Around this time last year, I wrote a post about how I wasn’t setting any New Year’s Resolutions for 2017 other than enjoying being outdoors. This was partly in response to my failure to complete most of the goals I’d set myself in 2016!
So, how did I do with my non-resolution resolution? Not bad… And not great. I DID enjoy the time I spent outdoors – very much so. There just wasn’t enough of it. Looking back, 2017 was an incredibly busy year. We moved into a new house (okay, technically this was in 2016, but right at the end!), I left my job and went self-employed, we got married and I published my first book. I worked hard. Really hard. And my outdoor time suffered.
So in 2018, one of my main aims is to spend more time outdoors. I’ve learned that, if I don’t get enough exercise or time outdoors, I start to get grumpy. I’ve also had more aches and pains in the last year than ever before – I’m putting this down to not exercising and stretching my muscles enough and too much time in front of a computer!
Enough of my waffle! Without further ado, here are my goals for 2018.
Goal 1: Complete the Isle of Wight Challenge
This is my big outdoor goal for the year. I’ve signed up to join a group of authors and creatives tackling the Isle of Wight challenge in May. We’ll be aiming to walk 104 km around the island over two days. Now, I love walking and have done some multi-day hikes in my time but this is harder than anything I’ve done to date and I have to admit that my legs are quaking slightly!
To give me some added motivation, I’m raising money for Mind, a mental health charity here in the UK. I’ve written before about how walking helps my mental health and it’s a cause that’s close to my heart for a number of reasons. If you’d like to sponsor me and give me an extra nudge to get out training, you can do so here.
So, ummm, training… I’ve entered a 15-mile trail run at the end of February to get my general level of fitness up. After that, I’ll be planning lots of long walks at the weekends (ideally back-to-back days) and trying to get out during the week. One of my goals for my author business this year is to master dictation, so I can get out walking and still get lots of stories written!
Goal 2: Hike the John Muir Trail
This is a tentative goal at the moment, as, to hike the JMT, you need to get a permit and these are in hot demand! If it goes ahead, it would also be me and my husband’s ‘proper’ honeymoon. Yup, three weeks hiking with no showers is our idea of a romantic holiday. 🙂
If we can’t get a permit, then we’ll rethink our plans and come up with an equally exciting alternative. Whatever we choose, it’s likely to involve a lot of hiking, so all that walking training in the first part of the year will come in handy.
Goal 3: Get Back Into Climbing
For various reasons, I didn’t get much climbing done last year. For the first part of the year, this was largely due to not having enough time to get out, or even to the wall. (DIY weddings, it turns out, are a LOT of work!) Then I developed RSI and my wrists and forearms were so bad that I couldn’t climb for most of the second half of the year. (I tried, but it meant I struggled to work the next day.)
Needless to say, after this long break, I am as weak as a kitten! I had my first session back at the wall this week and couldn’t even manage an hour on easy routes! But I have really, really missed my climbing, so even though I may not achieve any climbs of significance, I want to get some strength back.
Goal 4: Tackle a Long-Distance Cycling Challenge
This is a bit of a vague goal! But I’ve really enjoyed getting into cycling over the past few years and I’d like to take this a step further and take on one of the UK’s cycling challenges. Because I need to prioritise walking and running at the start of the year, this is likely to be an autumn goal, so I’ve got plenty of time to come up with something.
So, that’s it! Four goals for 2018. Some more challenging than others… What are your goals for this year? Post them in the comments and we can all check back at the end of the year and see how we did.