2012 was the first year that I set some goals to try and achieve. I will spare you the suspense I only achieved one of the three. My thoughts on only being successful in one goal are a mixed bag that I will explain in full. The first goal, while technically being a failure, was sort of a success. The second goal I totally dropped the ball on. Whoops! My bad. The third goal was very much a success, and I am proud of my efforts.
Goal #1: Get 12 bag nights
I got ten. Several times I could have gone out and picked up the other two but I always opted to stay home and spend time with Beth. So while this is technically a failure to meet the goal, I failed on acceptable terms. It is also worth noting that ten bag nights is way more than I normally get in a typical year. Some of the nights I spent outdoors were terrible, and others were enjoyable.  |
| Campsite on Two Branch |
Here is a list, in no particular order of where I spent my bag nights this year:
3 nights spent out on the Katy Trail. During these 3 nights everything was conspiring against a good nights sleep.
1 night camping at Carlyle lake. The day of our arrival the lake was too choppy to have any fun paddling, the next day it was smooth as glass.
1 night camping on Two Branch island. My nephew and I paddled down the Cuivre to the Mississippi. Horrible stretch of river after we left.
3 nights during the Kayak100+ (MR340). I have never been so exhausted in my life. Paddled 340miles in 76hours. Very little sleep.
1 night on a random boat ramp on the Missouri river. 100miles from Jefferson city to St Charles, we decided to take a nap. Bad idea.
1 night camping on Two Branch again. I enjoy paddling out to the river islands. Last time we were racing the dark this time a storm. We lost.
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| During Kayak100+ I was trying not to look exhausted. |
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| ROCK Racing teammates Chuck and Robin (among others) met me at the finish of Kayak100+ |
Goal #2 Increase level of fitness
I think subconsciously I made this goal as vague as possible so that I could claim success in the end. Even with a vague goal I have to admit to failure. It wasn’t all failure though. Leading up to Kayak100+ I was doing great. Then the wheels fell off and I now at my heaviest weight (can’t weight to eat?) and feel like crap. Epic fail y’all. Being heavy is not the only area of failure in this goal. I am also not any stronger, but that is probably because of all the workouts I missed. As far as running goes I am doing okay, not great just ok. I have a plan to correct all of this though because 2013 will be one of the most physically demanding of my life.
Goal #3 Build on the foundation of the 100+Project
I would call this one a success! While the 100+Project is not widely known around the world, I have been working hard to spread the word and draw attention to the efforts put forth. In 2012 I had a couple mentions in the media, completed Cycle100+ and Kayak100+, and also held a very successful 12hour run/fundraiser.
Cycle100+ was 240miles on the Katy Trail. Gary Wilson and I rode the entire length in 4days. What a great ride it was.
Kayak100+ was a 340mile paddle from Kansas city to St Charles along the Missouri river. Cycle100+ was a joyride compared to this.
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| Page of the Health in the St Louis Post Dispatch section (below the fold) |
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| Blurb in a local Sunday magazine. |
The 12hour fun run, was a just a great day all around. This was something that I was doing as a training event for Run100+ and decided to invite people to join my friend Cheri and me for as much as they wanted. I suggested a $5 donation. We started at 6am and I don’t think there was one lap that we had to run alone. In total 30people showed up and many donated a lot more than the suggested $5. We raised a lot of money for a good cause. My only regret is not keeping track of everyone’s miles. I wasn’t expecting that many people to show up and it was difficult enough keeping track of my own miles. Maybe I can reconstruct them.
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| Cheri (far left) and I with some of the people that came out for the 12hour run. |
Summary
I think in the goal department I broke even. I’m not happy about #2 but can only blame myself. I couldn’t be happier about #3 although I have some things that I need to work on in the future to make it even more enjoyable for everyone following along. As previously stated I’m ok with how #1 turned out. I didn’t get 12 bag nights but I did get 10 and that is pretty good for me.
Goals for 2013
I like these goals so I will keep them for 2013 but with a few modifications.
- Get 20 bag nights. I will have 8nights associated with Hike100+ so 12 would be to low a number. Increasing to 20 cancels out the hike nights and leaves me with 12nights to get on my own.
- Increase fitness. This will be measured a success by meeting two of three minor goals. Weight 170, pass the Army PT test according to the standards when I was still serving (pushups, situps, 2mile run), and break a running PR. Within these there is certainly criteria by which success can be measured.
- Build on the success of the 100+Project. There are big things in store for 2013. Run100+ and Hike100+ will be two of the most demanding challenges of my life. They both have such a slim margin of error, one tiny mistake could mean failure at both. I am thinking about adding another 100+ mile journey but as of yet haven’t decided what. More fundraisers apart from the big events might be a good idea. I would also like to get the 100+Project on TV in 2013. That a lot, but I assure you it is all one goal.
That is how my year went. Hopefully 2013 will be much better and more successful, and I hope yours is the same!
