Time To Roll Out Some New Goals for 2013…

Well, my goal of completing 12 marathon during 2012 was a success. It feels weird to say that – I conducted a successful 2012 running campaign. I can almost hear my little Irish grandmother loud and clear: “You conducted a successful running campaign in 2012? Well WOW – I love me, do you? You know Joey – self praise stinks!” I have a hard time saying that I accomplished a goal, because attaining the goal means that there is no need to further the effort. As Ovid once said: the ending crowns the work. Personally, I enjoyed the ups and downs of this year. The lost tooth, running in freezing and hot / sticky times of the year, the blackened toenails, sprained ankles, and overall constant achiness – the juice was worth the squeeze.

I didn’t run 12 marathons in a year for the bling that comes with finishing an event – although the medals were cool. Instead, I ran to raise money for a really wonderful charity: The Dream Team Project. It’s almost the end of the year – so I would like to ask once more for your support. If you haven’t already done so, please consider a donation to this worthy cause. Any amount helps, and it goes toward fulfilling dreams for children that suffer from life-threatening illnesses and their families. As a former Wish Granter volunteer for the New York City chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, I can honestly tell you that fulfilling a sick child’s dream raises the kid’s spirits in an immeasurable way. Your generosity is so very much appreciated.

What I normally did after each marathon was allow myself 24 hours to enjoy the effort. No workouts, enjoy an extra chocolate chip cookie, and take some extra time to veg out in front of the TV. When those 24 hours were up, I placed whatever bling I earned on race day on a small shelf in my bedroom, and began preparing for the next race. One of the motivating factors that kept me going all year long were the kids that this charity helps. These boys and girls deal with their life-treatening illnesses day after day. For them, there is no 24 hour grace period where they get to forget their ailments. Their families deal with the constant stress without a pause. It’s that everyday grind that wears down the child’s hope – and you have to maintain hope in order to heal, in my opinion.

As I’m sitting here writing this on the day after Christmas, my thoughts go back to that concept – the daily grind. Now that my 2012 goals have been attained, I can’t just sit back and say I’m done. I need to role out some new goals for the coming year – and the first goal takes the concept of The Daily Grind and – quite literally – runs with it.

So – in order to continue to raise money for the Dream Team Project, I’m going to run 2,013 miles in 2013. In order to attain this goal, I’ll need to crank out 38.71 miles each week – roughly 5.51 miles a day, every day. Now I know what you’re thinking, and I pretty much agree: 12 in ’12 had a more interesting ring to it than 2,013 in 2013. However this goal has been given a lot of thought and, for me, this will be a bit tougher than 12 marathons in a year. It will need to be a daily grind. It will require me to develop a routine and maintain it all year long, regardless of what life throws at me. This is hard for me, because I have absolutely no ability to maintain a healthy routine for any duration of time. Diets last 48 hours. Swearing off chocolate? That lasts 4 hours at best. This year-long effort will require me to change some negative qualities I posses.

There will be tons of races thrown in all year long to make it interesting, beginning with WDW Marathon Weekend in January. I’m scheduled to run the “Dopey” for the first time, which is a 5k race on Friday, followed by a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday. Lots of bling will be in store if I pull that one off…and lots to write about, I’m sure. I am also planning on running “Worth the Hurt” during the San Francisco Marathon (Worth the Hurt will be my first official ultra marathon race, where runners begin to run the San Francisco Marathon course in the middle of the night beginning at the finish line and end at the starting line…just in time to turn around and run the actual San Francisco Marathon with the masses), the Chicago Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathons in 2013, as well as a bunch of half marathons during the year. Hopefully these races will keep me honed in on my macro-goals and keep me moving in the right direction.

I need goals. I need those carrots in front of me to keep me moving or else I get lazy. So there are my 2013 goals…and I hope you’ll continue to follow this turtle’s journey. Thanks for continuing to read my entries – I hope to keep you all laughing at my antics!

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If you’d like some information on The Dream Team Project or would like to make a donation to their amazing cause, please stop by the website: www.wdwradio.com/the-dream-team-project I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I really believe in what The Dream Team Project stands for. It raises money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, helping to grant the wishes of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses. Being s former wish-granter for the NYC Chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, I can tell you first-hand just how much of an impact this organization makes in the lives of children. Please consider donating to this worthy cause. Thanks!

…and if you’d like a bit more information on the WDW Radio Running Team, please check out the Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WDW-Radio-Running-Team/163606410344409

Author: backofthepacker

A slow running, wine slurping, Disney-loving, bourbon swilling triathlete that is simply looking to go from ordinary to extraordinary...and hopefully motivate others along the way. View all posts by backofthepacker