goals

Running Goals: Are They Worth the Pain?

The folks who motivate me to keep running.

Last week I went for a run with my iphone, a playlist and some earbuds. That probably doesn’t sound event worthy to most people, except that the last time I had music when running it came from a Walkman.

In college I used to run six miles a day and eight to twelve (usually eight) on the weekends. I preferred running alone and only occasionally ran with others. Running companions were so rare that I remember every time I had a running buddy. Originally, not a lover of running, taking on long distances happened by accident. One day I went for a run with friends, fell behind (I’ve always been slow) and got lost. I figured if I kept running it would all be over sooner. In the end, I’d run six miles. And once I realized that I could, I wanted to do it all the time.

Now, I rarely enjoy running alone. It’s too bad because I think I got a lot of ideas and worked out a number of problems in my head jogging by […]

Running Goals: Are They Worth the Pain?Maggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:49-04:00

Goals: Jacob’s Ladder

Having goals are important to help you stick to a healthy lifestyle, but it’s not just about being healthy—goals (no matter what their size) can help get us excited about life. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always wanted to be able to climb a Jacob’s Ladder. So this year when I went to a Ren Faire in Sterling, New York with Matt and my brother, I tried it out.

The guy told me I’d only have a shot if I kept my body low and pulled myself up. He was right. The first time I flipped right off. The second time I made it all the way to the top, but as much as I stretched I couldn’t quite reach the bell. So the third time, when I made it up again, the guy came up behind and made the bell swing, as it got closer to my short little body I reached out and dinged it. Success (with a little […]

Goals: Jacob’s LadderMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:29-04:00

The Final Challenge: Letting Go

Okay—I don’t have one. I think I’m going to have to let it go. At this point I literally have one month to come up with something.

The best laid plans, I guess. What do they say? Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans?

On the one hand, it seems ridiculous that I couldn’t come up with four challenges throughout the year. And it’s not that I didn’t. I ran the Ragnar, two half-marathons, hiked the Grand Canyon. There are four right there, but I wanted them spaced out seasonally and I didn’t want them all to involve running.

Still, I learned a few things. Having physical challenges that have activities with set dates really helps keep me stay motivated to stick to a workout routine. Having other people working to the same goal really helps me too. But I also learned that after three seasons of having a challenge planned, my body and mind were both tired and in need of a break.

So for next year, I’m already planning on doing a different Ragnar race and another half marathon. We’ll see what other challenge come about as […]

The Final Challenge: Letting GoMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:36-04:00

Final Challenge Dilemma

So my final challenge was supposed to involve cross country skiing. I was hoping to get some practice in before finding a race to participate in, but unlike last year at this time we have no snow. And this weekend a 10-mile cross country tour I was going to take got cancelled in Vermont because of lack of snow. In February I’m going to New Hampshire for a Chocolate Festival where you ski from inn to inn to pick up chocolate, but I’m not sure that is going to count as a challenge. (Although, I could consider the chocolate as energy to get me through the next leg of the trek like goo on a marathon.) So I’m still searching for one final challenge that I need to complete and prepare for before March 27th.

While I’m at the chocolate festival some of my running buddies […]

Final Challenge DilemmaMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:38-04:00

The Challenge Update

So my first challenge the Ragnar Relay was awesome. My second challenge the Warrior Dash was a dud. The Dash wasn’t, but I had an ear infection and couldn’t go. I wanted to be the people in these pictures, but I didn’t get to be (at least this year). My third challenge was going to be to hike the Grand Canyon, but we got rejected from the permit pool. (Keep your fingers crossed because I’ve applied again.) The Grand Canyon still may happen, but I was starting to feel a bit disillusioned with my challenges.

It wasn’t just that they weren’t working out as planned, but at first I felt like I was only getting prepared for them one week in advance, which wasn’t really the point. Then I started hiking a lot and was feeling like I was in really great hiking shape when I got the news that we were rejected for […]

The Challenge UpdateMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:50-04:00