2012 Progress Report

I have been reflecting a bit lately as I finalize my goals for this year. I have to admit, 2012 was a pretty good year for me. I lost nearly 40 pounds. I ran my first 5k, my first 10k and my first triathlon. Well that may sound great now, but sometimes it's difficult to see the progress we really are making on a day to day basis. That's why it's good to take a look back from time to time and see how far you really have come. So, I checked my Runkeeper log file today to see what kind progress I really have made. On this date, two years ago I weighed nearly 250 pounds. I ran 2 miles in 30:10. That's a pace of 15:05/mile. On this date, one year ago, I weighed 240 pounds and ran 1.5 miles miles in 20:44. That's an average pace of 13:49/mile. The progress was admittedly slow - 10 pounds in a year and a little over a minute off my pace. But it was progress nonetheless. With that, and the added motivation of committing to a race in August, I was really able to turn 2012 into a positive year. As of yesterday, I weigh 206 pounds. My run this morning was 4.3 miles in 35:33 minutes. That's an average pace of 8:13/mile. No only is that farther than I was able to run last year, its a five and a half minute per mile faster pace!And that's the kind of progress I'm hoping to continue on into 2013!

Take a moment and think about how far you have come in the last year. If you are just getting started, think about where you want to be a year from now. Don't get caught thinking "I can only run this far" or "I'll never lose that much weight". It doesn't really matter where you are now. What matters is where will you be. Just remember to take some time to look back once in a while to see how far you have come.

Maybe it's bragging a bit but I actually find it motivating to share my successes with others. I've put a lot of hard work into it and I'm proud of how far I've come. I am also motivated by reading about the successes of others. Feel free to share your progress here.

Lets make this a good year!