Gathering some of the basic year-end statistics for yesterday's weigh-in post got me thinking about how far we've really come as a group. This whole thing started as a simple way to keep track of our weight-loss for the whole world to see, and has resulted in an enormous amount of pounds lost, tons of time spent working out, and several new friendships formed.

The past couple of months have been more difficult for a lot of us on the fitness front. The holiday season with all of its stresses and joys, really does take a toll. Though many people were able to maintain a few days a week to keep their routines going, many others kind of let it go. With the new year here, it really is time to get going though. I wanted to quickly drop some dates for you quick to illustrate my point:

As most races are on Sundays, our start date will be January 6th.

  • 3 Weeks until the first planned race of 2013 - the Penguin Run - January 27th
  • 7 Weeks until the second planned race - The Chilly Challenge - February 24th
  • 14 Weeks until the B.A.A 5K and Boston Marathon - April 14th and 15th
  • 20 Weeks until the Buffalo Marathon - May 26th (Registration Open)
  • 21 Weeks  until the Freihofer 5k - June 1st
  • 27 Weeks until the Boilermaker - July 14h (Registration on the 12th!!!)

These races seem like they are pretty far in the future, but in reality most training programs are typically 8, 12, and 20 week programs. That puts us right at the B.A.A 5K and Marathon time frame, as well as the Buffalo Marathon (we will be running the half marathon version this year). There really isn't much time to dawdle, or ease back into it. It is time to get going.

I also want to encourage people to recruit friends and family to get moving too. Use the New Year as an excuse to get an accountability partner in the mix. Someone who you can encourage to strive to be their best, and to help you get to where you want to be. Doing it alone isn't easy. All it takes is one person in a group to encourage others.

Running also isn't obviously for everyone. Training for particular race dates is nice, but think of it from the weight-loss perspective too. On average you can truly expect to lose about a pound a week realistically. Pick days in the future that you are interested in, maybe a Wedding in June, or the Beach in August. Figure out how many weeks that is, and figure on a pound a week. Is that where you want to be then? Don't wait until spring to get your beach body on, by then it is too late.

Does anyone have any major goals for 2013? I'd love to hear about them and talk about them. I am excited to get going in 2013. I think it is going to be a good year.