(no subject)
Two things I intend to do this year that I haven't done before:
1. Run a marathon
2. Buy a house
The first is a natural progression, since running has taken on a much larger portion of my life of late. In fact, I get a good run in every single day that I have free from work, and several days that I have to work anyway(when I can drag my ass out of bed early enough, that is).
Everyday, I try to find my way here and jog about 4 miles in the morning. On days off, that number is probably closer to 8. Possibly more, as I really am just gauging by the map and making a gross estimate. I plan on getting a pedometer to help me calculate this, as it does make me wonder an awful lot. (Also, does the secondary trail include the primary? I tend to think it doesn't-which would put my estimate dramatically higher)
I do wonder how I'll do when it's hotter out. I really got back into the running kick after the drought ended this past year, and even this week, I ran only an hour or so when it was 85 out. (To be fair, I'd ran for 2+ hours the day before, so I was a bit sore as well). On the other hand, I'm way more accustomed to it, and weigh about 25-30 pounds less than I did over the summer, so I think I can do this. Also, all my running at the park is on trails that cover rocks and stumps, go up and down hills and are generally pretty tricky to navigate.
Either way, there's a lot of marathons that happen in Austin year round, and if I keep the pace up that I currently maintain I'm pretty confident that I'll have no problems.
The second has been in the works for awhile, but I've been hamstrung by numerous financial setbacks-most notably that my credit rating has been in the crapper. But now it's making a healthy comeback and the way the market is headed, it couldn't be at a better time-for me that is. I'm one of the few who's pushing for a worse housing market for another 7 months or so.
I've been getting all sorts of nesting instincts with my current house, but I can't reasonably justify all the work and money for something that I fully plan to leave later this year. The fence needs repair, the lawn is a mess(and I do wish to make it native grass-but that's another story) and there's all sorts of damages that stand out internally-but it's somebody else's problem.
Not entirely coincidentally, my price range is enough to put me near the above mentioned park. I just foresee my quality of life being dramatically higher if I can visit there anytime I want without having to load the dogs up for a 10 minute drive each way. Also getting my little one back into the truck is a frustrating experience when she's not completely worn out. I know it's not a good idea to necessarily make a criteria for home purchasing on something so arbitrary, and in all honesty it probably will be a healthy distance away-but I like to think about it for the time being.
These are my only large goals for the year. I generally don't make yearly goals, but these are both attainable and on the natural path of where I've been headed lately.
...and that's my obligatory update.