my regular readers will help encourage me along the way and hold my feet to the fire to get each one of them completed before Jan. 1, 2009. Here’s to an awesome 2008 …