Goals 2019: State after March

A quarter of the year is history. Here’s my monthly update to keep myself accountable for how I’m doing regarding my 2019 goals. January and February have been going well so far, here’s March.

1. Goal: Run 1 Marathon per Month. Result: 3 Marathons and 1 Ultramarathon

✅ Big checkmark here. This was marathon month for me. I not only made up for marathon-less January, but even brought up the total to 5, so I would be good until end of May. This month’s races were Mountain 2 Surf New Plymouth, Waiheke Wharf 2 Wharf, Te Houtaewa Ultra (which I even managed to win), and The DUAL Motutapu-Rangitoto Traverse. All of them completely worth it, 10 out of 10 stars, I would come again. 

2. Goal: Run 2,000 Kilometers in 2019 (166.67 per Month). Result: 324.74

✅ All those marathons surely add up to some mileage. This month I did nearly twice as many kilometers as the goal I set required. The 2019 total is now up to 711.74, which is a very comfortable 211.73 kilometer surplus. I don’t plan on becoming lazy now, though. 

3. Goal: Run Every Other Day. Result: 16 Runs in 31 Days

✅ Not much to say here. 46 Runs total in 2019 (90 days between January 1st and March 31st), so that’s a close one. I’ve found it to be good for me to “have to” run again shortly after the marathons. This helped regeneration a lot. 

4. Goal: Walk 5 Million Steps (13,700 per Day). Result: 621,953 (20,063 per Day)

✅ There have been huge peaks because of the four (ultra)marathons, and all the running helped as well, but my mindset had also shifted a bit during this month. Towards mindfully walking more in everyday life. I would use more chances to just walk. It’s been good, I’m going to keep doing this although it’s clearly not the most time-efficient way of moving. My 2019 average is now up to 17,083 steps per day – another big surplus. 

5. Goal: Read 12 Books (1 per Month). Result: 2 Books Read

✅ I finished the massive Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond and Barefoot Running Step by Step by Ken Bob Saxton. Very different books. Guns, Germs, and Steel took me on a history lesson of the last 13,000 years, explaining the question of why some societies were able to develop so much more technology than other and subsequently conquered and subdued these under-developed ones. The main reason is difference in geographical situations. Some areas had nutrient rich and domesticable crops as well as animals, others just didn’t. More than 500 pages about this core idea where really worth it. Barefoot Running Step by Step was equally interesting, but rather short. I’ve always been fascinated by barefoot running and wanted to expand my knowledge about the topic a little. That definitely happened and I found new motivation to give it a serious try soon. 

A Perfect Month

I’d be happy if this would go on like it has been so far. I’m keen on finding out how April will turn out to be. I expect to reach the goals but not exceed them by as much as in March. We’ll see!