2017 Goals And Planned Races

New Years resolutions put a bad taste in my mouth. Of course there are the stereotypical things that everyone seems to go for like "I'm going to lose weight" or "I'm going to eat healthier". The funny thing is, year after year, research shows us that VERY few individuals actually stick to their resolutions. I guess that is part of the reason that I choose to use the word goal instead of resolution, because I am certain that I will do everything in my power to meet the goals that I set. 

That being said, this year I am setting a few goals. For starters, as mentioned in a previous blog post, my wife and I are setting a goal together. We are going to run 2,017 miles combined in 2017. There are not many better motivators then working towards a goal with someone else. In addition to that goal, I have listed a few more below:

• 2,500 miles cycling
• 75 miles swimming
• 150 sessions of strength training
• Complete my first marathon
• Complete my first 70.3/half Ironman distance triathlon
• Complete my first trail race
• End the year weighing less than 215 lbs

There is a lot of ambition in those goals, but I am have become a very confident person and athlete. I don't have a bit of doubt that I will be able to complete all of these and more!

I have also started to fill in my racing schedule for 2017. Some of the races were included in previous posts, but I am going to list everything I have tentatively planned to provide a whole picture.

1. March 11 - Leprechaun Chase 10K (Des Moines, IA)
2. April 29 - Drake Relays Half Marathon (Des Moines, IA)
3. June 10 - Marathon to Marathon (Storm Lake, IA)
4. June 17 - River of No Return 25K (Challis, ID)
5. July 8 - Accel Triathlon Sprint (Waterloo, IA)
6. August 5 - Dewitt Crossroads Triathlon Sprint (Dewitt, IA)
7. August 20 - Bluff Creek Triathlon Olypmic (Ogden, IA)
8. September 10 - Legend Ad Astra Triathlon 70.3 (Lawrence, KS)
9. October 15 - IMT Des Moines Marathon Relay (Des Moines, IA)

Once again, an ambitious schedule, but I have read that one of the biggest regrets of both runners and triathletes is not competing more when they were in such great shape already. 

Here is to 2017!