2013 Mid-Year Review
Published: 6/29/2013
I recently completed my mid-year self-assesment for work and it got me thinking about how this time of year is good for reflecting on personal accomplishments. I’m not usually big on “taking inventory” but I think it will be a good exercise for me to make note of my accomplishments and discuss some areas where maybe I need to work a little harder. Those of you who keep close tabs on this site know that I’m big on using it as a way to continue motivating myself. And, if it helps motivate others, all the better…
For starters, I haven’t been hiking in almost two months and, as a result, I haven’t been writing. I’m hoping this review will help me stay sharp on the writing front. But, I can’t commit to any kind of hiking routine until later in the year. The truth is that it is just too hot and there are way too many bugs. Even though I haven’t been hiking, I’ve noticed (while taking Roscoe for daily / nightly walks) there seems to be a lot more mosquitoes this year than in years past. I personally think this has something to do with all of the water we’ve been getting through a combination of the all the snow we had over the winter and all of the rain we’ve been getting more recently. As I stated in my last hiking recap, I did plan for some out-of-state hiking and I’m hoping to write up some recaps for those adventures soon. But, for this write up, I wanted to track my hiking accomplishments for the first half of 2013 and discuss my plans for the second half of 2013.
In the first six months of the year, I did over 170 miles of hiking and I am well on my way to reaching my personal goal of 365 miles in 365 days. I completed three more “long-distance trails”, including the Natchaug Trail, the Nipmuck Trail, and the Metacomet Trail…the last of which was 18 months in the making. As I begin planning my hikes for the fall, I’m looking at the trails within Sleeping Giant State Park and becoming a “Giant Master”. As you know, there will be plenty more to come on that.
On the weight-loss front, I’ve hit a major plateau...if I can even call it that. Truthfully, I’ve gained about 5 to 10 pounds. But, I’ve been good about course correcting whenever it got too bad…and I have a few ideas on how to correct it permanently so that I can get back to less than 300 pounds. And, I plan to push myself to be 275 pounds by my next official weigh in at the doctor, which is scheduled for the end of October. On January 1st, I was 318 pounds…so I’m still down at least 15 pounds overall for the year…which is a good thing…now I just need to stop the process of gaining any weight back.
One of the ideas to help lose weight is to continue the running program I started back in February when I was training for my first 5K. Back in May, I signed up for a second 5K and, while the training was cut short due to a back injury, I’m hopeful to still run the race. I even pushed myself up to over 3.5 miles before the injury. So, with a little luck, I might even run it faster than I ran the last one. That said…the injury also put my training on hold for three weeks…so I might be dreaming. Either way, I will finish this 5K and look to run another one at some point in July. And, the best part is that my back injury is improving. Now I'm focused on finding a way to balance training and recovery so that I don’t re-aggravate the injury.
Finally, we are in the middle of another softball season. A few of my teammates gave me some nice compliments when I showed up for our first practice back in April. It was nice that some of them noticed how much weight I lost. I’ve mentioned before how the 2012 softball season was a catalyst for getting me off of the couch and out of the house. So, of course, I had to take it to the next level at the start of the 2013 season and I dropped some coin on a new bat. I guess that means I’m totally invested in softball now.
The season is going okay so far. I’m hitting well and I’ve made some nice plays as the new starting 3rd baseman, but I’ve also made my fair share of errors (some fielding, but mostly throwing). My goal is to get more consistent with my play in the field and to continue hitting well. I feel so much better this season than last...and, I've even legged out a pair of triples (which is unheard of for me). Our team record sits at 3 wins and 4 losses. Even though we are under .500, I believe we are one of the better teams in the league (three of our four losses were by a combined 8 runs, so we’ve been in every game we’ve played). I also believe we will make the playoffs. If last year was any indication, anything can happen once the playoffs begin.
That’s pretty much it. I’m enjoying this more active way of living life and I’m always looking for ways to push it to the next level. Hopefully everyone who reads this is happy with their first six months of 2013. If not, keep your head up, you still have six more months left in 2013 to make a better life for yourself!
In closing, I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. We’ll talk soon…
Published: 6/29/2013
I recently completed my mid-year self-assesment for work and it got me thinking about how this time of year is good for reflecting on personal accomplishments. I’m not usually big on “taking inventory” but I think it will be a good exercise for me to make note of my accomplishments and discuss some areas where maybe I need to work a little harder. Those of you who keep close tabs on this site know that I’m big on using it as a way to continue motivating myself. And, if it helps motivate others, all the better…
For starters, I haven’t been hiking in almost two months and, as a result, I haven’t been writing. I’m hoping this review will help me stay sharp on the writing front. But, I can’t commit to any kind of hiking routine until later in the year. The truth is that it is just too hot and there are way too many bugs. Even though I haven’t been hiking, I’ve noticed (while taking Roscoe for daily / nightly walks) there seems to be a lot more mosquitoes this year than in years past. I personally think this has something to do with all of the water we’ve been getting through a combination of the all the snow we had over the winter and all of the rain we’ve been getting more recently. As I stated in my last hiking recap, I did plan for some out-of-state hiking and I’m hoping to write up some recaps for those adventures soon. But, for this write up, I wanted to track my hiking accomplishments for the first half of 2013 and discuss my plans for the second half of 2013.
In the first six months of the year, I did over 170 miles of hiking and I am well on my way to reaching my personal goal of 365 miles in 365 days. I completed three more “long-distance trails”, including the Natchaug Trail, the Nipmuck Trail, and the Metacomet Trail…the last of which was 18 months in the making. As I begin planning my hikes for the fall, I’m looking at the trails within Sleeping Giant State Park and becoming a “Giant Master”. As you know, there will be plenty more to come on that.
On the weight-loss front, I’ve hit a major plateau...if I can even call it that. Truthfully, I’ve gained about 5 to 10 pounds. But, I’ve been good about course correcting whenever it got too bad…and I have a few ideas on how to correct it permanently so that I can get back to less than 300 pounds. And, I plan to push myself to be 275 pounds by my next official weigh in at the doctor, which is scheduled for the end of October. On January 1st, I was 318 pounds…so I’m still down at least 15 pounds overall for the year…which is a good thing…now I just need to stop the process of gaining any weight back.
One of the ideas to help lose weight is to continue the running program I started back in February when I was training for my first 5K. Back in May, I signed up for a second 5K and, while the training was cut short due to a back injury, I’m hopeful to still run the race. I even pushed myself up to over 3.5 miles before the injury. So, with a little luck, I might even run it faster than I ran the last one. That said…the injury also put my training on hold for three weeks…so I might be dreaming. Either way, I will finish this 5K and look to run another one at some point in July. And, the best part is that my back injury is improving. Now I'm focused on finding a way to balance training and recovery so that I don’t re-aggravate the injury.
Finally, we are in the middle of another softball season. A few of my teammates gave me some nice compliments when I showed up for our first practice back in April. It was nice that some of them noticed how much weight I lost. I’ve mentioned before how the 2012 softball season was a catalyst for getting me off of the couch and out of the house. So, of course, I had to take it to the next level at the start of the 2013 season and I dropped some coin on a new bat. I guess that means I’m totally invested in softball now.
The season is going okay so far. I’m hitting well and I’ve made some nice plays as the new starting 3rd baseman, but I’ve also made my fair share of errors (some fielding, but mostly throwing). My goal is to get more consistent with my play in the field and to continue hitting well. I feel so much better this season than last...and, I've even legged out a pair of triples (which is unheard of for me). Our team record sits at 3 wins and 4 losses. Even though we are under .500, I believe we are one of the better teams in the league (three of our four losses were by a combined 8 runs, so we’ve been in every game we’ve played). I also believe we will make the playoffs. If last year was any indication, anything can happen once the playoffs begin.
That’s pretty much it. I’m enjoying this more active way of living life and I’m always looking for ways to push it to the next level. Hopefully everyone who reads this is happy with their first six months of 2013. If not, keep your head up, you still have six more months left in 2013 to make a better life for yourself!
In closing, I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. We’ll talk soon…