With a five-miler this morning, my 2013 running calendar is done. This marked the first year since I’ve taken up running that I set some pretty ambitious goals for myself. You might have followed my Twitter feed as I chronicled my yearly mileage with the hashtag #RunResolution. However, that was not the only goal that I set for myself in 2013. Here’s a look at my 2013 running goals.

1. I will run at least 1,000 miles this year. I did it! According to my log, I finished with 1,117.31 miles.
2. I will set PRs in the 5K (22:03 as of 12/31/12), 10K (51:12.8), and half-marathon (1:51:26). I only tied my 5K time, with another 22:03 on September 21 at the Duck and Run 5K in Athens. I did, however, set new PRs in the 10K (46:57 at the A Christmas Story 10K in Cleveland on December 7), and half (1:43:46 at the Team 413 Half Marathon in Homewood on April 13).
3. If I can successfully register, I will run the Marine Corps Marathon on October 27, 2013, in addition to at least two half-marathons, including Mercedes in February. I didn’t manage to get in due to website problems that could only be rivaled by the government healthcare site, so Marine Corps will have to wait for another year.
4. If I cannot successfully register for the Marine Corps Marathon, I will run at least three half-marathons this year, including Mercedes in February and Talladega in September. Talladega didn’t fit into my schedule, but I did run three half-marathons as planned: Mercedes in February, Team 413 in April, and the Huntsville Half Marathon in November.

Other interesting (well, to me, anyway) facts about this year:

• Breakdown of mileage by month:
  • January: 92.37
  • February: 76.87
  • March: 87.19
  • April: 86.60
  • May: 121.37
  • June: 71.07
  • July: 103.24
  • August: 66.76
  • September: 79.10
  • October: 83.92
  • November: 120.51
  • December: 128.31
• Time spent running this year: 170 hours, 40 minutes, 50 seconds.
• Average pace per mile: 9 minutes, 10 seconds.
• Fastest single mile: 6:11 on May 29.
• Most miles run in a day: 18, December 21.
• Most miles run in a week: 36.01, week of 12/15-12/21.
• Number of different states I ran in: four (Alabama, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio).
• Approximate number of calories my log says I burned: 120,000

I don’t know what my 2014 goals are yet. I’ll have to give that a little thought. Once I figure them out, though, I’ll post them so that you can follow along again as I run through 2014!

Just for the record, if I’m planning to do dumbbell lunges in the future, I need to have Aleve handy the next day. 3 or 4 of them.

Today’s big effort was to get through the chest portion of the workout. I had difficulties with the last two sets last time, and I was looking forward to getting it this time. Day 4 showed areas of improvement (chest, back), areas that need to be worked on (my right bicep, particularly), and areas that I’m not pushing enough (triceps). I’ll adapt Friday’s workout and hopefully the progress will continue.

I’m really happy with the improvement so far. And I feel a lot better after a workout now than I did the first day.

Today was another step in the right direction. I pushed myself pretty hard again today by stepping up the bench press weight again, and it showed. I wasn’t able to complete the final two sets, but that’s okay. It gives me something to work towards on Monday. On the positive front, I completed the biceps sets with my right arm as well as my left! This is a big accomplishment. Now I can finally move upward a little bit there on Monday!

Day 3’s results show a steady improvement overall. I’m very pleased with my progress thus far. I’m pushing myself well. I wasn’t this far along last time.

Just after I stopped feeling sore from the first time, here it is Friday. Actually, I was pretty pumped about giving it another go. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about workout programs, it’s that the first time’s always the toughest. After that, you get into the spirit of it, and it becomes a challenge, not something to dread.

Looking back on the first workout, I realized that I hadn’t really pushed myself very hard in the chest exercises, so I downgraded my effort in day 1 and added weight to the lifts today. I also went up a little in weight on most of the shoulder exercises and the “high point” set of dumbbell pullovers for the back.

Day 2’s results were pretty promising, I think. I managed the extra chest weight pretty handily, and the shoulder weight added to the intensity there. I almost got that last dumbbell pullover! I’ll get it next time for sure. Of special note is that I completed the workout in 46 minutes, right on time, for the first time ever! I was never able to do it the first time. I feel a lot better after this workout than the first one, and that’s to be expected, I would think. Now it’s time to go eat…

I believe that Daffy Duck said it best…”agony, aggg-oooo-nyyyyy!”

I’d forgotten just how rough the first workout can make you feel. Right now, my biceps and triceps are still screaming at me, “What did you do to us?” from my Monday workout. Making a right angle with either arm sends a jolt of pain from both, pleading with me never, ever to do that to them again.

But that’s okay. Experience tells me that it gets easier from here, as long as I keep up with it. And that’s what I intend to do. I’ve outlined my goals for this plan. I’m no fitness expert or dietician, so my numbers my not be reasonable. Then again, I’m measuring my weight and body-fat percentage with instruments that only provide reasonable figures, at best. My overall goal is to look and feel better about myself, and that’s something that I can easily track progress of without resorting to numbers.

All through the past year, I had vowed that when I got back into my own place, I’d start working out again, because I’d have my weights again. And I decided that I was going to have to follow through on that. I also decided that I’d include my progress in pressing on… because it would help me to have a physical record and it’d keep me accountable. Today, I took the first step.

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