I’m currently 28 days into my 50th year on the planet. This   may sound confusing, like I’m 50 already but nay, I’m 49. It’s a mental trick my grandma inadvertently created as she would always announce what year she was in which meant we always thought she was a year older than she was. So much so that we had a giant 80th birthday party for her on her 79th birthday only to figure it out on that day. 

I make this announcement because on Monday I thought to myself, “Self, what do you want to accomplish before you are 50?”  My next thought was that I wished that I had started working on this when I turned 40, but whatcha gonna do. 

I haven’t thought long and hard on these as much as just let myself want. What would bring both a daily satisfaction from doing the work as well as a culmination of excitement upon completing?  I also considered an overall “being in the best shape of my life” benefit from combining and achieving the smaller goals. Kind of a residual affect. 

After 5 minutes I realized yet again why I sometimes fall short and I’m okay with it. My tendency is to disregard what it will take and to aim very high. This usually leads to falling back into old habits and just doing the same old same old. To get the things done on this list I’ll have to plan and play accordingly. It’s unreasonable to try and achieve a fast running goal in the summer. So that’s moved to winter. Etc. In addition, I know I can’t just do one of the things and disregard the rest until their time approaches as that will also lead to a bed shitting. Planning isn’t my strong suit, but it’s going to be needed. 

For a lot of the physical goals I am also opening my eyes to different training methods. Quality will have to trump straight volume as time is of the essence. I also am unfortunately pretty sure I’ll have to do more strength training as I can go run for 3 hours straight. Fast?  Not so much. Aerobics ain’t the issue. Power is. 

I’ve considered how much to share with the world on this but also know that sharing equals doing so sorry to bore you to death. Hopefully someone who reads this may call me out in October when I need a push. 

1. Sub 20 min 5k running by February. 6:24 pace. I just threw up typing this. 

2. Sub 20 mins for 1650 in the pool (1:15 pace)

3. Record and release a new album with my band. Live shows when they return. 

4. Get our race business back. 

5. Begin writing a book and or repurpose this blog as such. 

6. Help my HS XC teams win a state championship. 

7. Ollie a skateboard. (If completed, move to kick flip). 

8. Strength train 3x each week.

9. Seek out meaningful experiences with my wife, kids and mom. 

10. Keep pressing the gas on FRESHJUNKIE. Make biggest salad/health brand in BTR. 

I began the post a couple weeks ago and finished it today. The first pass was almost all physical goals but I realized those were just things to keep me moving and the longer I listed, the more I knew they wouldn’t be super motivating (I had a time goal for Ironman, which was arbitrary as I didn’t plan on racing IM). 

If I’m honest, I’d like to figure out how to get paid for some of the writing I do so that’s in there. I’ve committed to coaching HS this year and our teams have a chance a big years. That too would be a great gift. 

I know I don’t comment a lot on the pictures I post here as most of the time they are just place holders, but today’s is different. Upon hearing I wanted to learn to ollie. My son Ian found an old deck and repurposed old wheels and trucks to build me this skateboard. I love it. Rough and utilitarian. Thank you son. 

Time to get after it. If you want to take the time and sign up for some accountability. List something in the comments and I’ll make a list and remind you of it from time to time. Be specific. That which gets measured gets done. 

#hugsandhi5s