Meeting a goal, 500 Miles in 2011

I have attempted to set new years resolutions in the past, but I typically failed at them, and most times I failed quite early on. For this year I set 3 goals, 1 of them I am pretty confident I won’t hit, more on that later, but two of them I had/have every intention of hitting.

Goal #1 Drop 30 lbs

I’m a big guy, 6’4” and on 1/1/11 I weighed 255lbs. I think sometime shortly there after I crept up to around 260lbs. My goal for the year is 225lbs. Currently (as of this morning) I weigh 246.2 lbs. I have been under 250lbs for about a month now. In the past 6 years (probably more) I haven’t weighed under 250lbs for more than a day or two. So while I doubt I will hit 225lbs by 12/31/11, I plan to keep under 250, and would be happy if I was under 245 by then, closer to 240 would be preferred.

Goal #2 Skate (inline) 100 miles

I actually got off to a good start in January doing about 25 miles, but I haven’t skated once since, that changes tomorrow. I plan to go skate over my lunch break, putting in probably 8-10 miles depending on the wind. I love to inline skate, I always have. I have a nice pair of K2 Radical Pro’s (with some minor repairs to the cuff) that are waiting for me by the door so I don’t forget them on my way to work. While I have 75 miles to go, if I can get in 2 skates a week for the next month I should be able to hit that 100 mile goal. In 2010 I skated 18.6 miles, according to Garmin Connect, in 2009 I skated 116.05 miles.

Goal #3 Ride 500 miles on a Bicycle

I am proud to say that I completed this goal today, in less than 6 months of actual riding! In 2010 I rode 93 miles on a bike, and prior to 2009 it had been YEARS since I rode a bike with any consistency. As a kid I rode a BMX bike everywhere, but pretty much nothing since I turned 14. So getting to 500 miles seemed like an pretty high, but still attainable goal.

I didn’t log my first mile on a bicycle in 2011 until May 30th. Pretty much 5 months of the year without riding, and then starting on 5/30 I got into riding. Why the change? Earlier that week I purchased a new bicycle, a 2011 Cannondale Quick CX 1. In the 5 months and 29 days since I have put 507.35 miles on the bike!

Here are some of the statistics from my past 6 months of riding (courtesy of Garmin Connect)

Progress Summary Report for ChrisHammond
Count:46 Activities
Distance:507.35 mi
Time:48:34:30 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:27,802 ft
Avg Speed:10.4 mph
Avg HR:155 bpm
Avg Bike Cadence:67 rpm
Calories:44,451 C

I won’t set my goals for 2012 yet, as I still have another month to go for 2011, but I have some ideas as to what they will be!