About forty days ago I wrote ten goals for myself that I want to complete before I turn 28 next August. A few of those goals I’m making good strides towards, while others have been left behind. I figured I’d revisit the goals to fortify where I stand and review where action needs to be taken.
1: Complete a Marathon
I’m already signed up for the Space Coast Marathon on December 1st. My running schedule is currently short runs on Tuesday, medium runs on Thursday, and long runs on Saturday. My short runs are currently at four miles and shouldn’t bump up for a few more weeks. My medium runs are at seven miles, bumping up next week I think. My long runs have maxed out at thirteen miles so far, dropping down to ten miles last weekend, but jumping up to fifteen and sixteen miles this weekend and next. The injuries are starting to build, so I need to be careful and may need to take a day or two off to gain some extra rest.
2: Quit My Job
This was one that I was pushing off until the beginning of next year for a few reasons. After having trouble finding a new job, I was looking forward to taking an extended vacation and doing some traveling with some time off before jumping back into the workforce. Last week I was approached by another manager who asked if I’d be interested in working for him. I’ve already been doing some work with him over the past few months and it’s much better than what I’m doing currently. He’s in the process of trying to get some job openings approved and I’m at the top of his list, so now I guess I have options on this one.
3: Train for a Triathlon
After getting my bike shortly before my last post, I’ve been putting a lot of miles on it – over 125 so far. I’ve also started swimming regularly, both at the ocean and in springs, and have worked my way up to ten straight minutes of freestyle swimming. I used MapMyRun.com to map out Wekiva Springs State Park’s swimming area and found that a loop around is 200 meters. I only need to complete 400 meters in the Beat the Heat Sprint Triathlon I signed up for and I completed that in my ten minutes last weekend, give or take a few dozen meters since it’s hard to map out with all the trees there. I’ve gone on multiple bike rides around ten to twelve miles and one that was fourteen miles; the Sprint Triathlon distance is 20K or 12.4 miles. The run will only be a 5K or 3.1 miles, so that should not be any problem.
4: Go to a Medieval Faire
There’s nothing around here during this time of year and I’m pretty loaded with other stuff to do. Once late-fall and winter hit, there will be many options to experience around Florida, so it’ll just be picking a weekend and driving somewhere.
5: Get a Tattoo
I have a few design ideas for tattoos, but sizing and placement are still up in the air. Since I’m so busy training for Tough Mudder, the Triathlon, and the Marathon, this would probably be a good one to do after those events. In fact, I’ll have two and a half weeks off in late December, which I’m thinking of spending up North. My brother loves getting tattoos, so this might be a good option to do then.
6: Hike a Long Trail
This would be a lot easier if I didn’t have a job. The Appalachian Trail would take about four months, the Florida Trail would take about two months, and the John Muir Trail would take about three weeks. If I do find myself without a job come next year, I could take on any of the three, although the AT and FT would be more fitting for an early-year start. If I wind up with a new job, the John Muir Trail may be a good fit, as it’ll take a reasonable amount of time, but I would need to wait until the summer months to hike it.
7: Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
The one’s been on the bucket list for a while, but it takes a fair amount of time – a week and a half including travel – and a lot of money – close to $4000 for the whole trip. The optimal time to climb seems to be the fall (spring for the Southern Hemisphere) which is already booked for this year and too short notice to get ready anyway. They was the one I threw on the list as a crazy option, so I didn’t expect to actually complete it. There’s still hope, but it’s unlikely I’ll get through this an the long trail above, if I can manage either.
8: Ride a Roller Coaster at Night
I already bought a ticket to Howl O Scream at Busch Gardens in Tampa. I’m planning on October 19th for the trip, so this one should be bagged and tagged pretty soon!
9: Learn to Scuba Dive
This one’s a little pricier than I had first thought, but not too bad. There’s a two-week class in November that I’m looking to take, but it’s the two weeks in between my Triathlon and my Marathon. I probably would end up doing something those weekends anyway, but when the calendar starts filling up, it all starts seeming a little overwhelming. Then once the training is complete, I’ll need to find some places to scuba dive.
10: Build and Launch a PVC Rocket
I was big into trying this a few months ago while reading Rocket Boys, but with all the training I’m doing now, it’s taken a back seat mentally. I’d still like to do it, but maybe it can wait until the winter months when I have less going on.
ren3gade 