12 Challenges for 2014

This year instead of creating a list of goals to accomplish throughout the year, I thought I’d try doing a small challenge each month.  During August of 2013 I unsubscribed to an e-mail newsletter each day and it felt very gratifying and actually helped me to continue feel “empowered” to unsubscribe from e-mails still today!

I also figure that 12 “mini” challenges are easier to keep than a few larger ones.  Each month you get to start over!!

There isn’t a whole bunch of rhyme or reason to my 12 Challenges and I’ll throw some more random ones out there as they come up!  Please feel free to join with me too!!  At the beginning of each month I’ll post a short description of the challenge and a review of the previous month’s challenge.

January Get rid of something every day – After a busy holiday season of getting gifts and buying stuff for yourself on clearance it is time to remove something from your life!

February –  Do the 7 Minute Workout Each Day – The doldrums of winter are here…  Hitting the 7 minute work out will hopefully spice things up!

March  – Unsubscribe, de-friend, unfollow – Time for some spring cleaning.  Clean out your inbox or news feed by getting rid of some unwanted/unneeded clutter!

April – 30 Day of Biking This popular event in its 3rd or 4th year is a great way to break out the bike and hit the trails!

May – Read a poem – Read a poem each day this month.  The sky is the limit with so many great poems to choose from…  Don’t just pick 30 haikus though!

June – Blog everyday – There are some cool writing challenges floating around the interwebs about writing novels, etc.  Find something to compelling to write about each day.

July – Be Outside – We don’t have enough nice days to sit out in the sun, so spend 15 minutes or more outside each day in July to soak in some rays!

August Take a Picture a Day – I’ve done photo challenges in the past, mostly trying to take a picture a day for a year and while that created some cool pictures, I also got some fairly lame ones.  Do it for a month and be creative.  Avoid the weird 30 day challenges that show up on Facebook!

September – Proverb a Day – With school in full swing it seems fitting to go back to the Book of Wisdom and read a chapter from the Book of Proverbs each day.

October – 30 Days of Core Work – Haven’t had a fitness challenge in a few months… Mix it up… 30 days of planks and push ups? or 30 days of planks and squats? Pick 2 or 3 areas and stick with it!

November – Give Thanks – Send in the mail a note of Thanksgiving each day.  A little Cheesy maybe, but we need to spend more time being thankful.

December – 30 Days of Advent Find something advent related and read/reflect on it each day.

I will doing a few things on top of the 30 day challenges like, reading the Bible each day using this plan and reading out of this daily devotional book.  I’d also like to read 20 or so books this year (as long as Amazon keeps giving me free books!!)

And then I can’t resist a challenge like the January 50 mile challenge laid out by Minneapolis Running!  On the racing scene my plan this year is to complete the following events:

April half marathon with my sister?

5/13 Almanzo 100 (bike race)

8/2 Minnesota Half (running)

8/15-16 Powderhorn 24 (bike race)

10/3 Something… maybe the TC Loony Challenge?

What are you thinking about for 2014?

Instagram a Marathon #tcmarathon

Last Sunday was a beautiful day for running a 10 mile race or Marathon.  After the 10 mile I didn’t go back out to watch the marathon, but I did find some amazing pictures via Instagram’s hashtag #tcmarathon.  I can’t figure out a way to search via the computer so I can’t create a link, but there were over 2,000 pictures posted throughout the day!!

I didn’t look at all of them, but here are a few of the best that I saw:

Finish Line:

Cheer Signs:

Runners:

Cups:

Local photographer Ben Garvin captured some amazing finish line shots that have been making the rounds.

Trails Closed But Congress Serious About Fitness – For Selves

From Pioneer Press article

I didn’t realize until 1/2 way through my run this morning that the trails I was running on were closed due to the shutdown.  There were no signs at the trailhead I used – it was in a state park.  There were plenty of National Wildlife Refuge signs all along the trail once I entered the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.  When I emerged at the Lyndale Trailhead there were signs posted saying the trails were closed – with a QR code with more information.  I didn’t have my phone so that was useless and I couldn’t snap a picture, but I found a similar sign (right) online.

On my run back to the car I didn’t see any signs along the way indicating the trail’s closure and I didn’t when I popped out at the Hopkins Cir/Hopkins Place trail head either.  It isn’t super clear when you leave the State Park and enter the Wildlife Refuge.   So fortunately no ranger was waiting to give me a ticket like happened to John Bell.

Bell said he drove to the park Sunday morning and noticed that internal park roads were barricaded, much like they are at night after the park closes, so instead he drove to a remote parking lot off of state Route 23.

He proceeded to run about five miles through the 3,500-acre park and returned to find a pair of park rangers in the parking lot.

“When I came back my car was surrounded by two ranger vehicles with their lights flashing,” Bell said. “I felt like I was a terrorist.”

Bell said the rangers asked him if he “watched the news” and told him the park was closed because the government is shut down. Bell said they had already placed a $100 ticket on his car.

“I’ve got to go to federal court if I want to fight this thing,” he said.

According to the article over 20 tickets have been issued at Valley Forge.  Runners World reports that there will be a protest run tomorrow.

Relevant Magazine reports that at the same time this occurred Congress deemed that Congressional gyms were essential, but unfortunately gyms for Congressional staffers aren’t.

Ironically, that very week, Congress deemed their tax-payer funded personal gym “essential” so that they could still workout during the shutdown. (Though, we should note, the “staff” gym—for employees of our elected officials, was closed.) Congress can keep their fancy gyms, but as John Bell is reminding everyone else, from the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, ?this land was made for you and me.

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Trail Half Tomorrow

Tomorrow I run the Surly Trail Loppet Half Marathon.  This is a fun/tough course that I ran last year in 1:55:18.  I didn’t write much of a review last year, but it is pretty much all hills!

Last year I did a 10k training plan as part of my training for the Square Lake Triathlon.   I feel pretty good about tomorrow even though I’ve run a lot less hills – having 2 kids make slipping out for runs at Wirth harder.  My plan is to go out conservative and see where I’m at around the half way mark and pick it up from there.

I think that means going out between 8:30 and 9 minute pace.

Wish me luck!

 

I’m racing as part of Team World Vision raising funds for clean water projects in the Congo! $50 provides clean water for life for one person.

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