40 Goals while 40

It's hard to argue that you had a good week when this is what presents itself to you when you walk in the door..... With the realization that last week we were already 1/3 of the year complete, I seemed to push a little harder on the accelerator this week to try to move the needle on a few areas.  Nothing got crossed off, but some areas made a fair bit of progress. It’s rained here the last 10 straight days (or at least it sure feels that way) which means its been hard to get outside and enjoy a bicycle ride.   It’s not impossible, but it is harder to get motivated. Still – things moved forward.   The big issue this week was falling off the vegetarian wagon.   For the first week this year, I ate more than a pound of meat in a week.   But, the place I was visiting was known for their burgers and frankly it was delicious. Anyway, on to a quick update. Physical               #...

Alright – I’m putting this here for posterity – this list is exhausting.   I should not do this again in a decade (at least not without making nearly all the goals easy like eating 50 pieces of chocolate….).   I’m tired and wearing out. That said, the goals do continue to push me into places I wouldn’t get on my own which is a very good thing.   There are certainly plenty of times that I need this. I missed an update again last week.   As it turned out, I was recovering from strep throat which explains why a bicycle ride I did in the hills/mountains of Virginia on a hot day was truly excruciating.   I’m looking forward to going back when a) I’m feeling better and b) it isn’t 95 on the heat index to see where I’m at.   There are some good hills there that will help prepare me for France if I go. Other than that, the goals move forward slowly.   I’ve realized that in truth they are suffering and so have installed an app on my phone to preve...

The good news is that another goal has been crossed off, and it was a hard one!   The bad news is that I’ve fallen completely off the reservation and many of the other goals have suffered over the past month.   So – we’ll get moving on those. As for the goal that was obtained, I managed to cover over 40 km in under an hour!   When I set this goal, it felt more than a bit outlandish and I didn’t think it was realistic to try for this.   However, after getting the aerodynamic bicycle, it put it within striking distance and then with some final pushes through training, it was close.   My father had agreed to come into town for the even that was scheduled for April 26.   As I told him, the time will be somewhere between 58 and 62 minutes.   It was going to be close.   Unfortunately, as the day of the event got closer, the weather forecast got worse and it looked like rain was in the plans.   I was ready to make a go of it, whateve...

4/18 Update – Goal 4 Complete After getting very close on multiple occasions, I finally cracked through on the 4x4x4 Rubik’s Cube!   At one point, I completed it in 406 seconds.   Now that’s frustrating.   However, after a few more days of practice, it finally came together with a time of 5:09.   309 seconds – not bad.   Now to just maintain the skills.   In other news, with the spring weather finally starting to arrive, many of the goals are starting to make some progress.   There’s still a lot that need to get moving, but hopefully this will start soon. Physical             #5 – 1,075 miles – Over 1,000 miles.   This week should be pretty light since the time trial is just 8 days away!   Getting nervous!             #6 – 3,225.   I fell a bit behind again as I missed a day, but I’ll just have to catch up l...

So I took a week off the updates while on Spring Break.   It was a wonderful week started out at the Outer Banks (fun!) and finished with some good, old-fashioned, hanging out at the house.   We didn’t get as much done as I would have hoped, but it was a really nice week.             As for the goals, nothing really was overwhelming.   I am finalizing the preparations for the 40k time trial in a few weeks and we visited another donut shop.   The Rubik’s Cube seems to continue to be a puzzle.   I’ve gotten to where I can solve it, but the 400 seconds is going to require a bit of luck.   It’ll happen, but finding pairs in the second step is quite a challenge.             In an unfortunate note, my streak of not getting plastic bags while shopping was broken.   I went to Target late on evening and, when I wasn’t paying attention, I left ...

Hard though it is to believe, it's only been two months since I embarked on this journey.  3 goals are complete, and one will not be reached.  Some of the others are on track, there are more than a few that need some help to get on pace. This week was not a great week for moving the goals forward, but did include a wonderful date night with Amy to go and see the Hurricanes.  The game itself was semi-entertaining, though with so many empty seats, it really wasn't exciting.  Still it was nice to get out and it provided the bonus of being near a TV when Loyola was playing! Beyond that, just a good week reading with the boys.  Next week is Spring Break!  One note worth mentioning, this week included more sleep than previous weeks.  It's an active effort after listening to "Why We Sleep" (Amazing book if you missed the suggestion before) to get more sleep.  So far, I feel better and hope to continue the trend. Physical    ...

              I passed 40 hours of improv for the year.   I didn’t realize how fast this would happen!   Since we’re less than a quarter of the year complete, now I’m wondering if I could have 40 hours there where I’m in the performance.   I’m currently at 15 hours so if we stay on pace, this too could happen.             Other news for the week included a big week of cycling (113 miles) despite a few days of traveling.   Spring seems to finally be pushing winter aside so hopefully the outdoor goals will start to move here.             I also have another book recommendation, at least for nerds of my age.   Ready Player One was a really fun book with all sorts of 80s references.   It makes you think about the future world – I hope we don’t go to where the story suggests we will, b...